Two banks, ninety years apart
Here the ticket is rarely the decision — the clock is. The skyline you came for is free from the Bund and lit only inside a window that moves two hours between summer and winter; the best museum costs nothing; and the one thing everyone pays for buys a view that does not include the towers. Here is where each of our Shanghai guides fits.
China for TravelersFacts re-verified against operator sources, 2026-09
The number that catches people here is never the fare, it is the SECOND time an operator publishes. The Shanghai Tower runs to 22:00 but stops admitting at 21:30; Yu Garden clears at 16:30 and stops admitting at 16:00; the museum’s People’s Square building shuts at 17:00 and stops admitting at 15:00, two hours earlier. Read the cutoff, not the closing time.
First time here?
Shanghai orients itself on the Huangpu. The west bank is the old city — the Bund’s banking houses, the Old City around Yu Garden, and the plane-shaded streets of the former French Concession behind them. The east bank is Pudong, which was farmland in 1990 and is now the skyline on the postcard. ⭐ You look at Pudong from Puxi, and the crossing that does it best is a ¥2 commuter ferry rather than anything sold as a cruise.
1-2 h · Free
A row of 1920s banking houses on one bank facing a skyline that did not exist in 1990 on the other. Free and open at any hour — but only worth walking inside the lit window, which is 19:00–23:00 in summer and 17:00–21:00 in winter.
Time it for the season
1.5-2.5 h · ¥180
Three towers, three decks, and you want ONE. ⭐ The catch nobody writes down: from up there you are standing IN the skyline, so the photograph everyone actually wants is taken from the Bund, across the water, for nothing.
Pick one tower
2-4 h · Free
The best collection of Chinese bronzes and ceramics anywhere, and since 2024 it is in the EAST building in Pudong — free, walk-in, closed Tuesdays. ⛔ The old People's Square building is a different proposition now: one paid exhibition and nothing else.
Go east, not to the squareHow long
Shanghai runs out of first-visit sights faster than its size suggests, and it sits inside an hour of two cities that do not — so the honest answer to “how many days” is three here plus a day out, not five here. Everything below assumes you are sleeping west of the river.
Day 1
The Bund and the river. Walk the promenade in daylight, cross on the ¥2 public ferry rather than a cruise, and come back to the west bank for the lights — 19:00 in summer, 17:00 in winter, and only part of the display runs on an ordinary weekday.
Day 2
Shanghai Museum East in the morning — free, walk-in, 10:00–18:00 and in by 17:00, closed Tuesdays — then one observation deck in the afternoon. ⛔ Not two; the view is the same city from all of them.
Day 3
Yu Garden at 09:00 before the bazaar fills, then walk west into the former French Concession and give it the whole afternoon. That is the day most people say they wish they had made longer.
Want it written up properly for your dates? We build free custom itineraries →
Where to sleep
The river is the only geography that matters here. West of it you walk to almost everything; east of it you get the room with the view and a metro ride to the rest. ⛔ The trap is buying the skyline room and then spending the evenings crossing back to look at it.
| Area | Right for | To the Bund | What it buys you |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bund side (Huangpu) | A first trip | You are there | Walk to the promenade, the Old City and Nanjing Road. The lit window is a five-minute decision instead of a journey, which on this trip is the thing that matters most. |
| Pudong / Lujiazui | A skyline-view room | ~20–25 min | ⚠️ You are paying for a view of the towers while standing among them. The photograph you want is from the other bank — so this is the right base for the room, not for the walking. |
| Former French Concession | A second visit, or a slow one | ~35–40 min | Boutique hotels on plane-shaded streets, the best eating in the city on your doorstep, and the furthest from the sights a first-timer came for. |
| Hongqiao | A night between trains | ~50–55 min | Attached to the high-speed station and the domestic airport. Worth it only if the schedule rules the trip; there is nothing here you came to see. |
The full comparison, with named chains and what each block actually costs, is in where to stay in Shanghai →
Everything we have
Sights carry our verdict — must see, worth it, or skip if you are tight — and each group is ordered by it rather than alphabetically. Transport and practical pages do not: “must see” answers whether to go somewhere, and a railway station has no such question.
The BundMust seeCosts nothing and is worth nothing outside the lit window — 19:00–23:00 in summer against 17:00–21:00 in winter. ⭐ The ¥2 public ferry crosses the river the sightseeing boats charge a hundred times more for.
The former French ConcessionMust seeKilometres of plane-shaded 1920s streets you simply walk, and the thing that most surprises people who came for the skyline. ⛔ Tianzifang is the most crowded and least representative corner of it.
The art districtsSkip if tightFree to walk into, quiet on a weekday, and the reliable wet-afternoon answer. ⚠️ PSA opens at 11:00 — the latest major venue in the city — and closes 19:00; ticketed shows from about ¥60.Shanghai MuseumMust seeFree and walk-in at EAST (10:00–18:00, in by 17:00, closed Tuesdays), which is where the collection went in 2024. ⛔ People's Square is one PAID exhibition until 14 November 2027, capped at 8,000 a day.The observation decksWorth it¥180 standard and ¥190 in summer for the Shanghai Tower, ¥160 for the Oriental Pearl — pick ONE. ⚠️ It runs to 22:00 but stops admitting at 21:30, which is not the same thing.
Yu GardenWorth itTwo different things share one name: the ticketed Ming garden (¥40 peak, ¥30 low) and the free bazaar wrapped around it, which is what most photographs show. ⛔ 09:00–16:30, in by 16:00, closed every Monday.
Jing'an TempleWorth itGold-leafed halls against a wall of glass towers, ¥50 with three incense sticks included, 07:30–17:00. ⛔ You do NOT need the ticket for the famous photograph — the free angles outside are grander.
Shanghai DisneylandSkip if tightSix date-based tiers from ¥475 to ¥799, so the CALENDAR is the price list — moving the visit one weekday saves more than a night's hotel. A full day, on a trip most people take to see China.
Things to do in ShanghaiThe whole list with a verdict on each — the page to read if you have not decided what the trip is yet.
SuzhouThe busiest short corridor in China, and the classic day out — gardens, canals, and back for dinner. Which of the two ends to book.HangzhouWest Lake in a day, and the argument for staying a night instead. Check which station your ticket names — some services use Hangzhou West.NanjingThe Ming capital, and the heaviest history on this corridor. A long day trip or a comfortable overnight.
Pudong or Hongqiao?⭐ Two airports 50 km apart, and a connection between them is a journey rather than a transfer. Read this BEFORE you book the flight, not after.Pudong Airport (PVG)The long-haul one, out on the coast. Terminals, the metro against the maglev, and what the late-night options actually are.
Hongqiao Airport (SHA)The domestic one, inside the city and attached to the high-speed station. Usually the better arrival if you have the choice.
The MaglevEight minutes at 300 km/h, and honest about when it is transport and when it is a ride. The counter-only discount most people never ask for.
Hongqiao railway stationThe biggest station in Asia and the one nearly every Shanghai train leaves from. Which entrance, how early, and where to leave a bag.The metroA foreign card linked to Alipay opens the gates, and the last train is earlier than the nightlife. ⛔ The maglev is a separate service with its own fare.BeijingThe flagship corridor, and the cleanest case anywhere in China for taking the train over the plane.Xi'anThe corridor where flying finally wins — and what the train buys you if you take it anyway.On the ground
Getting online
China blocks Google, WhatsApp and Instagram at the network level, so a local SIM and hotel Wi-Fi do not get you round it — and since the April 2026 crackdown a VPN is no longer a dependable workaround. What works is a combination: your home SIM on international roaming, which keeps your real number for the SMS codes Chinese apps send, plus a travel eSIM — such as Nomad eSIM — routing through a foreign carrier so the firewall never applies to it.
Sort it before you fly. A foreign eSIM profile generally cannot be installed once the phone is already in mainland China, and that is a location restriction, so airport Wi-Fi does not solve it.
See Nomad eSIM plans and prices
Which one, and why not a VPN → China eSIM vs VPN·How to buy and install one → Stay connected in China
Shanghai has the second-largest foreign consular network in mainland China after Beijing. Most major Western nationalities (US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Italy, Spain, Belgium, etc.) maintain consulates-general here. The US Consulate-General splits between two locations: the main office on Huaihai Middle Road (淮海中路1469号) and the Citizen Services + Visa office at Meilongzhen Plaza (南京西路1038号梅龙镇广场). For lost-passport cases on the US side, Citizen Services at Meilongzhen handles initial intake. Shanghai PSB main office is in Pudong (民生路1500号).
For a lost passport or a major emergency. If your country has no consulate in this city, your nearest support is your embassy in Beijing or a consulate in another Chinese city. Phone numbers are not listed here — consulate phones change with staffing; consult your country's official Foreign-Affairs website for the current number.
For medical emergencies dial 120 (ambulance). The major hospitals listed below are large, well-equipped, and most likely to have English-speaking staff. For non-emergency visits, ask your travel insurance for in-network options.
Public Security Bureau Exit-Entry offices handle lost-passport reports, visa extensions, and foreigner residency registration. Use the most central municipal office for a standard lost-passport report; provincial or city-level offices handle complex cases such as visa-category changes.
