Starting your trip at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai means everything around the region sits within an easy drive or a short train ride. Shanghai is China's biggest city and its most cosmopolitan, where the colonial stone of the Bund faces the glass towers of Pudong across the Huangpu River. It moves fast but rewards wandering, with tree-lined streets in the former French Concession, lane-house neighborhoods, and dumpling shops on every corner.

Can't-miss Shanghai experiences: - Walk the Bund at dusk and watch the Pudong skyline light up - Ride to the top of Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China - Get lost in the leafy lanes of the former French Concession - Eat xiaolongbao and pan-fried shengjianbao at a neighborhood dumpling shop - Browse Yu Garden and the old bazaar around it - Explore the galleries of M50 and the boutiques of Tianzifang - Spend a day at Shanghai Disneyland near the airport - Ride the Maglev into town at 300 kilometers per hour

Shanghai sits at the center of the Yangtze River Delta, and high-speed trains make the surrounding cities easy. Suzhou, famous for its classical gardens and canals, is about half an hour by rail. Hangzhou and its West Lake are about an hour. Closer to town, the water village of Zhujiajiao, with its stone bridges and canal boats, is an hour by car. Visit in autumn for hairy crab season, when the whole city obsesses over the sweet roe. Shanghai is at once old and brand new, and it is happy to show you both sides.