shanghai

shanghai is china on easy mode, in the best way. the metro is great, english is more common, the cafe scene is unhinged (affectionate), and every corner of the former french concession looks like a film set. it’s also the easiest place to land if this is your first time in china (here’s what our first 48 hours in china actually looked like).

here’s how long to stay, where to base yourself, what’s worth your time, and what to eat.

shanghai quick facts

how many days in shanghai?

• 2 days: bund + lujiazui, french concession + yu garden. doable.
• 3 days (the move): add wukang road / anfu road at a slower pace, a museum, and a proper food night.
• 4–5 days: add a day trip to suzhou (gardens, 30 min by train), hangzhou (west lake, about 1 hr), or a water town like zhujiajiao.

where to stay in shanghai (by neighborhood)

our pick: jing’an or the french concession, close to lines 1, 2, 7 or 10. you’re 15 minutes from the bund but you get to come home to tree-lined streets and cafes. still deciding? our shanghai neighborhoods guide goes area by area.

what to do in shanghai

the bund (waitan)

the 1.5km riverfront promenade lined with 1920s–30s banks and trading houses, staring across the huangpu at pudong’s skyline. it’s free and open all the time.

• go twice: once at sunrise (empty, joggers, tai chi) and once after dark when the skyline lights up.
• the lights usually go off around 10pm (earlier on some nights), so don’t show up at 10:30 expecting the photo.
• walk north toward the waibaidu bridge for the less crowded end.

the night huangpu river cruise (about 40–60 min) is the most shanghai thing you can do. the bund on one side, lujiazui on the other, all lit up.

former french concession

this is the shanghai people fall in love with: plane trees, art deco apartments, lane houses (shikumen), and cafes everywhere. there’s no ticket and no route. just walk.

• wukang road: the most photogenic street in the city. it starts at wukang mansion, the flatiron-shaped 1920s building at the huaihai road junction. it gets huge crowds (around 40,000 people a day), so go early morning.
• anfu road: boutiques, small theaters and the coolest coffee spots. connects to wukang road.
• ferguson lane (wukang road 376): a courtyard of cafes and restaurants.
• xintiandi: restored shikumen lanes, polished and pricey. nice at night.
• tianzifang: maze-like lanes of shops. touristy but fun.

this is where you rent a shared bike (through alipay) and cruise for an afternoon. honestly, that’s the city at its best.

yu garden (yuyuan) and the old city

a classical ming-dynasty garden with rockeries, ponds, pavilions and the zigzag bridge outside. the garden is lovely. the bazaar around it is very touristy but fun for snacks.

• around $6 entry. closed mondays (except major holidays) as of late 2026, with last entry around 4pm.
• go at opening to beat the tour groups.
• the bazaar lanterns at night are great for photos.

lujiazui (pudong skyline)

the skyscraper cluster across the river: the oriental pearl tower, the shanghai world financial center (the “bottle opener”), and the shanghai tower, which has one of the highest observation decks in the world.

• shanghai tower deck is around $25 at the door, usually cheaper booked online.
• go at sunset to see it day, golden hour and night in one go.
• the elevated walkway loops between the towers if you want ground-level views.

a few more worth your time

• shanghai museum (people’s square): bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy. free but book ahead with your passport.
• jing’an temple: golden temple roofs in the middle of skyscrapers.
• m50 / west bund: galleries and riverside art spaces, plus the long museum and yuz museum.
• east nanjing road: neon, crowds, a classic walk to the bund at night.

what to eat in shanghai

• xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). bite a small hole, sip the soup, then eat. jia jia tang bao is a local classic. din tai fung is the polished option. how they’re related to jiaozi and wontons is in our dumpling family tree.
• shengjian bao. pan-fried soup buns with crispy bottoms. yang’s dumplings is the chain everyone knows.
• hongshao rou. red-braised pork belly, sweet and sticky. the shanghai dish.
• scallion oil noodles (cong you ban mian). simple and perfect. breakfast of champions. see where they fit in the china noodle atlas.
• hairy crab in autumn (october–november) if you want the seasonal splurge.
• cafes. shanghai has more coffee shops than almost any city in the world. go wild.

first night in town? a food tour is a lowkey great way to learn what to order for the rest of your trip. and our chinese food guide covers the regional stuff.

getting around shanghai

• metro: one of the biggest in the world, with english everywhere. scan your alipay transit qr code at the gates. most rides are around $0.50–1.
• didi: works in english through alipay. cheap and easy for late nights.
• shared bikes: perfect for the french concession.
• walking: the bund to people’s square is a nice 20-minute walk down east nanjing road.

sort out your payments first: alipay & wechat pay. and if you want google maps and instagram to work on arrival, read internet in china.

getting in and out of shanghai

from pudong airport (pvg)

• maglev: about $7.50 one way, or $6 with a same-day boarding pass. it hits 300km/h and gets you to longyang road in about 8 minutes. runs roughly 6:45am–9:40pm. at longyang road, change to metro line 2 or 7.
• metro line 2: goes straight into the center. slow (about an hour+) but cheap.
• taxi / didi: around $20–35 to puxi depending on where you’re going, 45–75 min.

from hongqiao airport (sha)

metro lines 2 and 10 run right from terminal 2. hongqiao railway station is next door, so you can land and hop on a bullet train.

by train

shanghai hongqiao is the big high-speed hub:

• shanghai → suzhou: around 25–30 minutes.
• shanghai → hangzhou: around 1 hour.
• shanghai → beijing: around 4.5–5.5 hours. (picking just one? beijing vs shanghai settles it.)

full breakdown in the china train guide.

day trips from shanghai

• suzhou: classical gardens (the humble administrator’s garden is the big one) and canals. 30 min by train.
• hangzhou: west lake, tea fields at longjing. about an hour.
• zhujiajiao or wuzhen: water towns with stone bridges and canal boats. zhujiajiao is reachable by metro line 17.
• shanghai disney: if that’s your thing. book tickets ahead.

shanghai insider tips

• go to wukang mansion before 9am. after that it’s wall-to-wall phone cameras.
• museums want passport bookings even when they’re free. book a day or two ahead.
• rain gear from june to september. the plum rains plus typhoon season are no joke.
• use the airport link line if you need to go between pudong and hongqiao. it opened recently and saves a long crosstown ride. check the current timetable before you count on it.
• don’t follow strangers to a “tea ceremony” on east nanjing road. it’s the classic scam. polite no, keep walking.

the vibe check

shanghai is the friendliest landing pad in china. stay in jing’an or the french concession, walk the bund at night, get lost on wukang road in the morning, and eat soup dumplings at least twice a day. three days is perfect, four if you add suzhou. it’s a city you’ll want to come back to, no cap.

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