As troublesome as Beijing is, Shanghai is a completely tourist friendly city, and you don't even need to sign up for any tours! My friend and I brought a Shanghai tourist book and managed to self-navigate around the entire city through the subway system.
Here is something I did notice though in Shanghai: if you want to save money, forget about it. In Shanghai, the taxis start at 14 yuan, more than double that of Xi'an, and 4 more than Beijing. I understand that it's the most populated city in China, but still? That's a lot! A taxi ride might as well cost as much it does in America at that rate. Food is equally expensive. People in Shanghai know that it's filled with foreigners, and if you go to any sort of decent quality restaurant, it's going to cost a bit more money than in any other part of mainland China.
The other thing that I noticed is that Shanghai is that the sun is almost unbearably hot. And not that I mean that in a bad way. All of China is unbearably hot in the summer. However, Shanghai's sun is intense. I went to take my shoes off after a long day of adventuring and I was shocked because I had an entire spider web design on my feet (where my skin was exposed) and became tan. Make sure to bring sun screen with you if you want to avoid one of these surprises.
Finally, Shanghai is just so relaxing. It's truly a city where you can do anything you want. Whether you want to relax on the Bund or People's Park, go shopping on Nanjing Dong Lu, enjoy a cup of tea/coffee, or get some drinks in a club or a bar, it's the city with everything.
But beware, if you go during Chinese Valentine's Day on August 6 (like me), you might have to stop yourself from retching at the matching t-shirts all the couples wear, especially when they are staring soulfully into each other's eyes on the subway. Just kidding. It's really cute, but really! The Chinese take relationships to an entirely new level. I would probably be afraid to wear the same clothes as my boyfriend out in public.
That said, I hope you guys enjoy your trips to Shanghai! I know I certainly did. After visiting, I really thought that if I could get a job as a writer in Shanghai, I would most definitely take it (if it was only up to 2 years). On a Western salary, one could live really well over there and in a completely high-tech and modern environment.
