Nanjing Road is China's premier shopping street and one of the world's busiest. The history of Nanjing Road can be traced back to 1851. At that time it was called "Park Lane," which comes from the area of the Bund to Henan Road. In 1854, it was extended to Zhejiang Road. In 2000, Nanjing Road was renovated to become a characteristic pedestrian street, which extends from Middle Henan Road to Middle Xizang Road. There are many Chinese traditional stores, including the famous Shanghai No.1 Department Store, Yong'an Department Store, Sincere Department Store and the New Department Store. Also on West Nanjing Road sit Shanghai's top business centers, such as Meilong Zhen (Westgate Mall Branch), Citic Square and Henglong Plaza.

Built in 1901, the 6-km-long Huaihai Road is located in the center of Shanghai. It is a trendy and fashionable street matched only by Paris' Champs Elysees, New York's Fifth Avenue and Tokyo's Ginza. Huaihai Road holds more than 400 stores, including many internationally renowned department stores such as Paris Spring, the Japanese Isetan and Parkson's.

Fuzhou Road is different from other streets in Shanghai. Before 1949, there were different kinds of buildings crowded on the street, including administrative institutes, bookstores, tea houses, restaurants, hotels and brothels. After 1949, especially in the 1990s, Fuzhou Road was gradually rebuilt into a unique cultural street with all kinds of book and stationery stores, including China Science and Technology Books Corporation, Shanghai Cultural Commercial Building, Foreign Language Bookstore, Classical Bookstore, Long March Surveying Instruments Store, and Shanghai Artistic Goods Shop.

Hengshan Road was built in 1892 and was once called Avenue Petain, a famous road in the French Concession. Hengshan Road was given its name in October 1943. Today, it is known for hosting some of Shanghai's most booming nightlife. Besides, it is also a leisure street with music stores, publishing houses and art galleries.

High culture

Besides the well-known Shanghai Museum, the city has also built many medium- and small-sized regional, personal and industrial museums. By the end of 2010, the number of museums in Shanghai will reach 150.

The Shanghai Museum is dedicated to ancient Chinese art. It was founded and first opened to the public in 1952 in the former horse-racing club at 325 West Nanjing Road. It later moved into the former Zhonghui Building at 16 South Henan Road. The Museum possesses a collection of 120,000 precious works of art, including ancient bronzes, paintings and sculptures.

Shanghai's History Museum is located on Hongqiao Road. It was opened in May 1984 and formerly known as the Shanghai Historical Relic Exhibition Hall. Today, it holds more then 30,000 cultural relics including ancient local cultural relics and more than 18,000 modern pieces, reflecting changes throughout the history of the city.

The Shanghai Natural History Museum was built in 1956. The museum houses a collection of 240,000 samples, including over 62,000 animal specimens, 135,000 plant specimens, 700 Stone Age relics and 1,700 mineral samples. There are also extinct and rare species which cannot be found elsewhere outside China, such as a Yellow River mammoth, a giant salamander, a giant panda and a Yangtze River alligator.