A handpicked selection of experiences endorsed by our experts. If you can’t see what you’re looking for, let us know, as our extensive network of local contacts can open many doors.
Visit 1933 Shanghai, a gigantic Art Deco-era slaughterhouse repurposed into a thriving cultural center and one of 2010’s hottest spots.
Wander around the tiny arts and crafts enclave of Taikang Lu in the French Concession area. This neighborhood of labyrinthine alleyways has shikumen housing small craft stores, coffee shops, and art studios. Walk down Tianzi Fang, a narrow street with the most interesting establishments.
Take a guided walk along Shanghai's landmark waterfront, The Bund, a vestige of the city's capitalist days in the first half of the 20th century. As you walk past its 52 buildings over a one mile stretch, you will see the new China in the highly modern architecture of Pudong across the Huangpo River.
With your expert guide, get a taste of Shanghai's commercial, Jazz-Age heyday while strolling the tree-shaded streets of the French Concession. Administered by the French from 1849 to 1943, much of the original colonial architecture is present and the wrought iron gates in front of the old houses are very reminiscent of Paris.
Remote Lands’ friend, an urban planning expert-cum-Shanghai historian, can provide a highly specialized tour with fascinating insight into the city’s development over the past 150 years.
With Remote Lands’ specialist expert guide, go on a private tour of into the little-known history of Jews in Shanghai. Drive to Hongkou District, an area where Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust settled in the 1940s, as well as other important sites in the city. Jews have long been in Asia and the first Jews to arrive in Shanghai, among them the wealthy Sassoon family, came from Iraq via India in the 1840s. The Sassoons were instrumental in transforming this formerly sleepy town on the Huangpu River into the “Pearl of the Orient.”
Peruse the galleries in the Moganshan Lu warehouse district, also known as M50, with an expert in contemporary Chinese art, who will give you a private tour of the top galleries and studios where you will meet renowned curators and artists.
For the adventurous, get a thrilling street-level view – literally – of today’s Shanghai from the vantage point of a speeding motorcycle sidecar tour.
With a contemporary art expert, explore the new Rock Bund Art Museum, which opened in May 2010 with an exhibit by the celebrated Cai Guo-Qiang and is the centerpiece of a vast urban renewal effort.
Explore the Shanghai Museum, which contains one of the world’s finest collections of Chinese art and antiquities. The current museum, opened in 1995 although it was established in 1952, is designed in the shape of a Shang Dynasty bronze cooking vessel, symbolizing “a round heaven and a square earth.” The museum contains one of the world’s finest collections of Chinese art and antiquities, spanning 5,000 years from China's Neolithic Period to the Qing Dynasty.
Experience the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. Housed in a striking, modern five-story building made of microlite glass, this is one of the world’s largest showcases of urban development and renewal. Its highlight is an vast scale model of urban Shanghai as it will look in 2020, providing visitors a first-hand glimpse of projects currently under construction.
Take a private tai chi lesson in the Yu Gardens.
Visit the Yu Gardens, the most celebrated classical Chinese gardens in Shanghai. The gardens capture the essence of southern Chinese landscape design from the Ming and Qing dynasties and are characterized by an exquisite layout, beautiful scenery, and artistic architecture.
Explore in-depth information, experiences and highlights by navigating to specific regions using the links below on the right.
With Remote Lands you'll travel with people who have made Asia the solitary focus of their own lifelong adventure. As our guest, you'll discover Asia on a journey that is completely, authentically your own, adapted from our own remarkable experiences and adventures over the years.
With Remote Lands you'll travel with people who have made Asia the solitary focus of their own lifelong adventure. As our guest, in the continent that our north American founders Catherine and Jay have adored and explored for decades, you'll discover Asia on a journey that is completely, authentically your own, adapted from our own remarkable experiences and adventures over the years.
Multi-Country Specialists
Remote Lands
Choose somewhere you’d like to visit, something you’re interested in, and when you’re planning to travel and we’ll suggest sample itineraries to inspire your bespoke journey.
An Asia-focused magazine brought to you by Remote Lands – a platform for adventure, luxury, and authenticity from experts and explorers around the continent.
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Here is a small selection of the kind words our guests have said about us, as well as features by journalists and travel writers.
From the moment I happened upon the REMOTE LANDS website over a year ago, browsed the options, I knew that this would be well worth it. The entire staff is nothing less than professional with service that made us feel like royals.
This was truly the trip of a lifetime. Magical destinations, the most luxurious hotels in the world, and the most wonderful travel companions we could’ve wished for. We were treated like family everywhere we went and we have 14 new best friends.
We have used some of the top rated travel specialists all over the world and, without question, Catherine Heald and Remote Lands are at the very top of the list!
