🇳🇱 Amsterdam → 🇨🇳 Shanghai · 1 week

Walk the Bund at 10pm rather than at sunset — the tourist crush has cleared, the Pudong towers are fully lit, and the reflection on the Huangpu River is at its most dramatic. Cross to the Pudong side via the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (kitsch) or the pedestrian ferry (¥2, authentic).

Hire a local guide for a 2-hour longtang walk through the Jing'an or Luwan district backstreets — these compressed alley neighbourhoods are Shanghai's true social fabric and disappearing fast. Untour Shanghai runs excellent small-group walks for around ¥250.

Eat a shengjianbao (pan-fried pork soup dumpling) breakfast at Yang's Fry Dumplings (小杨生煎) on Wujiang Road — four dumplings for ¥9, eaten standing up, ideally before 9am when they're fresh from the pan. The trick is to bite a small hole and let the scalding soup cool before eating.

West Bund Art District on a Saturday afternoon has eight major museums within walking distance — the Long Museum, Tank Shanghai, and Yuz Museum are the picks. The area along the Huangpu riverfront was an industrial zone a decade ago and is now one of Asia's best cultural corridors.