Shanghai
上海 · Shànghǎi
The Bund skyline, old lanes and easy day trips to canal towns.
3–4Days
Mar–May, Sep–NovBest time
92Foreigner-friendliness
Best for a first trip
Best time to visit
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
From the airport or station to the city
Where you land, the ways into the city centre, how long each takes and what it costs.
From Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG)
上海浦东国际机场
From Shanghai Hongqiao Airport (SHA)
上海虹桥国际机场
From Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station
上海虹桥站
Getting around
Shanghai’s metro is one of the largest in the world and reaches almost everything, including Disneyland and Zhujiajiao water town. Signs and announcements are in English. Pay with Alipay or WeChat transit codes. Taxis and DiDi are easy outside rush hour. The old French Concession is best on foot or by shared bike.
Book these before you fly
These sights need a reservation with your passport. Walk-ups are usually turned away.
- Shanghai Museum (People’s Square)Book a real-name ticket in the museum’s official WeChat mini-program; international visitors can use Trip.com. On-site sales are also available. Bring the original passport used for booking.
- Shanghai DisneylandDate-specific, real-name tickets tied to your passport. Buy on the official site or app, or through Trip.com.
- Shanghai Natural History MuseumBuy real-name tickets up to 7 days ahead on the museum’s official website or WeChat account. Foreign visitors book with, and bring, their passport.
- Shanghai Astronomy MuseumReal-name tickets only through the museum’s official WeChat account, website or mini-program, released 3 days ahead at 09:30. Book with your passport and bring it; no third-party sellers.
Top sights
外滩The BundThe riverside promenade of 1920s banks facing the Pudong skyline.
豫园Yu GardenA Ming dynasty classical garden of rockeries, ponds and pavilions in the old town.
上海博物馆（人民广场馆）Shanghai Museum (People’s Square)Until 14 November 2027 this building shows only a paid exhibition on the ancient civilisations of the Americas. The Chinese collection is at Shanghai Museum East.
上海博物馆东馆Shanghai Museum EastThe museum’s huge new building in Pudong, opened in 2024.
上海中心大厦Shanghai Tower observation deckChina’s tallest building, with an indoor deck on the 118th floor.
东方明珠广播电视塔Oriental Pearl TowerThe 1990s TV tower with pink spheres, a glass floor and a city history museum.
田子坊TianzifangA maze of shikumen lane houses turned into small shops, cafés and studios.
武康路Wukang Road and the former French ConcessionPlane-tree streets of 1920s–30s villas and apartment blocks, including the Wukang Mansion.
玉佛禅寺Jade Buddha TempleAn active Buddhist temple housing two Burmese jade Buddhas.
朱家角古镇Zhujiajiao water townA canal town of stone bridges and old houses, reachable by metro.
上海迪士尼乐园Shanghai DisneylandDisney’s park in Pudong, with the tallest Disney castle and a TRON coaster.
南京路步行街Nanjing Road Pedestrian StreetShanghai’s best-known shopping street, running from People’s Square towards the Bund, lined with department stores and neon.
新天地XintiandiRestored shikumen lane houses turned into a car-free quarter of restaurants, bars and shops.
静安寺Jing’an TempleA gilded Buddhist temple among the skyscrapers and malls of West Nanjing Road.
七宝古镇Qibao Old TownA small canal town inside the city, with a stone bridge, old lanes and a busy snack street.
上海当代艺术博物馆Power Station of ArtChina’s first state-run contemporary art museum, in a converted riverside power station and home of the Shanghai Biennale.
上海自然博物馆Shanghai Natural History MuseumA big modern museum of dinosaurs, animals and the natural world, in a spiral building in Jing’an Sculpture Park.
上海犹太难民纪念馆Shanghai Jewish Refugees MuseumThe Ohel Moshe Synagogue and exhibits telling how about 20,000 Jewish refugees found shelter in Shanghai’s Tilanqiao district in the 1930s and 40s.
龙美术馆（西岸馆）Long Museum West BundA private art museum in a former coal wharf on the Huangpu riverside, showing Chinese and international art under dramatic concrete vaults.
龙华寺Longhua TempleShanghai’s oldest and largest Buddhist temple, with a seven-storey brick pagoda standing in front of its gate.
张园ZhangyuanShanghai’s largest surviving block of shikumen stone-gate lane houses, restored into a walkable quarter of shops, cafés and exhibitions.
上海天文馆Shanghai Astronomy MuseumOne of the world’s largest astronomy museums, a curving building with a planetarium dome, far out in the Lingang new city.Map
What to eat here
小笼包XiaolongbaoSteamed soup dumplings. Bite a hole, sip the soup, then eat.生煎包Shengjian bunsPan-fried pork buns with a crisp base and hot soup inside.红烧肉Red-braised porkPork belly slow-braised in soy sauce and sugar.
葱油拌面Scallion oil noodlesThin noodles tossed in fried scallion oil and soy sauce.
大闸蟹Hairy crabSeasonal freshwater crab, best from October to December.
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Routes that include Shanghai
Good first tripBeijing → Xi'an → ShanghaiFirst trip classic: Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai in 10 daysThe Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army and the Bund, linked by fast trains. The route most first-timers should start with.
Good first tripBeijing → Xi'an → Chengdu → Guilin → ShanghaiChina highlights in 12 days: palaces, pandas and karst peaksThe classic five: Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guilin and Shanghai. Busy but doable with trains and two short flights.Good first tripShanghai → Suzhou → HangzhouShanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou in 7 daysA relaxed week in the Yangtze delta: a megacity, classical gardens, a water town and West Lake, all under an hour apart by train.Travel guides
How to take a taxi in China: DiDi, ranks, fares and scamsHail a cab or use DiDi, show your address in Chinese, insist on the meter, avoid airport touts and pay with Alipay or WeChat.
Using the metro in China: tickets, QR codes and bank cards (2026)Bag checks, single tickets, Alipay and WeChat ride codes, tapping a foreign bank card, English signs, rush hours and how each big city differs.
Domestic flights in China: booking, power banks, liquids (2026)Book with your passport, arrive early, and pack right: only 3C-marked power banks, no drinks through security, and plan for delays.Nearby cities
1–2 daysSuzhou苏州Classical gardens and canals, about 25 minutes from Shanghai by train.
2 daysHangzhou杭州West Lake, Longjing tea villages and a quick train from Shanghai.
2 daysNanjing南京A former capital with Ming city walls and the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.
2 daysHuangshan黄山Granite peaks above the clouds, with Huizhou villages nearby.