The ongoing urban construction in the last two decades has expanded the city in all directions and now surrounds Fudan University with buildings and highways and the bustle of a modern city. Five main streets meet here and it is the commercial focal point of the immediate area, including restaurants, a movie theater, a post office and the peasant market. Adventuresome students with access to a bicycle can ride the same route as the bus, but must anticipate traffic rules such as streets which may be closed to bicycles at times. A bicycle can be faster than a bus, and can give you an entirely new vision of Shanghai, this amazing and diverse city. Taxis are easy to find as another form of transportation in the city.
Students also recommend the Shanghai conservatory student recitals on Sundays.
Fudan University's group trips give an excellent introduction to the city and are also recommended. One of the landmarks of the Bund, Shanghai's famous waterfront street, is the Peace Hotel which is a good information and jumping-off point for the rest of Shanghai. Students go to the Peace Hotel to purchase and develop film, cash a traveler's check, mail letters, get haircuts and purchase English language magazines. The United States has a spacious consulate on Huaihai Lu. The consulate officers want all North Americans to register with them early in their stay in case of unstable political developments.