Shanghai

People's Republic of China Updated Apr 2026

The first time the Bund hits you at dusk, the contrast is almost violent: on your left, the dignified stone façades of 1920s banks and trading houses stand shoulder to shoulder like old European uncles; on your right, across the Huangpu, Pudong’s glass-and-steel towers flare neon pink and acid green against a sky the color of wet ink. This is Shanghai, People’s Republic of China — a city that refuses to choose between its past and its future, so it simply performs both at once, every single night.

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Shanghai, People's Republic of China Photo: Bruna Santos / Pexels
Attractions
8
Audio
18 h
Trip length
3-5 days
Best season
Spring (April-May)

Why Shanghai

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Walk ten minutes inland and the roar of the river gives way to the click of mahjong tiles behind courtyard walls, the hiss of steam baskets lifting xiaolongbao at 7 a.m., and the faint metallic tang of old Shikumen lane houses where laundry still flutters like prayer flags. The city’s genius lies in these collisions: a 1927 Art Deco apartment building might now house a Scandinavian roastery on the ground floor while grandmothers practice tai chi on the roof at sunrise. Nothing is purely one thing here.

That layered quality makes Shanghai addictive for anyone who likes to read cities like novels. You can spend a morning inside the hushed bronzes of the Shanghai Museum on People’s Square, then emerge into the controlled chaos of Yunnan Road smelling of fried scallions and pork chops. The same afternoon you can lose yourself in the former French Concession’s plane-tree shade and still make it to a 320-meter 360-degree viewpoint that opened only last year. The city never stops updating its own story.

Yet for all the headlines about supertalls and skylines, the Shanghai that stays with you is smaller and quieter: the particular echo of your footsteps in a 1930s lilong alley at twilight, the smell of hairy crab drifting from a tiny restaurant in autumn, the way light falls through the lattice windows of Yuyuan Garden exactly as it did four centuries ago. This is a city that has been many things — treaty port, revolutionary crucible, manufacturing capital, financial powerhouse — and has kept the best fragments of every version.

  • The Bund at Dusk

    Stand on the 1.5 km promenade as the colonial facades behind you light up and Pudong’s supertalls ignite across the Huangpu. The contrast between 1920s neoclassical grandeur and 21st-century glass towers is sharper here than anywhere else in the world.

  • Layered Museums

    Shanghai Museum on People’s Square still holds the finest bronzes and calligraphy in the country, while the new Shanghai Museum East (opened 2024) gives them breathing room. Add the distinctive China Art Museum inside the former Expo 2010 pavilion and the reopened Science and Technology Museum (Feb 2026) and you have four world-class institutions that quietly outpace most capitals.

  • Concession-Era Texture

    Wander Wukang Road, Shanyin Road and the Rockbund at dawn and you’ll pass Art Deco lane houses, Shikumen gates and 1930s villas still lived in by locals. These pockets of Republican-era Shanghai feel more intimate and layered than the polished Bund.

  • Unexpected Green Escapes

    Century Park became a 24-hour unfenced public space in 2024 and the 24 km Pudong Riverfront Greenway offers shaded cycling paths with rest stations every kilometre. Even on humid August days these corridors give the city breathing room most visitors never discover.

Places to Visit

Not every monument, just the ones we'd walk you past ourselves.

All 259 places in Shanghai

Neighborhoods

Where to wander, by quarter — each with its own rhythm.

  • The Bund & Rockbund

    The 1.5-kilometre waterfront promenade where colonial-era banks and trading houses face off against Pudong’s forest of supertalls. At dusk the lights come on in perfect choreography; by night the river reflects two centuries of ambition at once. Rockbund, where Suzhou Creek meets the Huangpu, offers quieter streets of restored 1930s architecture and the excellent Rockbund Art Museum.

  • Yuyuan & Old City

    Ming-dynasty classical garden surrounded by lantern-lit streets, the City God Temple, and one of the city’s densest concentrations of time-honored snack vendors. Come early for xiaolongbao at Nanxiang Mantou before the tour groups arrive; stay late when the lanterns turn the whole quarter into a living scroll painting.

  • Former French Concession

    Plane-tree-lined streets, Wukang Mansion, Anfu Road, and Wukang Road. This is where Shanghai slows down: independent bookstores, third-wave coffee shops, low-rise 1930s lane houses, and the kind of neighborhood life that makes you want to move in. Fuxing Park, the only surviving French-style public garden in the city, is the green heart of it all.

  • Jing’an

    The former concession area that has become Shanghai’s laboratory for modern urban life. Trendy bars along Julu Road and Yanping Road, the graceful spire of Jing’an Temple rising incongruously above glass towers, and the excellent Natural History Museum paired with its sculpture park. A neighborhood that feels equally comfortable in both its past and its present.

  • People’s Square

    The civic heart of the city, anchored by the original Shanghai Museum with its peerless collection of bronzes, calligraphy, and ceramics. Surrounded by the Grand Theatre, the Park Hotel (once the tallest building in Asia), and the vast open plaza where locals fly kites and practice ballroom dancing at dusk.

  • Lujiazui

    The gleaming financial district across the river from the Bund. Home to the Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao’s 88th-floor observatory, and the vertigo-inducing heights of Shanghai Tower. Best experienced at night when the entire district becomes a three-dimensional light show that changes color every few minutes.

  • West Bund

    The cultural corridor along the Huangpu that has risen from former industrial land. David Chipperfield’s West Bund Museum, the umbrella-vaulted Long Museum, and the Power Station of Art sit beside wide riverside paths and converted warehouses. A quieter, more contemplative side of contemporary Shanghai.

  • Hongkou & Tilanqiao

    The former Jewish refugee district that most visitors never reach. Tilanqiao’s layered early-20th-century architecture tells the story of Shanghai as a sanctuary city. Pair it with Lu Xun Park and the literary history of the area for a deeper, more textured understanding of the city’s 20th-century soul.

Plan your trip

Before you go

Getting There
Pudong International Airport (PVG) handles most international flights and sits on Metro Line 2; Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) serves domestic routes and is also on Lines 2 and 10. The new Airport Link Line (opened Dec 2024) connects both airports in roughly 40 minutes. Taxis from PVG to People’s Square cost about CNY 180 and take 50 minutes in normal traffic.
Getting Around
The Shanghai Metro system has 21 lines and 517 stations as of 2026. Contactless Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay cards work directly since June 2025. A one-day unlimited metro pass costs CNY 18, a three-day CNY 45. The Shanghai Pass prepaid card works on metro, buses, ferries and some taxis. Shared bikes (Hellobike, Meituan, Qingju) are everywhere and the Huangpu Riverfront Greenway has dedicated cycling lanes.
Climate & Best Time
Spring (Mar–May) averages 11–21 °C and autumn (Sep–Nov) 15–27 °C; both are the most comfortable periods. Plum-rain season hits mid-June to early July with heavy rain, while late August to mid-September brings typhoon risk. Summers are hot and humid (July/Aug highs near 32 °C), winters damp and chilly (Dec–Feb 3–11 °C). Best visit windows are April–May and October–November.
Safety
Shanghai is consistently ranked among the safest major cities in the world. Main tourist streets are safe at night, though standard caution applies in nightlife areas. Police (110), fire (119) and ambulance (120) all offer English support. The main risks are typhoon-season weather near the riverfront and online scams involving fake arrival-card websites.

03 Top tickets in Shanghai.

Book ahead

Curated from places in this city. Same price as official sites.

Private Full-Day Tour: Incredible Shanghai Highlights
Shanghai Tower
Private Full-Day Tour: Incredible Shanghai Highlights
★4.9 from €94.11
Best of Shanghai Day Tour, including Jade Buddha Temple & Bund & Yuyuan Garden
Shanghai Museum
Best of Shanghai Day Tour, including Jade Buddha Temple & Bund & Yuyuan Garden
★4.0 from €68.21
Private Day Trip to Zhujiajiao Water Town w/Flexible Shanghai Highlights
Shanghai Museum
Private Day Trip to Zhujiajiao Water Town w/Flexible Shanghai Highlights
★4.9 from €145.92
Shanghai Tower Ticket Booking
Shanghai Tower
Shanghai Tower Ticket Booking
★4.3 from €33.59
Shanghai Half Day Morning or Afternoon Sightseeing Tour
Shanghai Museum
Shanghai Half Day Morning or Afternoon Sightseeing Tour
★3.6 from €45.76
Private Shanghai City and Zhujiajiao Combo Tour with Boating, Tea Tasting, Lunch
Tianzifang
Private Shanghai City and Zhujiajiao Combo Tour with Boating, Tea Tasting, Lunch
★4.9 from €196.86

Prices shown are indicative — final pricing and availability are confirmed at checkout. Audiala may receive a commission from bookings made via these links.

From Marsh Village to Global Megacity

Six thousand years of transformation on the Huangpu

  1. c. 4000 BCE

    Songze Settlement Emerges

    The earliest known ancestors of Shanghai built houses, dug wells, and planted rice along the marshy delta. The Songze site preserves the city's oldest human remains, pottery, and evidence of settled agriculture. What began as scattered fishing hamlets in a wetland would one day become one of Earth's largest urban centers.

  2. 751

    Huating County Established

    Under the Tang dynasty, officials carved Huating County out of the vast wetlands. This marked the first formal administrative recognition of the Shanghai region. The name "Shen" or "Hu" still lingered in local speech, a reminder that the city had not yet earned its own identity.

  3. 1074

    Shanghai Becomes a Market Town

    The Song court elevated the fishing settlement to market-town status. A customs office soon followed, collecting duties on the growing river trade. The smell of salt, fish, and cotton began to define the air along the Huangpu.

  4. 1292

    Shanghai County Founded

    The Yuan dynasty formally created Shanghai County, the clearest administrative birth of the city. By now the port shipped cotton textiles across the empire. The name "Shanghai" (literally "upon the sea") finally stuck.

  5. 1553

    City Wall Rises Against Pirates

    Frightened by repeated wokou raids, residents built a 4.5-kilometer-long, 8-meter-high brick wall with six land gates and three water gates. The wall enclosed the old Chinese city for nearly 360 years, defining its shape until the Republican era tore most of it down.

  6. 1559

    Pan Yunduan Builds Yuyuan

    Ming official Pan Yunduan began constructing the classical garden that would become Yuyuan. Rocks, pavilions, and ponds were arranged over decades to create a private scholar's paradise in the heart of the bustling cotton town. Today it remains the most visited fragment of Ming Shanghai.

Show the full timeline (24 moments)
  1. 1842

    Treaty of Nanjing Opens Shanghai

    After defeat in the First Opium War, the Qing were forced to open Shanghai as a treaty port. The city that had been a modest county seat suddenly stood on the threshold of global transformation. Foreign gunboats anchored where fishing junks once dominated.

  2. 1845

    British Concession Founded

    The British established their concession along the Bund. Within years the Americans and French followed, creating a patchwork of extraterritorial zones. These parallel cities would shape Shanghai's unique hybrid character for the next century.

  3. 1853

    Small Swords Occupy Old City

    The Small Swords Society, allied with the Taiping rebels, seized the walled Chinese city. Refugees flooded into the foreign concessions for safety, accelerating their growth. The old city walls witnessed fierce fighting before Qing forces retook the district in 1855.

  4. c. 1860

    Jiangnan Arsenal Launched

    China's first modern industrial complex began producing ships, guns, and machinery on the Huangpu. The arsenal marked Shanghai's shift from cotton port to industrial powerhouse and laid groundwork for later scientific and military development.

  5. 1896

    Liu Haisu Founds Art School

    Painter Liu Haisu established the Shanghai School of Fine Arts, one of China's first modern art academies. He shocked conservative society by introducing live models and Western techniques, helping birth a distinctly Shanghai modernist aesthetic.

  6. 1921

    Birth of the Chinese Communist Party

    Thirteen delegates, including a young Mao Zedong, met secretly in a shikumen house on Rue Wantz. The First National Congress of the CPC was forced to finish on a boat in nearby Jiaxing after police suspicion. The decision made in that humid Shanghai summer would reshape the 20th century.

  7. 1925

    May Thirtieth Movement Erupts

    British police fired on Chinese demonstrators outside a Japanese mill, killing thirteen. The massacre ignited nationwide protests and boycotts. Shanghai's foreign concessions suddenly felt the full weight of Chinese nationalist anger.

  8. 1927

    Lu Xun Arrives in Shanghai

    China's greatest modern writer settled in the city in 1927 and lived here until his death in 1936. From his modest apartment he produced biting essays that skewered both Nationalists and leftists while chronicling the contradictions of treaty-port life.

  9. 1927

    Chiang's Shanghai Massacre

    On April 12, Chiang Kai-shek's forces and Green Gang allies slaughtered thousands of communist workers and unionists. The purge shattered the First United Front and turned Shanghai's streets red. The city would never be the same.

  10. 1930

    Eileen Chang's Shanghai Childhood

    Born into a declining aristocratic family, the teenage Eileen Chang absorbed the city's glamour and decay. The contradictions she witnessed in 1930s Shanghai would later fuel her masterpieces of modern Chinese literature, capturing a world on the edge of catastrophe.

  11. 1932

    January 28 Incident

    Japanese forces attacked Shanghai in what became a brutal preview of total war. The 19th Route Army resisted fiercely for over a month. Civilian districts were reduced to rubble, foreshadowing the greater horror that would come in 1937.

  12. 1937

    Battle of Shanghai

    For three horrific months, Chinese and Japanese forces fought through the city's streets and suburbs. Over 250,000 Chinese soldiers died. The heroic defense of Sihang Warehouse by 420 men became a national legend as the city burned around them.

  13. 1938

    Jewish Refugees Reach Shanghai

    As Europe closed its doors, roughly 18,000-20,000 Jewish refugees found sanctuary in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. The city became one of the only places on Earth that would accept them without visas. In the Hongkou district, they rebuilt fragments of European life amid wartime chaos.

  14. 1949

    Liberation of Shanghai

    The People's Liberation Army entered the city on May 27 after a carefully managed campaign that spared the urban core. The last foreign gunboats slipped down the Huangpu. A new chapter began as the treaty-port era finally ended.

  15. 1990

    Pudong Development Announced

    Deng Xiaoping's decision to develop the muddy farmland across the Huangpu transformed Shanghai's destiny. Within a decade, rice paddies became a forest of supertalls. The Oriental Pearl Tower would soon rise as the symbol of this new ambition.

  16. 1994

    Oriental Pearl Tower Opens

    At 468 meters, the Oriental Pearl became the tallest structure in Asia. Its glittering spheres and neon silhouette instantly redefined Shanghai's skyline. The contrast with the colonial Bund across the river was exactly what the new Shanghai wanted the world to see.

  17. 2010

    Shanghai World Expo

    The city hosted the largest and most attended World Expo in history, drawing 73 million visitors. The theme "Better City, Better Life" reflected Shanghai's own journey from treaty port to global metropolis. The massive pavilions on both sides of the Huangpu celebrated China's return to the world stage.

  18. 2015

    Shanghai Tower Completed

    At 632 meters with 127 floors, the Shanghai Tower became China's tallest building. Its twisting form and green technologies announced that the city was no longer merely catching up with the West but defining a new Asian urban future.

Who lived here

  • Writer · 1920–1995

    Eileen Chang

    Born and educated in Shanghai

    Eileen Chang turned 1930s and 1940s Shanghai into literary myth. She wrote Love in a Fallen City and Lust, Caution in the city’s crowded lanes and decaying mansions. Walking the old French Concession today, you still feel the atmospheric tension she captured so precisely.

  • Writer · 1881–1936

    Lu Xun

    Lived in Shanghai from 1927 until his death

    Lu Xun moved to Shanghai in 1927 and became the sharpest voice of modern Chinese literature. He wrote his most biting satires while living in the city’s foreign concessions. His former residence in Hongkou remains a quiet sanctuary amid the surrounding development.

  • Basketball player · born 1980

    Yao Ming

    Born and raised in Shanghai

    Yao Ming first learned to play basketball in Shanghai’s Xuhui District and starred for the Shanghai Sharks before becoming an NBA superstar. Locals still speak of him as the gentle giant who put Chinese basketball on the world map. The city feels proud every time his name appears.

  • Architect · 1893–1958

    László Hudec

    Lived and worked in Shanghai 1918–1940s

    Hungarian architect László Hudec designed some of Shanghai’s most distinctive pre-war buildings, including the Park Hotel and Grand Theatre. His blend of Art Deco and local sensibility still defines parts of the skyline. Walk Nanjing Road and you are literally surrounded by his legacy.

Where to Eat

Where locals actually book dinner — not the tourist menus.

Insider tips

Small things that change how the city treats you.

  • Visit in Spring

    April and May offer 11–24°C temperatures with manageable rainfall before the June plum rains arrive. Shanghai’s official tourism office lists these as the best months for walking the Bund, exploring Yuyuan, and strolling the French Concession.

  • Tap Foreign Cards

    Since June 2025 you can tap Visa, Mastercard or UnionPay cards directly on the entire metro network. A one-day unlimited metro pass costs CNY 18 and excludes the Maglev.

  • Eat Breakfast Early

    Locals finish xiaolongbao and shengjianbao by 9 am. Head to Jia Jia Tang Bao or Yang’s Fry Dumpling before 8 am to avoid hour-long queues and still-warm pork soup dumplings.

  • Tipping Not Expected

    Tipping is not customary in Shanghai restaurants or taxis. Only some hotel restaurants add a 10–15% service charge; otherwise leave the full bill amount.

  • Bund at Dusk

    The 1.5 km Bund promenade shows colonial façades on one side and Pudong’s skyscrapers on the other. The best light and fewer crowds occur 30 minutes before sunset.

  • Police Speak English

    Dial 110 for police; the line officially supports eight foreign languages including English. Keep your hotel address written in Chinese characters for taxis or directions.

Frequently asked

Is Shanghai worth visiting?

Yes, Shanghai is worth visiting. It delivers one of Asia’s sharpest old-meets-new contrasts within a single walk: colonial Bund buildings facing 21st-century Pudong towers. The city also offers serious museums, excellent dumplings, and walkable historic neighborhoods that most visitors underestimate.

How many days do you need in Shanghai?

Three to five days works well for most visitors. You can cover The Bund, Yuyuan Garden, Lujiazui, a museum, and a French Concession food walk in three full days. Five days lets you add a water-town day trip or slower cafe exploration in Xuhui.

How do you get from Pudong Airport to the city center?

Metro Line 2 from Pudong Airport reaches People’s Square in about one hour for CNY 7. The Maglev reaches Longyang Road in eight minutes for CNY 50, then transfer to metro. Taxis cost around CNY 180 and take 50 minutes.

Is Shanghai safe for tourists?

Shanghai is one of the safest major cities in the world for tourists. Main streets are safe at night, violent crime is rare, and the biggest risks are pickpockets in crowded tourist spots or scams in nightlife areas.

When is the best time to visit Shanghai?

Spring (April–May) and autumn (October–November) are the best times. Both seasons avoid the June plum rains, July–August heat and humidity, and late-August typhoon risk.

All Places to Visit.

259 places to discover

Shanghai Museum
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Shanghai Museum

Oriental Pearl Tower
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Oriental Pearl Tower

Shimao International Plaza
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Shimao International Plaza

Shanghai Tower
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Shanghai Tower

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Shanghai Disneyland Park

Jin Mao Tower
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Jin Mao Tower

People'S Square
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People'S Square

Donghai Bridge
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Donghai Bridge

Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge
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Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel and Bridge

Sheshan Basilica
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Sheshan Basilica

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Lupu Bridge

City God Temple of Shanghai
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City God Temple of Shanghai

Park Hotel
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Park Hotel

Shanghai Grand Theatre
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Shanghai Grand Theatre

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Shanghai Metro Museum

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Yangpu Bridge

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Nanpu Bridge

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Changfeng Park

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
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Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

Chongming–Qidong Yangtze River Bridge
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Chongming–Qidong Yangtze River Bridge

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Songjiang Mosque

People'S Park
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People'S Park

Yu Garden
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Yu Garden

Shanghai Botanical Garden
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Shanghai Botanical Garden

Plaza 66
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Plaza 66

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Xupu Bridge

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Shanghai Natural History Museum

Long Museum
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Long Museum

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Fangta Park

Shanghai History Museum
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Shanghai History Museum

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Minpu Bridge

Jade Buddha Temple
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Jade Buddha Temple

Saint Joseph'S Church
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Saint Joseph'S Church

Jing'An Temple
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Jing'An Temple

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Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai

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Qiuxia Garden

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Songpu Bridge

Zhongshan Park
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Zhongshan Park

Zhabei Park
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Zhabei Park

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Puji Bridge (Shanghai)

Lu Xun Park
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Lu Xun Park

Qushui Garden
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Qushui Garden

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Shanghai Wheelock Square

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Bocom Financial Towers

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Madame Tussauds Shanghai

Shanghai Municipal Museum
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Shanghai Municipal Museum

Waibaidu Bridge
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Waibaidu Bridge

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Pagoda at Xingshengjiao Temple

Showing 1–48 of 259 places

Photo credits (5)
  1. Bruna Santos — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/35132179/
  2. JC Terry — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/30685872/
  3. tian Jin — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/28988074/
  4. Bingqian Li — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/36064473/
  5. Bruna Santos — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/35177420/

Photos may have been resized or cropped.