Jing'an & West Nanjing Road
Shanghai's upscale central corridor: Jing'an Temple, the Zhangyuan shikumen quarter and the Natural History Museum, strung along Metro Line 2.
A good base: dense hotels, malls and restaurants along West Nanjing Road, with the golden temple and restored shikumen lanes as anchor sights.
Sight density is lower than the Bund area — this is more a stay-eat-shop district than a checklist district, and prices around the Jing'an Temple business circle run high.
Places here
Jing'an Temple
TempleThe gold-roofed Buddhist temple sitting surreally among the malls and towers of West Nanjing Road — Shanghai's most photographed sacred-meets-skyscraper contrast. An active temple with a silver Buddha hall, best treated as a 45-minute stop.
Shanghai Natural History Museum
MuseumA striking nautilus-shaped building sunk into Jing'an Sculpture Park, packed with dinosaurs, dioramas and an excellent African savanna hall. The city's best rainy-day and kids option in the central districts.
Zhangyuan
AreaA restored block of shikumen (stone-gate) lane houses off West Nanjing Road, reopened as a pedestrian quarter of flagship boutiques and cafés. The architecture is the draw: this is the easiest place near the metro to walk Shanghai's signature lane-house streetscape.