China
Shanghai
The one Chinese city built to look outwards - a treaty-port waterfront on one bank, the country's tallest skyline on the other, and the eating to match.
Shanghai is China's biggest, richest and most outward-facing city, and it argues with itself along one river bend: the Bund's row of 1920s banks and hotels on the west bank, the Pudong skyline of Lujiazui staring back from the east. Behind the waterfront it is quieter and better than its skyline suggests: plane-tree streets and lane houses in the former French Concession, a classical garden in the walled old city, one of Asia's strongest museum and gallery scenes, and eating that runs from soup dumplings at a street window to some of the best restaurants on the continent.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
Mandarin Chinese
Currency
CNY
Timezone
UTC+8
Why you'll love Shanghai
The river the Bund's colonial banking row on one side and Lujiazui's towers on the other, best walked at dusk when both switch their lights on.
The Concession plane-tree streets, shikumen lane houses and 1930s villas laid out by the French, and now the best part of the city to simply walk.
Food soup dumplings and pan-fried shengjianbao from street windows, sweet-savoury Shanghainese home cooking, and hairy crab when autumn comes round.
Getting around the world's longest metro, air-conditioned and signed in English, which makes a city of this scale unexpectedly easy to handle.
Best time to visit
Mar-May, Oct-Nov
Peach blossom · 14-25° days
31.231° N, 121.470° E
UTC+8 · Asia/Shanghai
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Weather & when to go to Shanghai
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Mar-May, Oct-Nov
Conditions Jan-Feb Cold & damp · Mar Peach blossom · Apr Mild & pleasant · May Warm · Jun Plum rains · Jul Hot & humid · Aug Hot + typhoons · Sep Typhoon risk · Oct Mild & clear · Nov Cool & pleasant · Dec Cold
Watch for Jul-Oct typhoons risk
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Shanghai
June to August is the hard stop: humid heat, the plum rains through June and typhoon risk in late summer. Two other quirks worth planning around are the national holiday week at the start of October, when every sight is mobbed, and Lunar New Year, when much of Shanghai closes and empties as the city goes home.
Top things to do in Shanghai
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The Bund - the waterfront promenade and its banking row
history scenic 👍 PopularA mile of granite banks, trading houses and hotels thrown up by foreign firms between the 1900s and 1930s, now facing a raised riverside walkway. The bronze lions outside the old HSBC building and the clock tower of the Customs House are the landmarks. Go at dusk, then again early, when it belongs to tai chi rather than tour groups.
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Shanghai Tower and Lujiazui - up the tallest building in China
scenic 👍 PopularThree supertall towers stand within a block of each other in Pudong: the twisting Shanghai Tower, the bottle-opener World Financial Center and the pagoda-topped Jin Mao. The Tower's observation deck is the highest, reached by one of the fastest lifts in the world. Haze is common, so pick your day and go late for the lit-up city.
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Yu Garden and the old city bazaar - Ming rockeries and the zigzag bridge
history culture arts 👍 PopularA sixteenth-century scholar's garden of ponds, dragon walls and piled rockery, hidden inside the old walled Chinese city. The bazaar around it is a rebuilt, deeply commercial version of old Shanghai, but the Huxinting teahouse on its zigzag bridge is genuine and the dumpling queues nearby are worth joining.
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Former French Concession - lane houses, plane trees and Wukang Mansion
history culture arts food ⭐ Highly recommendedThe most rewarding walking in the city: quiet streets under plane trees, art deco apartment blocks, shikumen lanes with washing strung across them, and independent cafes, bars and boutiques. Wukang Road and the flatiron Wukang Mansion are the set piece; Anfu Road and Yongkang Road are where people actually spend the evening.
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Shanghai eating - xiaolongbao, shengjianbao and hairy crab
food ⭐ Highly recommendedBenbang cooking is sweeter and soy-darker than the rest of China: red-braised pork, drunken chicken, eels. The street classics are soup dumplings and thick-based pan-fried shengjianbao, eaten standing up. Autumn brings hairy crab from the lakes west of the city, steamed whole and eaten with vinegar and warm wine.
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Shanghai Museum - bronzes, ceramics and calligraphy on People's Square
culture arts historyThe country's best-presented general collection of Chinese art, arranged by medium rather than dynasty: ritual bronzes, jade, ceramics, seals, calligraphy and minority costume. Free, methodical and easy on a hot or wet afternoon. A second, much larger branch now runs in Pudong, so check which site holds what.
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Xintiandi and the First Congress site - shikumen rebuilt around a founding moment
history nightlife musicA block of lane houses stripped back and turned into a polished restaurant and bar quarter, which is either the smartest piece of heritage reuse in China or the most sanitised, depending on who you ask. In the middle stands the house where the Chinese Communist Party held its first congress in 1921, now a museum.
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Power Station of Art and the West Bund - contemporary art in an old power plant
culture artsChina's first state-run contemporary art museum occupies a former power station on the Expo riverfront, chimney intact. Downriver, the West Bund strings the Long Museum, the Yuz and a run of galleries along a converted industrial waterfront. M50 on Moganshan Road is the scrappier, older studio cluster.
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Tianzifang - craft shops and bars in a working lane maze
shopping culture artsA knot of narrow shikumen alleys off Taikang Road, filled with tiny galleries, studios, bars and souvenir shops, with residents still living overhead. Far more crowded and more touristed than it was, and best treated as a twenty-minute wander rather than a destination.
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Nanjing Road and Jing'an Temple - the shopping spine and a gilded temple
shopping culture artsNanjing Road runs from the Bund to People's Square as a pedestrianised commercial artery, then west past the malls of Jing'an. The temple itself sits among them behind a gold-roofed hall, incense smoke against glass towers, which is the single most Shanghai image in the city.
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Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum - Hongkou and the wartime ghetto
history off beaten pathShanghai took in thousands of Jewish refugees in the late 1930s when almost nowhere else would, and the Japanese later confined them to a designated area in Hongkou. The museum occupies the Ohel Moishe synagogue, and the surrounding lanes and Huoshan Park still carry the traces.
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Huangpu River ferry - the crossing locals actually use
scenic off beaten pathPublic ferries have run between the Bund side and Pudong for over a century and still do, carrying scooters and commuters across in a few minutes. Deck level, no commentary and none of the pageantry of the evening cruise boats, which is exactly the appeal.
Best areas to stay in Shanghai
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
The Bund and Huangpu
First-time visitors $$$Grand riverfront, historic and central
Explore hotels in The Bund and Huangpu →
Former French Concession
Food and wandering $$Leafy, low-rise, cafes and lane houses
Explore hotels in Former French Concession →
Jing'an
Easy and central $$Polished, central and mall-heavy
Explore hotels in Jing'an →
Lujiazui and Pudong
Skyline views $$$Towers, wide roads, hotel views
Explore hotels in Lujiazui and Pudong →
Xintiandi
Couples and dining $$$Restored lanes, smart bars and restaurants
Explore hotels in Xintiandi →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Shanghai
Getting to & around Shanghai
Getting there
Fly into PVG, then the maglev or metro line 2 into the centre; Hongqiao, closer to town, handles most domestic flights and the high-speed trains.
Flight
Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG)
About 30 km east of the centre across the Huangpu. The maglev covers the first stretch to Longyang Road in around eight minutes at up to 430 km/h, where you change to metro line 2; line 2 runs the whole way but takes over an hour. Taxis take about an hour, longer in traffic.
Flight
Shanghai Hongqiao Airport
The second airport, roughly 13 km west, handling most domestic routes plus short hops to Japan, Korea and Taiwan. On metro lines 2 and 10, and joined to the high-speed rail station.
Train
Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station
The high-speed hub: Suzhou in under half an hour, Hangzhou and Nanjing in about an hour or so, Beijing in around four and a half.
Train
Shanghai Railway Station
The older station north of the centre, still used by conventional and overnight sleeper services from around the country. On metro lines 1, 3 and 4.
Cruise
Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal
Large ships berth downriver at Baoshan, about an hour from the centre; smaller vessels use the Shanghai Port terminal on the North Bund.
Getting around
Metro
Twenty-odd lines, the longest network on earth, signed and announced in English. The fastest way anywhere. Most lines stop running around eleven at night.
TBC
Taxi and ride-hailing
Metered taxis are plentiful and Didi is the app locals use. Drivers rarely speak English, so carry your destination written in Chinese characters.
TBC
Ferry
Public boats cross the Huangpu between the Bund side and Pudong all day, taking scooters and commuters. A useful shortcut as well as a view.
TBC
Share bike
Bikes are parked on every corner and unlock through Alipay or WeChat. Flat and well laned, though the scooter traffic takes some nerve.
TBC
Walking
The Bund, the old city and the Concession all reward it, but districts are far apart. Walk within a neighbourhood, take the metro between them.
Free
Day trips from Shanghai
Suzhou
Full dayClassical gardens
The great garden city of the Yangtze delta, with the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lingering Garden among a handful listed by UNESCO. Add the canal-side lanes of Pingjiang Road, the pagoda on Tiger Hill and the silk museum. Close enough to make a relaxed day rather than a dash.
Getting there
train
25-30 min by high-speed train from Hongqiao
Hangzhou
Full dayLake and tea hills
West Lake is the landscape Chinese poets have been describing for a thousand years: causeways, willows, pagodas and hired boats. Behind it sit the Longjing tea terraces and the cliff carvings and halls of Lingyin Temple. Worth an overnight if you can spare it.
Getting there
train
About 1 hr by high-speed train
Zhujiajiao
Half dayCanal water town
The easiest water town to reach, a Ming and Qing canal settlement of stone bridges, boat traffic and lane markets, with the humpbacked Fangsheng Bridge at its centre. Touristed and best in the early morning, but it is a genuine old town and the metro puts it within reach of a morning.
Getting there
train | walk
About 1 hr on metro line 17
Wuzhen
1-2 daysCanal water town
The most thoroughly restored of the water towns, effectively run as an open-air museum, which purists dislike and most visitors enjoy. The Xizha half is the one to stay in: sleep inside the gates and you get the lit canals after the day crowds leave.
Getting there
bus | train | car
About 2 hr by coach or by train and taxi
Nanjing
Full dayMing capital
The southern capital, with the longest surviving city wall in the world, the Ming tombs and Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum on purple-forested hills, and the lantern-lit Confucius Temple quarter. The Massacre Memorial Hall is a hard but necessary counterweight. A long day, better as an overnight.
Getting there
train
About 1 hr 30 by high-speed train
A little history of Shanghai
Shanghai was a walled market and fishing town at the mouth of the Yangtze, unremarkable beside Suzhou and Hangzhou, until the treaty ending the First Opium War forced it open to foreign trade in 1842. Britain, then France and the United States, carved out concessions beside the Chinese city and ran them under their own laws. Money, cotton, opium and refugees poured in, and by the 1920s Shanghai was the busiest port in Asia and the most cosmopolitan city in the country: gangsters, jazz, publishing houses, and no visa required to land.
The Chinese Communist Party was founded here in 1921. Japanese forces fought their way in during 1937 and held the city until 1945; the concessions were wound up, and after 1949 the new government closed down everything Shanghai had been. It spent four decades as an industrial workhorse funding the rest of the country. That reversed in 1990, when the farmland across the river at Pudong was designated a development zone. The skyline everyone photographs is barely three decades old.
Shanghai is granted county status under the Yuan dynasty.
The Treaty of Nanking opens the port to foreign trade and residence.
The British and American areas merge into the International Settlement.
The Chinese Communist Party holds its first congress in a Concession lane house.
The Battle of Shanghai; Japanese occupation follows and lasts until 1945.
Communist forces take the city and the foreign era ends.
Pudong is declared a development zone and building begins across the river.
The World Expo reshapes both banks of the Huangpu.
Shanghai Tower opens as the tallest building in China.
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Limited
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type A / I
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+86
Typhoons risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
A China eSIM installs in minutes and works the moment you switch off flight mode. No SIM swap, no roaming bill.
FAQs about Shanghai
▸ When is the best time to visit Shanghai?
Spring and autumn. March to May and October to November are mild and the outdoor city works properly. Summer is humid and heavy, with plum rain in June and typhoon risk later. Winter is cold and damp rather than snowy, and older buildings are poorly heated.
▸ How many days do you need in Shanghai?
Three covers the Bund, Pudong, the old city, a museum and a long walk through the Concession. Five lets you add a day trip to Suzhou or a water town, a second gallery day, and an evening or two spent doing nothing much, which suits the city.
▸ Do I need cash in Shanghai?
Barely anyone uses it. Payment runs almost entirely through QR codes in Alipay and WeChat Pay, both of which now accept foreign cards. Set them up before you arrive. Carry a few notes as backup, since some small vendors will look blankly at a bank card.
▸ Will my usual apps work in Shanghai?
Many will not. Western search engines, social networks and some messaging apps are blocked, and app stores behave differently on a local network. Arrange a VPN, download offline maps and set up a translation app before landing, because installing them afterwards is much harder.
▸ Is Shanghai easy to get around without Chinese?
The metro is, since stations and announcements are bilingual and the signage is good. Taxis and small restaurants are harder: drivers rarely read English, so keep addresses in Chinese characters on your phone and use a translation app with a camera mode for menus.
▸ Shanghai or Beijing?
Different trips. Beijing is imperial and monumental, the place for the Forbidden City, the Wall and the weight of Chinese history. Shanghai is modern, commercial and outward-looking, better for eating, walking, galleries and nightlife. If you have the time, the train between them takes under five hours.
More in China
Beijing
Eight centuries of Chinese capital on one axis: the Forbidden City at its centre, the Great Wall along the ridgeline north.
✓ best Apr-May, Sep-OctXi'an
The eastern end of the Silk Road, capital to thirteen dynasties, and the city an emperor built a clay army to guard.
✓ best Mar-Oct