Hi there.  Total newbie to this forum, just found out about it today actually.  

I came across it looking for some info on sauna's in Shanghai.  I will be visiting for the first time next week, arriving on the 19th.

Due to business arrangements I will be staying in Changing district, which seems to be a bit of a dead spot compared to some other areas.  This is my first time to China, and I speak zero Chinese.

Here is where I'm hoping you all could help me out.  I'm looking for two main things:

1) for the night I arrive, a massage with a happy ending, preferably very close to my hotel.  It's a 12 hr flight so this should be a real massage first with a happy ending as secondary. (Side note: is that something that would be available at the hotel spa, they advertise Chinese massage for around ~300, Thai for ~500 and oil massage for ~650.  What would you expect at those price points in a nice hotel? hotel is ~900/night)

2) A mid range to nicer sauna.  Soapy/nuru would be a requirement.  Small, young but legal spinners are my type. Preference would go to a place with some English speaking staff, but this would not be my first time negotiating through google translate and/or hand gestures. I've sent Jimmy an email a little while ago, so any other places would be great.

One place I am considering is Cesar's palace.  It looks a bit more expensive than what I was intending to spend, but if the quality is there I'm ok with digging a bit deeper into the wallet.  It does look to be the closest to my hotel, although others that are close to a subway stop may actually end up being more convenient.

In exchange for any help I'll post a report of where I end up going.

Thanks in advance.

One practical bit of advice, particularly relevant for Shanghai -

DO NOT GO WITH A TOUT.

Also widely reported here - touts in Shanghai will take you to some grubby hole where you may or may not get laid, and will receive a bill in the thousands of USD, backed by threats of violence.

Don't go with "students", pretty girls or anyone else wanting to go to a tea house to practice English with you.  You'll end up drinking "rare" teas costing hundreds per cup.  If they don't want to practice English in Starbucks then they have another motive.

Thank you for the reminder!  Both of those tips are something I know, but always good to have a reminder, especially in a situation where little head may do the thinking!

Are there any other scams that are particular to Shanghai? The practice English tea house is a good one.  I'm naturally fairly suspicious, that wouldn't fool me, but I'm thinking of more subtle scams.

Like in Rome, around Spanish Steps a well known scam is beggars offering thin red bracelets seemingly for free, then demanding cash, often somewhat violently. If you know the scam, you turn away from anyone with some string in their hands. But if you don't it seems pretty innocent.

I can't stand touts at all, so while they may be unavoidable they will definitely be ignored.

I've gone through and read anything about Shanghai up till a year ago, is it with going back further or have things changed too much? I've read a  bit further beyond but it seems like most of those places don't exist.

Finally, I am a bit confused as what to expect in the hotel massage.  Some of the saunas seem to be located in hotels (Bodi?)   Does an oil massage always include a happy ending or is it hit and miss in a business hotel?