Shanghai is a city of contrasts. You see it in the way people make their living. For some it is a tough daily grind, for others, it is life on a roll. Whatever their circumstances, their day’s work helps keep this sprawling metropolis moving at a steady clip, making it one of the world’s most exciting places to be. A labourer pulls a heavy load of construction debris through the streets. Family teams of husband and wife or father and son, are quite common.  In a noodle house, a man kneads dough by bouncing on a bamboo pole, showcasing the hand-made quality of noodle served. A delivery man making the rounds on his trusty tricycle, a hand on his mobile, perhaps expecting a chaser or a reroute. Riding the streets of Shanghai is even more precarious with a ladder on your shoulder, but someone needs a quick fix. In the early evening a jazz player entertains from a balcony on Nanjing Lu, a prelude to a night of nostalgia in old Shanghai.

Founded in 1882, the Jade Buddha Temple on Anyuan Lu houses a 2 m tall seated Buddha statue, and a smaller reclining Buddha of under 1 m long, each carved out of a single block of white jade and brought in from Burma by monk Huigen. There is also a recent addition by Singapore Buddhists – a marble reclining statue of around 4 m long, sometimes mistaken for the jade one by the uninitiated. With several buildings in the temple complex, you can spend hours viewing the collection of Buddhist sculptures, paintings, scriptures and other artifacts, and soaking in the quiescence of the temple grounds. Devotees and tourists wander the halls and open squares, some with hands in supplication or on their knees at the foot of statues, others burning joss sticks or dropping donations into the collection boxes which help upkeep the temple and fund charity work.  A vegetarian restaurant takes care of your more worldly needs. The temple entrance is to the left of the saffron yellow walled f...

Shanghai 1933 Old Millfun, is an imposing building down 10 Shajing Lu, in the historic Hongkou district. Architecturally described as art deco, perhaps for its geometric-pattern grating and period motifs on its facade, it looks more brutalist with its intimidating down-tapered columns and monolithic slabs, all left unfinished in raw concrete. There is a menacing air about its appearance, something befitting its past role as a killing machine.  Opened for business in 1933 as the city slaughterhouse, this grand old building has shed its dark side to become the home to fashion boutiques, bridal studios, fine restaurants and creative shops. It even hosts the Ferrari Owners’ Club of China, with a F1 car on display in the adjoining souvenir shop cum cafe.  An open-air four storey high atrium curves round the central meat-processing facility separating it from the rest of the block. Bathed in natural lighting this unique space is crisscrossed by narrow “air bridges” linking a ma...

Book lovers will find nirvana at the Xinhua Bookstore located in the Shanghai Shu Cheng (literally Shanghai Book City) on Fuzhou Lu. Spread over 8 floors it has all types of books including many hard to find art books. Practically everything Chinese is here, and there’s still room for a wide selection of foreign books and periodicals. The upper floors are cloud nine for CDs and DVDs covering arts and culture in addition to the usual mainstream stuff. Computer books, software, games and language-learning kits complete the offerings. The gems are behind glass in the side rooms and you have to ask for assistance. For tired feet and eyes, relax in the in-shop cafes and lounge areas. Located on the same street are many shops selling musical instruments from bamboo flutes to grand pianos. Further up and you’re in the civic district with its famed Shanghai Museum and shopping malls. Shanghai Shu Cheng on a wintry day. All your daily news and more under one book-shaped roof.

The spacious forecourt of the Da Cheng Hall. Located at Wenmiao Lu the Confucian Temple is dedicated to China’s most revered sage. Founded in 1296 during the Yuan Dynasty, the temple was relocated four times before finally settling at its present site where it was rebuilt in 1855. In 1999 it was restored to commemorate the 2,550th birthday of Confucius. Housing the Confucian Temple School, it was Shanghai’s premier centre of learning, and admission was via passing the county level imperial exams. Outside the main Da Cheng Hall stands a 1.8 m tall bronze statue of the sage. Inside is a seated Confucius carved from a huge camphor block and flanked by a drum and a bell set, said to be his favourite musical instruments. All around on the walls is the complete text of his Analects chiselled in bluestone. In ancient times public access was restricted to one sector of the sprawling complex, but today you can explore all the way to the inner sanctum with its lecture hall, library an...

Steaming hot breakfast in the front yard before the cars come in. While life on main street moves at hyperspeed and is always uber class, Shanghai still has a place for an older lifestyle that harks back to the days when only the basics will do. In the side streets and byways small businesses thrive providing affordable sustenance and services for the ordinary man. Pavement barber taps power for electric shears from a renovation site. A chair and a mirror, with the day's clippings swept up against the wall. Catching a meal on the run.

Take a seat. Join the conversation. Once the epicentre of intellectual buzz and meeting place for radicals like the League of Leftist Writers, Duolun Lu lost its mojo until it was turned into a pedestrian street cum cultural centre. Many buildings were restored and statues installed to pay homage to the luminaries of their time. There’s a rebirth of sorts, with visitors rediscovering their heritage as they stroll down the street, stopping to admire the historic buildings of varied architectural influences, or take snapshots posing with statues of literary celebrities. Other attractions include the old church, writers’ museums and the Duolun MOMA. Then round off with coffee at the Old Film Cafe to catch a screening of rare Chinese movies from the 1920s. Quintessential old style shophouses. Hongde Tang, church blending eastern and western architecture. Come sit with me. The Duolun Museum of Modern Art where the entrance is itself a work of art. The Ol...

Just taking a breather  Just off the streets lined with gleaming towers, another facet of Shanghai beckons the visitor with the offbeat taste. Here people live cheek by jowl, little touched by the lightspeed development sweeping across Shanghai and beyond. This hidden world, inspiring and beautiful to those with an artistic eye, is fast vanishing. Here today gone tomorrow, as the bulldozers enter, and another bit of old world charm is wiped off in the name of progress. Hopefully, the memories will linger on. Small and cramped but it's a start This old road warrior still has mileage to go A simple abode with bikeport for two

The Bund awash with light, perfect setting for romance. The historic Bund where the colonial powers first took a foothold in the old city and built a showpiece of power and glory on the bank of the Huangpu River. Their inroads created a cosmopolitan society hungry for all things foreign, especially western culture. Emerging from the Mao era, the Bund has been restored to its former splendour and more. At sundown, the promenade turns into the world’s largest dance floor with residents in their evening best strutting the Latin and waltzing the Viennese, weather permitting. On the opposite bank towering new edifices of capitalism line the promenade, a sharp contrast to the predominantly neoclassical architecture of the Bund. Dominating them are the futuristic Oriental Pearl Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Centre and the Jin Mao Tower, all beautifully bathed in light. While tourists cruise the river, landlubbers stroll the promenades under the bright city lights that give Shanghai ...

The signature globe facade of Metro City. Geeks and techies of all degrees will find nirvana in several giant pc malls in Shanghai, notably Bai Nao Hui behind Times Square Pudong, and Metro City. You can't miss Metro City because its building facade is a gargantuan geodesic sphere of steel and glass. Inside are five stories chockfull of desktops, laptops, game machines, mobile phones, software, books and more. And when you're drained after all the browsing and bargaining, simply recharge yourself at the restaurants and cafes, or the food court in the basement. For those when only an Apple will do, there is the premier Apple Store at the IFC Mall. Entry is via a spectacular glass cylindrical tower sited in the centre of the mall plaza facing the Oriental Pearl Tower. Its translucent spiral staircase takes you down into the underground showroom packed with Apple fanboys touch-screening and swooning over the latest i-gadgets. The upper half of the Apple Store glass ...

No gloves to lose . The Chinese are masters of invention. Think paper money and gunpowder. Not surprising that they have a novel solution to that darn nuisance of losing your gloves on a wintry morning. Just tape that hand warmer onto your handle bars. Any tubular object like the sleeves of a suitably lined throwaway jacket will do. In busy Shanghai there are more important things to occupy your mind than "where did I leave my gloves".