A re-creation born out of the sprawls of Shikumen housing, which is the architectural symbol of Shanghai in the 20th century, Shanghai Xintiandi is an urban tourist attraction imbued with the city's historical and cultural legacies. Shanghai Xintiandi's Shikumen attraction was created by converting residential blocks into a multifunctional dining, retail and entertainment center flowing with restaurants, boutiques, cafes and bars of an international standard. The Shikumen buildings within Shanghai Xintiandi retain the antique walls, tiles and exterior of the Shikumen housing of old Shanghai, while the internal spaces have been designed and decorated to suit the up tempo lifestyle of the 21st century urbanites, with infinite details that exude the casual elegance of modern city living. Shanghai Xintiandi is where "yesterday meets tomorrow in Shanghai today."

The Bund refers to Shanghai's famous waterfront running along the west shore of the Huangpu River, forming the eastern boundary of old downtown Shanghai. Today it consists of a marvelous promenade, a perfect platform for strolling along the busy river. Just across the wide avenue that parallels the promenade is Shanghai's signature cityscape, a long wall of colonial-era European buildings erected by foreign governments, trading houses, and expatriate millionaires mostly during the prosperous and notorious 1920s and 1930s. On the other side of the river, casting the shadow of Shanghai's future over its colonial past, are the modern towers of the city's remarkable economic boom: the skyscrapers of the Pudong New Area that include some of Asia's and the world's tallest structures, the high-tech pagodas of the 21st century.