Things to do in Shanghai

Walk the Bund at dusk and watch the Pudong skyline light up across the river, go up one of the supertall towers, explore the Old City around Yu Garden, then spend a slow day under the plane trees of the former French Concession. Eat xiaolongbao at least twice.

The essential sights

• The Bund. A riverside promenade lined with historic European-style banks and trading houses on one side and Pudong's futuristic skyline on the other. Come in the early evening when the towers switch on their lights — one of the great city views in Asia.
• Shanghai Tower. One of the tallest buildings in the world, twisting in a spiral to cope with typhoon winds; an express lift whisks you up to the observation level. A cheaper trick: the Duo Yun Books shop and café high up in the same tower has panoramic windows.
• Shanghai World Financial Center. The "bottle opener" tower with a glass-floor deck near the top.
• Oriental Pearl Tower. The retro-futurist TV tower with pink spheres and a glass floor.
• Yu Garden. A classical 16th-century Chinese garden of ponds, bridges and oddly shaped rocks. The bazaar outside is crowded and loud — great for street food — but the garden itself is calm.
• Nanjing Road. The famous shopping street; best in the evening, when the neon is on.
• Shanghai Museum. On People's Square, with superb collections of ceramics, calligraphy, bronzes and coins.
• Jing'an Temple. A golden Buddhist temple squeezed between luxury malls — the perfect snapshot of modern Shanghai.

The former French Concession

The cozy, photogenic side of the city in the Xuhui district: shady avenues of plane trees, Art Deco villas, little bakeries and the city's best coffee. Walk Wukang Road with its flatiron-shaped Wukang Mansion, then drift through the side streets. In the mornings, Fuxing Park is pure everyday life: couples ballroom dancing, qigong, and fierce games of cards and mahjong. Further west in Changning, Columbia Circle — a former 1920s country club with an Art Deco pool — has cafés and a big bookstore.

Old lanes and art districts

• Tianzifang — a maze of old shikumen lane houses turned into shops, bars and galleries; getting lost is half the fun.
• Xintiandi — beautifully restored shikumen houses with polished restaurants and boutiques.
• Nanshi (the Old City) — crooked lanes and washing on the line; Shanghai before it became a financial giant.
• M50 — old textile mills full of contemporary galleries and graffiti.
• 1933 Old Millfun — a former Art Deco slaughterhouse of bridges and ramps, now design studios; one of the strangest buildings in the city.
• West Bund — a riverside of museums, skaters and dog walkers, away from the center's crowds.
• Hongkou — old docks and the history of the Jewish refugees who sheltered here during the Second World War.
• Found 158 — a sunken courtyard packed with bars, for nightlife with the locals and expats.

What to eat

• Xiaolongbao — soup dumplings with thin skin and scalding broth inside. Nibble a hole, sip, then eat.
• Shengjianbao — pan-fried pork buns with a crunchy bottom and sesame on top; the classic breakfast.

Where to stay in Shanghai

For a first visit, stay in Huangpu or Jing'an near a metro line; choose the French Concession if you care more about atmosphere than proximity to the Bund.

Practical tips for China

• Payments. Almost everything is paid by QR code. Set up Alipay and/or WeChat Pay before you fly — both now let foreigners link an international Visa or Mastercard after verifying their passport in the app. Keep some cash in yuan as a backup.
• Internet. Google services, Instagram and WhatsApp are blocked in mainland China. Sort out your connectivity before arrival.
• Metro. One of the largest metro systems in the world, fast and cheap. Taxis are fine but can mean long waits in traffic.
• From the airport. Pudong International (PVG) is linked to the city by metro and the Maglev train; Hongqiao (SHA) is on the metro and next to the high-speed rail station.
• Entry rules. China has expanded visa-free and transit options for many nationalities in recent years, but they change — check the official requirements for your passport before booking.
• When to go. Spring (April–May) and autumn (October–November) are the most pleasant; summers are hot and humid, winters damp and chilly.

The tea-house scam

A pair of friendly young people ask you to take their photo near a tourist spot, chat about practicing their English, then invite you to a "traditional tea ceremony". The bill for a few cups of ordinary tea is astronomical. Politely decline invitations from strangers to bars and tea houses. This scam has cousins all over the world — see tourist scams and how to avoid them. Planning a bigger Asia trip? See where to stay in Tokyo and things to do in Bangkok.

How many days?

Three days is a good minimum: the Bund, Nanjing Road and Pudong towers on day one; Yu Garden, the Old City and the Shanghai Museum on day two; the French Concession, Tianzifang and Xintiandi on day three. Add a fourth for the art districts or a day trip to one of the nearby water towns.

Shanghai in TripGist

TripGist maps Shanghai's seven districts with their character, the classic sights and local finds like Duo Yun Books and Fuxing Park, what to eat, transport tips and the tea scam. Free, no ads.