A city within a city

This week's column is by Online Editor Mike Pilewski.

Did you know that Shanghai was once a British colony? It was one of five Chinese ports given to Britain after the first Opium War in 1842. For 100 years, the colonial power developed the riverside district known as the Bund into a centre of international commerce. Many of the historic buildings from that period are still standing today, and they're a popular destination with tourists.

Our Travelogs booklet — which you get for free inside every issue of Spotlight magazine — invites us to discover British Shanghai in March. Jessica Mann takes us on a personal tour, from the old Customs House to the Bund Historical Museum, stopping for steamed dumplings along the way. Discover a city within a city, in a magazine within a magazine!

I have to wonder what the British who lived in Shanghai decades ago would have thought about the megacity that now surrounds the Bund. In the world of commerce, the Chinese have climbed to the top and beat the British at their own game.

Everything in Shanghai, in fact, now seems to be about being on top, as you'll discover in a moment. Come with me now on a little tour of the modern sights. Click on the picture below to get started.