Shanghai

Shanghai city teems with life and lights. Embracing the forces of business, this hotspot of activity is the centre for innovation and modernization of China. Colourful history mixed with the blazing contemporary, Shanghai is a non-stop buzz, an implacable presence in the lifestyle revolution. Expect a cosmopolitan city showcasing architectural temples of art, fine dining and contemporary urban living.

Shopping:

Shop at stores, shop at malls, shop at shacks, shop at street corners. Shop! If any city in the world deserves the accolade of shop till you drop, then it is Shanghai. From the cream of the crop to the best of the rest, Shanghai offers you all that you ever could have possibly wanted. Watches, clothes, antiques, electronics, silks, jade, pearls, souvenirs, cellular phones, bags, and purses are all available, whatever your budget range. Some of the best areas to shop are: Nanjing Xi Lu, Jing'an, Old Town, The Bund, Changning, French Concession, Nanjing Road, Yuyuan Bazaar, Huaihai Road, New XinYang Market, Qipu Lu clothing market, Pearl Plaza, and Dongtai Road Street Market.

Sight Seeing:

Shanghai offers everyone something, more than just the plethora of sights and abundance of shops. Shanghai's entertainment scene is flourishing, and is constantly nurtured by the large amounts of disposable capital in the area.
Shanghai is split in two by the Huangpu River, with the older town on the west bank known as Puxi and the brash new development on the east side being Pudong. The main sight seeing are the many temples, gardens, and the striking architecture of new Shanghai, and visit Yuyuan Gardens, Longhua Temple, Jade Buddha Temple, and Fuxing Road, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, which the tallest TV tower in Asia, with a height of 468 meters. The view is truly spectacular.
Shanghai offers a dazzling array of food and provides an exciting opportunity for cuisine exploration. Shanghainese cuisine is one of the lesser-known types of Chinese food, and is generally characterized as sweet and oily. Seafood predominates, and the usual style of preparation is steaming..

BEIJING

Beijing is the city that lives, breathes, and is completely steeped in history; yet blazes with a forward looking furious development that sets an example for the rest of China. Filled with throngs of people - millions of locals, tourists and expatriates - Beijing is also truly cosmopolitan, and has long shed its closed borders for a global future

Shopping:

From night markets to malls, stalls to districts, much of Beijing is dedicated to shopping. This pro-retail therapy attitude permeates through the city, and offers such you a variety that youÂ’ll spend days recovering from the overdose. Haggling is recommended, while therapeutically scavenging for silks, handicrafts, clothing, antiques, electronics, jade, pearls, scarves, purses, brushes, inks, paper lanterns and memorabilia of bygone eras. Major areas for shopping are the Dong'anmen Night Market, Chaoyang, Wangfujing, Pan Jia Yuan, Liulichang, Hong Qiao, Chongwen, Xizhi Men, Xidan, Dongcheng, Xuanwu, and the areas around Tiananmen Square. In Beijing it is very encouraging to go on, and shop till you drop.

Must Do:

There's always much to do in Beijing, and residents abide by the philosophy of work hard and play harder, not forgetting to practice Tai chi. This in turn has set the leisure and entertainment industries thriving, giving you the opportunity to let loose. Whether it is sampling the amazing snacks at Dong'anmen Night Market, sipping drinks on Lotus Lane, or chilling out on quiet shores of Kunming Lake, Beijing will not let you get bored. The monolithic scale of the monuments and buildings cannot be ignored however, and taking in Beijing's sights is a must. However, pace yourselves well, as the list of these is long. Start with the Gate of Heavenly Peace, and move on to Tiananmen Square. There find the Great Hall of the People, the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. Move on to check out the Zhengyang Men, Chairman Mao's Mausoleum and the formidable Arrow Tower, all of which together are known as the Front Gate. Other must see sights are the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven Park, and Legation Street. If you have time, also try to visit the Underground City, a huge warren of bombproof tunnels now used as place for hotels, restaurants and warehouses. You can also take an hour long bus ride to the Great Wall of China at Badaling, and see one of man's seven wonders