While Beijing has generally been the home of various Chinese dynasties and their seats in the Imperial Palace (AKA the Forbidden City), as well as having a huge political history, Shanghai has pretty much been where the money is. Before the Opium Wars and the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 (where China ceded Hong Kong to the British and gave them the right to trade and reside in five cities, one of which was Shanghai), Shanghai was just an isolated port town residing on the Yangtze River Delta. This very location, however, made it an ideal place to bring in trade of all kinds from the rest of the world, giving it the potential (which the brutal British saw) of being a major hub in world economics. After the British got in and began making enormous amounts of money, other countries wasted no time in following suit. Before long the French, Americans, Germans and Japanese had all taken parts of Shanghai for themselves and also began to accrue vast wealth at the expense of the Chinese people (who were employed to spin silk, mill grain, roll cigarettes and perform other forms of menial labour for the rich foreigners, often in pitiful conditions and for miniscule wages). The money kept coming in and in the 1930s Shanghai finally reached its decadent heights, with the city being described by Fortune magazine as "the fifth city of the Earth, the megalopolis of continental Asia, inheritor of ancient Baghdad, of pre-war Constantinople, of nineteenth century London, of twentieth century Manhattan". A city of so much money brings with it gangsters, drugs, warlords, brothels and spy rings all searching for their own way to use and abuse the "whore of the Orient" as Shanghai came to be known. Still it grew. Even through the second World War, Shanghai still found ways to prosper.

It was the cultural revolution under Mao Zedong that eventually did for Shanghai. The Red Guards, whose job it was to remove from China the presence of the Four Olds (old culture, old customs, old habits and old ways of thinking) completely destroyed Shanghai and with it all the corruption and wealth that had been accumulated over the years. By the 1970s the city as it was had completely disappeared.

So how has the city regained its status as a world economic power and the most cosmopolitan city in China? After the death of Chairman Mao, a less hardline government came into power, with Deng Xiaoping at its helm. He earmarked Shanghai as the great economic hope for China with a part of it (Pudong) given the status of special economic zone. The growth since then has been nothing short of staggering. In 1991 there were six buildings over 100 metres tall. By 2006 there were over 4,000 - more than the entire west coast of the USA! Shanghai now has regained most of its former glories as well as its talent for making money.

The city itself feels like it could be any other cosmopolitan place in the world; there are definite similarities to both London and New York, especially the skyline and the huge river running through it. The amount of westerners walking on the streets, eating in the restaurants and drinking in the bars is far greater than in Beijing and the Shanghainese themselves seem to have no problem joining in the fun - again in stark contrast to the Beijingers, who appear to regard fun as an illicit way to spend time.

The architecture also differs wildly from Beijing. Even though the Red Guard did their best to remove any trace of foreign influence from Shanghai, there are still areas where the buildings are all very European, particularly in the French Concession, where it's possible to see houses built in the art deco period of the 1920s and '30s. Even now, Shanghai is keen to embrace its cosmopolitan side, setting up "Thames Town" by the river, creating buildings in a very British style, including traditional British pubs selling a wide selection of ales, just like they do in Britain.

Traditionally over the new year the Chinese people will leave the city and travel out into the country where they were born or raised, to celebrate with their family (this is a lunar festival and so the Chinese New Year actually falls on a different day every year, much as Easter does). Since Hannah and I have no family in the Chinese countryside (if we do our parents have some serious explaining to do) we thought we'd experience life in a different place in China to see what the remaining city bound locals do to see in the new year - the Year of the Rat (there have been severe weather problems affecting China and so a lot more people than usual didn't make it out of the cities - surely they would want to do something to make up for this).

We began the festivities in our hotel bar, on the 40th floor. This gave us amazing views of the famous skyline as well as grandstand seats of all the illegal firework displays going on across the city. The locals are told beforehand by the police that setting off fireworks in the city centre is a criminal offence and punishments can be severe. Not a soul pays any attention to them and every man, woman, child and animal that has the ability to set off fireworks will do so, regardless of where they are in town. The effect of so many people setting off these pyrotechnics is phenomenal. All around us were flashes and bangs, making ear splitting noises and our eyes water with the variety of colours being thrown out from each miniature explosion. Everywhere we looked we'd see different streaks of light as locals, often crouched between two high rises, set off a volley of loud and brightly coloured sparks that showered the city. Naturally, the police did not bother to enforce the law at all. I assume they were too busy enjoying the spectacle.

After having become acquainted with three friendly Americans over probably far too many beers, we decided that we should get ourselves into the heart of the city for the start of the new year. The five of us piled into a taxi, completely ignoring the drivers rants and raves about there being too many people in his cab. We arrived on the Bund (a location on the river, facing the incredible skyline of Pudong - Bund is a Hindu term meaning embankment or artificial causeway, not a German term, as it is often mistaken for. It was actually named by the British, who came up with the name after having spent so long in India) to riotous celebrations and locals selling various different fireworks to any and all. Deciding to get in on the fun and ignoring the local laws, we all, with considerable amounts of Dutch courage, bought some sparklers (yes, we really went for it) and waved them frantically and giggled like small children on Guy Fawkes Night. Deciding that it was getting a bit cold (my feet were now two blocks of ice) we jumped in another taxi (again ignoring protests that there were too many of us) and demanded that the driver take us to an establishment that sells alcohol. How this was accomplished I don't know, since he didn't speak English and none of us spoke Mandarin. A lot of wild flailing about and drinking gestures, along with the evident smell of alcohol on our breaths must have got the message across. Soon enough were were speeding through the city to a bar that played a selection of western music and sold western beers and where all the clientele were western, making us all feel as though we weren't in China or Shanghai but perhaps in London. It was a surreal but good way to end the night.

The following morning brought with it a nasty hangover (to say the least) but a great excuse to abuse room service without guilt. After a necessarily greasy breakfast and half an hour with our heads submerged in ice cold water, we finally felt ready to take on Shanghai again. The centre of the city, where all the bright lights and places of interest are, can actually be navigated on foot without general need for taxi rides (unless, of course, there is more alcohol than blood flowing through major arteries). The ever changing building designs reflect the different influences that Shanghai has come under during its bizarre history. There are the huge skyscrapers, showing off to the smaller but still tall high rises by winking all sorts of neon lights at them. Chinese architecture suddenly appears around corners, with no warning, and then segues into very European and American styles around the very next corner. Here and there are dotted art deco buildings, remnants of Shanghai in its 1930s heyday, as well as traditional Shanghai living arrangements, known as Shikumen (these can be compared to the old Hutongs of Beijing, both in the way that they are being destroyed and the new developments and restorations that give a false impression of how they were. The same forced buy principle is being invoked so that newer and bigger tower blocks can be built and accommodate people in better conditions. Like Beijing, it's all part of creating and maintaining an image, although of what I'm not entirely sure). It makes you want to keep walking to look around the next corner, just in case there is something else you might be missing.

One thing we did notice was the lack of a dragon festival or similar parade that is seen so much on television when the Chinese are celebrating their new year. The only thing that got close to it was a huge inflatable rat in the middle of a section of Shanghai called "Old Town" that was positively packed with people. But they were too busy buying hot dogs and smoothies and shopping in the designers stores and talking on their mobile phones to really notice it.

The choice of restaurants is simply astonishing, with every possible taste catered for and more. Whilst the chefs aren't as recognised as those in London and New York, the food is certainly as good. We went to a Thai restaurant in the French Concession (further enhancing how strange the city is) and I gladly wolfed down some absolutely stunning soft shell crabs and spicy perch. Contrast that with an American style diner we found on our last day, where I ordered the kind of sandwich that you get in New York delicatessens - it needs to be squashed by a pneumatic press so that it can be successfully eaten. Beijing just cannot compete with Shanghai in the culinary stakes and I can only dream of getting food even half as good now I'm back.

Drinking establishments are also rife and it's possible to go for a drink in a British style pub or a continental type bar. We discovered a bar on the Bund called "New Heights" that provided spectacular views of the Pudong skyline in all its glory. This is the sort of bar that could easily charge people their legs to get into but the staff are friendly and the drinks are reasonably priced. If it were in London, New Heights would be so exclusive only movie and rock stars would get in, along with all their hangers-on and wannabes. In Shanghai even I got in without any problems (called "sir" in fact) and only once did we get the look over from some other westerners appraising us in a ridiculously pretentious manner that would be the norm were this place actually in London.

Maybe we loved Shanghai so much because it offered us a glimpse of western life that we haven't experienced for over four months now. It certainly didn't feel like you'd expect a Chinese city to feel, pretty much all locals apart from taxi drivers spoke English and there were way more westerners than there are in Beijing. The lifestyle in Shanghai is more western oriented as well and is in stark contrast to that of Beijing. Maybe we're getting a bit bored of Beijing and that's why Shanghai, as different as it is, gave us what we needed. Maybe that little visit will encourage us to search for different places in Beijing to eat and drink at. Maybe it has given us the break we needed, just enough of a reminder of the life we've left behind and now we can go back, refreshed, to our life in Beijing.