After Beijing and before heading out to the quieter Chinese countryside to do some walking, we wanted to spoil ourselves with the buzz and culture of Shanghai, one of Asia’s most rapidly-growing cities, so we booked into the Shangri-La hotel.

Friends had told us that Bangkok’s Shangri-La hotel was impressive and we wanted to try this renowned luxury hotel chain out for ourselves. As promised, we found the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel really well located in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, which is close to the airport. But the best thing was its knockout views of the city’s famous riverfront - the Bund.

The award-winning hotel has just finished adding 375 luxurious rooms and suites – ours was like a small palace where you could watch the ships sailing by from. The new tower has also added more cutting-edge restaurants and bars, as well as a great pool to float around in. The CHI spa is really exceptional and my partner and I had a very relaxing massage.

For food here, the Yi Café is great too – a series of 10 show kitchens with a fun and lively atmosphere. It’s like a food market with a vast amount of Asian and western cooking and you can even watch the chefs at work - the smells and the flames make you seriously hungry.

Outside, the Bund reveals the city’s colonial past and the architecture is great for photos or just gazing at. If you prefer looking at people, the riverside cafes here are brilliant for having a coffee or a beer and watching people from all over the world passing by.

If you like markets, Dongtai Lu Market has several floors of antique dealers that you can haggle with and there are so many characters to observe, from woman chatting to men playing cards. After dark, we headed to Xintiandi, which turned out to be the latest restaurant and bar area of the city to spring up. There is no traffic here and the restored old houses are interesting. It’s ideal for a last romantic supper before leaving town.