Shanghai

Mid-March to mid-May and late September to early December are the two best windows — mild temperatures, lower humidity, and comfortable walking weather for the Bund and the French Concession. October is the sweet spot of the autumn window. Avoid July and August if you can: hot, humid, and squarely in the East China typhoon season, when a passing storm can shut down outdoor plans and disrupt flights for a day. One calendar caveat — the first week of October is China's National Day Golden Week, when domestic crowds at Yu Garden, the Bund and Disneyland swell enormously and hotel rates spike, so either book far ahead or aim for the weeks on either side.

Shanghai has two airports. Pudong International (PVG), east of the city, handles almost all long-haul international arrivals — direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne (roughly 10-11 hours), Singapore (about 5.5 hours), Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and most major European hubs. Hongqiao (SHA), on the west side, is mainly domestic and connects to the rest of China. Onward to the southwest, there are frequent direct flights from Shanghai to Kunming (KMG, ~3.5 hours) and Chengdu (CTU, ~3 hours). Shanghai is also a hub of China's high-speed rail network — Hongqiao Railway Station runs HSR to Beijing in about 4.5 hours and across the eastern seaboard — though for the southwest, flying is the practical onward leg.

Citizens of many countries — including Australia, the UK, most of Europe, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea — currently benefit from China's visa-free entry policy, typically allowing stays of 15-30 days depending on passport. Check the current Chinese embassy or consulate website for your nationality before travelling, as these arrangements are updated periodically. Separately, Shanghai is a designated port for China's 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit policy, useful if you're arriving on an onward-bound ticket and entering through Pudong before continuing your journey.

As the eastern arrival bookend. Pudong (PVG) is the cleanest international gateway from Australia and Southeast Asia, so we routinely route clients in through Shanghai: land, spend two to four days shaking off the long flight — the Bund, the French Concession, Yu Garden, and a Disneyland day if there are kids — then take a short domestic flight or high-speed connection onward to Kunming or Chengdu to start the main southwest circuit. It works equally well as the departure bookend, with a day or two back in the city before the long flight home. Beijing and Shanghai are the two hubs that bracket a Boutique China trip — the imperial north and the river city — not side-trips from Yunnan, but the way in and the way out.