One leader of the makeover is Son Pham Quang, who runs some of Vietnam's trendiest restaurants, like the Club Opera in Hanoi and the Mandarin in Ho Chi Minh City.

CNN: Stops and Starts

While the Mandarin Oriental is often the most talked-about hotel in the city, the Four Seasons is slightly more central.

BBC: Honeymoons for urbanites

As Dodington speaks the Shanghai dialect with a Southern drawl and Lee chats in Mandarin with a Californian twist, Fu, too, has discovered the connection between his musical notes and the city that effortlessly blends East and West.

CNN: Americans fall for rising Shanghai