The First Temple – The area surrounding this temple was recently renovated (surprise, surprise). There is now a large touristy area designed in the style of the original temple. Out of one of these structures will pour half a dozen people in Mickey Mouse costumes. Their presence will be unexplained. While gawking at the Mickey Mice(?), a middle-aged Chinese man will approach you and begin to explain about the recent development of this part of the city. After a bit more conversation, you will ask him what he does for work. He will show you. He will lead you to a tourist friendly area right next to the temple where he owns a pearl shop. There, you will learn about pearl farming. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. 
At the temple itself, you will be surprised by the number of people there. Several will be Japanese tourists. They will have nice cameras and say “Eeh!?” in unison. Despite the cold weather, there will be a mass of people standing in an enormous line for a taste of the (alleged) best dumplings in the world. Shanghai is famous for dumplings (earlier that morning you will be convinced of this when you have amazing dumplings at a place around the corner from your friend’s apartment – a dollar for eight, btw), and these are supposed to be the best in Shanghai. If the length of the line is any indication, they may very well be. But you will not wait in this line. You will have better things to do than stand in line all day, waiting for dumplings. 
The Second Temple – going to this temple will be entirely uneventful. It will be cold, and you will not linger.
The Fabric Market – a three-story indoor market jam-packed with tailors. You will be looking for someone to make a suit for you, but will soon be overwhelmed. Almost all the shops will make suits, and all will look virtually the same. You will be looking for the best tailor at the lowest price, but you will realize that you know almost nothing about tailoring. So, you will judge the merits of each shop based on arbitrary criteria. How sure of him/herself is the salesperson? Is he/she desperate? How busy is the shop? How do those seams look? Your friend will become impatient with your indecision. Don’t worry. He’ll calm down soon enough. After much wandering around a labyrinth of hanging garments and pushy tailors, you will find someone who looks like they can do a good job – based on arbitrary criteria.
Fake Markets – The main attraction. There are several of these around the city. They range from somewhat tame to totally crazy. The craziest might be called “Chi Pu Lu,” you can’t remember. Picture a giant three-story shopping mall with narrow, labyrinth hallways overflowing with vendors. They pack the stores in like sardines. Thing is, most of them all get their wares from the same few factories, so they all have similar (if not the exact same stuff). Some combination of Spyder jackets, Rolex watches, Pink shirts and ties, Armani shirts and suits, and bootleg NDS games. There is little variation.
Are you white? You must have money. Prepare to be followed around by guys working on commission for getting foreigners into stores. These guys will not – absolutely not – leave you alone. They are like angry bees – they will follow you until you have left the hive, and put about a quarter mile between you and it. If you weren’t at all interested in buying, you wouldn’t be there, right?
Not only will people follow you around, every vendor you pass will try to yell encouragment to get you into their store. Once you stop walking to actually take a look at what they’re selling, they don’t leave you alone. Here’s a sample interaction – abbreviated for your sanity. You’re browsing. A pushy sales girl comes at you with an item you don’t really want but maybe could be persuaded to buy. She says its normally $25, but she’ll give it to you for $20. You must look like a nice guy – or a sucker. You say no thanks, you’re just looking. She lowers the price to $17. You repeat. She asks you to name your price – hands you the calculator (all numbers are punched into a calculator – never spoken). You type in $7 – you don’t even really want this thing. She calls you crazy – tells you to be serious. You take the calculator back – type in $7 again. She goes down to $13. You say no thanks. She starts getting upset. Goes to $9 – final offer. You walk away. She chases you – gives you your price. You give up. She gives up. You didn’t even want this thing and now you’re spending five bucks on it. She’s upset because she really wanted to sell it to you for $20 or at least $13. A good compromise leaves everyone angry.
All the vendors speak English, but during some of the fiercer negotiations, it helps to have a friend who speaks Chinese. Once your friend starts speaking Chinese to them, they became much more willing to lower their prices. “You get a discount because your friend speaks Chinese,” they will say. You could spend all day arguing with these people.
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