Need some time out from the chaos of the city? Then read on ...
One secret to surviving in this city of 16 million while retaining some semblance of sanity is knowing where to find its serene urban sanctuaries.
Some are simple coffee shops that have a certain air about them that lets you forget you're in the bustling metropolis, while others take you high enough above the urban sprawl to get a different perspective.
Some are cheap, others are pricey; some are in guide books, while others, perhaps, are only on this page. Whichever you choose, we hope our suggestions provide some respite from the urban chaos, even if only for an hour or two.
In the heart of the city is a pedestrian mall called Xintian Di . Hardly the place to go for serenity at night when the bar crowd moves in, Xintian Di can be fairly relaxing during the day, though it does tend to fill up with tourists.
This cool little strip one station south of the People's Square metro stop offers an excellent venue for hanging out in outdoor cafes, and chilling out in a moderately calm atmosphere. Even Starbucks, with its umbrella-filled sidewalk cafe and subdued colours, has a relaxed feel.
Two blocks south of the strip at 567 Huangpi Nan Lu (near Fuxing Lu) is a cool little restaurant and juice shop called Zentral that offers healthy dishes, fruit smoothies, a reading room with western books, several couches and a big-screen TV that seems to always be playing DVDs of the American sitcom Friends - if that doesn't relax you, we don't know what will.