We just spent 3 days in Shanghai for a trade show and also made a quick tour of the city. I had visited there once before, 8 years ago, and I can safely say that I still dislike that city as much now as I did then. It's quite a large, bland, soul-less city. The inhabitants come from all over China, from all walks of life - and it's crowded. Need I say more about these people? Vehicle drivers in Shanghai are far more insane and deadly than probably anywhere else I've travelled.
Despite a couple valiant efforts, we were unable to make use of the underground train system which was not completed when I had first visited. There are no maps in the public areas of the station to help plan your journey, and if you are looking for anything written in English, forget it. Taxis and walking would get us where we needed to go anyway so that's what we eventually did.
The new Maglev train to the city from the airport was super fast, 431 Kilometres per hour at it's fastest point. The ride lasted only about as long as a ride at Disneyland, which was disappointing in a way.
With time running short we visited the standard touristy places such as the Bund, Nanjing Road, People's Square, Antiques market, Yuyuan Garden, and then headed back by Maglev to the airport back home.
In a word, Shanghai was boring. If I never go back there it will be too soon.
