Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street: Shanghai's Commercial Spine

Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street (南京路步行街, Nánjīng Lù Bùxíngjiē) runs 1.2km from the Bund to People's Square, and it has been Shanghai's main shopping street since the 1860s, when it was known to foreigners as Nanking Road. The historic department stores — Wing On, Sincere, the No.1 Department Store — are still there behind the LED, and if you look above the shopfronts the concession-era facades are excellent.

Nobody should come here to shop. Prices are ordinary, the brands are the same ones at home, and the crowds are relentless. Come instead for the spectacle: a kilometre of screaming neon, buskers, families with lit-up balloons, and the sheer density of a city of 25 million enjoying its evening.

Two practical warnings. First, this is scam central — friendly English-speaking "students" wanting to practise, or inviting you to a tea ceremony, will end with a ¥2,000 ($280) bill. Walk on. Second, the restaurants directly on the street are tourist-grade. Huanghe Road, one block north of the western end, has the xiaolongbao and shengjian shops locals actually queue for.

Treat it as the connective tissue between the Bund and People's Square rather than a destination — 45 minutes, ideally after dark, and you have seen it properly.