Shanghai, China -

o you've arrived in Shanghai: global headline generator and current darling of the lifestyle glossies. You took the Maglev from the airport. You've done the Bund, Jinmao and Xintiandi. There's the Oriental Pearl Tower, isn't it funny-looking. Now you're dutifully shuffling across Yu Yuan's zigzag bridge. People are pushing you. You can hear a voice in your head: "You know Shanghai's just a business city, right? Nothing much there for tourists." You are wondering if the voice is right.

Voyage is here to silence the voices (or one of them at least). Here's the lowdown on a high-octane weekend of alternative activities in Shanghai. Our itinerary takes in 20 or so hidden gems, with quirky facts and fantastic pit stops thrown in. Grab a map and hit the streets.

High Society
Start with some history on Maoming Nan Lu. On the corner of Huaihai Lu is the fabulous art deco Cathay cinema, worth a photo or two. A little further north along Maoming Nan Lu is the Okura Garden Hotel. Ignore the soaring tower and concentrate on the elegant lawn and stunning baroque facade. Built in 1926 as the Cercle Sportif Francais, the hotel later became a favoured retreat of Chairman Mao. The interior is equally splendid. Hop on the escalators and check out photos of past guests such as Fidel Castro.

Across the street is another historic hotel – the Jinjiang. During the 1950s, this and the Peace Hotel on the Bund were the only hotels permitted to host foreigners. Later, in 1972, Zhou Enlai and Richard Nixon signed the momentous Sino-US Shanghai communique here. The highlight of this courtyard complex though is the magnificent Cathay Mansions, built on swampland in 1928 by Victor Sassoon (another Peace Hotel connection). Go inside and sneak a peak.

Keep heading north on Maoming Nan Lu to the junction with Changle Lu, where you'll find the Lyceum Theatre. This wonderful 1920s throwback is where a young ballet student named Peggy Hookham danced while her expat father worked in Shanghai for a tobacco firm. She later returned with global fame and a new name – Dame Margot Fonteyn.

Bear left on Changle Lu and check out the traditional Tibetan rugs, carpets and antique furniture at Torana, then make your way to Xinle Lu for a cup of the finest Yunnan coffee in town at Boonna cafe, or a pint of good German beer at Oans Zwoa G'suffa. If shopping is your thing, Changle Lu's sassy boutique strip sits between Xiangyang Lu and Shaanxi Lu.

Zipping around the corner to the junction of Shaanxi Lu and Huaihai Lu, ignore the hustlers ushering you towards Xiangyang Market – that is so 2004 – and instead head down into the Metro. Going underground is a quintessential Shanghai experience. Amidst the advertising billboards, newspaper vendors, television screens showing ads (and occasionally Premiership football) and speed-texting adolescents, efficient and regular trains transport you around the city. A few minutes on the subway is a great insight into this fizzing metropolis going about its daily life. Trains are crowded, so like it or not you're going to get up close and personal with the locals.

You should emerge two stops later, after a whole lot of pushing and jostling, at People's Square station. Follow the signs to Nanjing Lu pedestrian street, wend your way around the redevelopment sites, then turn east through the neon until you hit the Bund. Everyone knows the history and octogenarian jazz band of the green-topped Peace Hotel, so instead clock the statue of Shanghai's liberator and first mayor, Chen Yi, across the street, then turn left and head north along the Bund.

Across the iron Garden Bridge, you'll encounter a true Shanghai icon. Standing beside the New York-esque Broadway Mansions and behind the Russian Consulate is the Astor House Hotel, the decadent playhouse of high-society 1920s Shanghai. Gloriously unmodernised, the lobby is a tantalising time warp, full of photos of famous guests like Charlie Chaplin, Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein. Close your eyes and immerse yourself in what was once the most luxurious hotel in the Far East (Room 8103 is reputedly the oldest existing hotel room in China).

You've covered a lot of ground today, but don't stop just yet. After dark, tiny Wujiang Lu, which snakes behind Shimen Yi Lu metro station, comes alive. Heaving with noodle bars, dumpling stands and kebab stalls, it's a great spot to watch after-work Shanghai refuelling. From here, head 100 metres west along Nanjing Lu until you get to a large gate opposite Westgate Mall. This opens into one of Shanghai's largest and most vibrant lane housing estates, filled with street vendors and bikes parked against front gates. The tightly packed lane houses are becoming popular with foreign owners, but for now this remains a precious and intriguing reminder of the days before Nanjing Lu's retail malls cast late afternoon shadows across the neighbourhood.

Finding Peace
Day two begins with a visit to the mesmerising Propaganda Poster Art Centre. This tiny basement museum houses hundreds of posters, paintings and artefacts used by the government to extol the virtues of communism to the masses. There are recurring themes, such as Mao's red book, but the exhibition features a surprising blend of colour and craft from a now-distant era.

Running with the historic theme, catch a cab to the absorbing CY Tung Maritime Museum in the leafy grounds of Jiaotong University, near the Xujiahui shopping district. The ground floor of this former dormitory block traces Shanghai's development as a maritime city and trading port; the upper deck concentrates on the life and times of one of the world's greatest shipping magnates, Shanghai-born CY Tung. A much-travelled friend of the rich and famous, Tung was also a philanthropist who set up several maritime academies to pass on his knowledge and experience.

From here, march across to the glittering new Ascendas Plaza at 333 Tianyaoqiao Lu. Tucked a little way back from Xujiahui's pounding pulse, this is a precious find for anyone who holds couture and creativity close to their heart. Six floors showcase clothes, jewellery, interior accessories and handicrafts by Shanghai's funkiest designers. Super-cool Lu Kun even has a collection here, at ground-floor Chic Folie.

Another 10 kuai taxi ride will deliver you to the Longhua Martyrs Memorial, which commemorates the young communists executed in April 1927 by the Kuomintang government. The memorial gardens feature scores of giant socialist-realist statues depicting heroic Communist struggles. Sadly, or perhaps blessedly, most visitors to Shanghai never make it here to take in the quiet ambience, beautifully manicured gardens and tragic history. Adjacent is Longhua Temple, the largest and most atmospheric Buddhist temple in Shanghai, featuring a 44-metre high pagoda, laughing Buddha, yellow-robed monks wandering around the courtyard and incense galore.

Your afternoon tea craving is starting to kick in now, so head back towards downtown. Leave Xintiandi to the laptop luvvies and stop instead at Yandang Lu, a quiet pedestrian street teeming with teashops and cafes, several of which offer shaded outdoor tables. Slurp your tea Shanghainese-style, then head down the street and check out the wafer-thin art deco building on the corner of Nanchang Lu. It's a gem.

From here, cross the street to Fuxing Park. One of Shanghai's oldest public parks, this is a subtly landscaped retreat from the city beat. Click your camera at the towering shoulder-to-shoulder statue of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the kind they just don't make any more. These two socialist strategists clearly enjoy the park's relaxed family ambience, disapproving surely of the consumer frenzy of nearby Huaihai Lu. Late afternoon also means tai chi in the park, so keep your eyes peeled for elderly slo-mo shadow fighters. Don't be surprised if you find people practising with real swords here.

Time's nearly up, but a quick visit to the Deke Erh Centre on bohemian Taikang Lu should round off the trip nicely. Shanghai native Deke has been photographing the city's classic architecture for two decades, and with historian Tess Johnston has published a series of beautifully shot, expertly narrated coffee table tomes (see Book Ahead, page X). A great souvenir for your trip, and further evidence that the voice in your head was wrong, wrong, wrong.