Let those snooty tourists have their air-conditioned tour buses. If you're looking for a city tour of Shanghai that affords you a unique (and exhilarating) perspective, look into , a tour company that speeds you around our fair city via motorcycle sidecar.
If you're thinking Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you're not far off, although it's really a lot less life-threatening than Sean Connery made it look in that movie, and with plenty of leg room to spare, it's actually quite comfortable. We recently took the "Historic Shanghai" tour, and it was one of the most fun things we've done in a long time. "Historic Shanghai" takes you along the Puxi back roads leading to the various Shanghai concessions before cruising the Bund and zipping all the way across the concrete jungle of Pudong. Then you cross the Huangpu River by ferry and then off to the less well-known streets of Old Shanghai -- all this without leaving the sidecar. The excursion lasts about 2-3 hours and definitely beats falling asleep to the drones of your stereotypical tour guides, or straining through crowds following a bouncing yellow flag.
With Shanghai Sideways, you get the opportunity to experience the sights, smells, and sounds of Shanghai that you would otherwise ignore or avoid. No matter how long you've lived here, you haven't seen this city until you see it from this point of view (seriously); there's nothing between you and Shanghai's uninhibited, gritty, and wildly-contrasting sights and neighborhoods. There are, however, several tour options, and if you prefer the modern to the historic, Shanghai Sideways also provides tours to several shopping markets, a "Changing Shanghai" tour (old, new, and, destroyed Shanghai), as well as night tours.
If you are just visiting Shanghai, and don't really know your way around, a guide will come and pick you up wherever you are staying to make it easy for you. Shanghai Sideways is an interesting and fun way to experience the city, no matter if you're just visiting or if you've lived here your whole life. And if you're visiting the capital, be sure to check out Beijing Sideways.
They also accommodate groups (of up to 20 people if notified before hand). Check out their webpage for more information: www.shanghaisideways.com.
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