A few days bouncing between meetings in the big smoke provides an opportunity to absorb the city through new eyes, an exploration that included four nights in three hotels. Where to stay in Shanghai when you’re not crashing sofas? URBN maintains a feel-good vibe and once they eventually figure out the finer details of running a hotel it’ll probably trump out the Jia. But they’re not quite there yet. The Old House is well located for early morning walks but otherwise comes in a distant, distant, distant third.

Cheers to the Shanghai crew for pleasantries.