Shanghai
China's biggest city, on the Huangpu River: the 1920s banks of the Bund facing the towers of Lujiazui, a Ming-dynasty garden in the old town, the former French Concession — and a metro you can ride with a foreign credit card.
上海 · Shànghǎi · province-level municipality · 31.23° N, 121.47° E
Not on a Monday
Yu Garden and the China Art Museum are both closed on Mondays (except public holidays). The Bund, the bazaar and the riverside are open every day. What to see →
How long?
Three days: the Bund at dawn and Yu Garden, the Expo site on the Pudong bank, then Wukang Road and West Nanjing Road. Each is a route with times below. The routes →
Where is Shanghai?
Shanghai sits on China's east coast, at the mouth of the Yangtze, where the Huangpu River runs through the city to the sea. It is about 1,070 km south-east of Beijing and the centre of the Yangtze River Delta: Suzhou is 80 km away, Hangzhou 160 km and Nanjing 270 km. Across the East China Sea, Seoul is about 870 km and Tokyo 1,760 km; Hong Kong is 1,230 km to the south. At 31.2° N, Shanghai lies further south than anywhere in mainland Europe — about level with Marrakech and Jerusalem — yet January nights average 3 °C, and the damp makes it feel colder. Tap any city on the map to measure the distance.
Straight-line distances, rounded to the nearest 10 km — not travel distances.
Shanghai is highlighted. Tap a city to measure the distance from Shanghai.
- Status
- Municipality直辖市, like Beijing
- Latitude
- 31.23° N
- Airports
- PVG · SHAPudong · Hongqiao
- Metro
- 21 linesabout 906 km
- Time zone
- UTC+8
- City flower
- Yulan magnolia白玉兰
What's Shanghai weather like each month?
Four distinct seasons in a humid, subtropical climate: a damp, chilly winter that rarely freezes, a changeable spring, a hot and sticky summer — 35 °C by day in July — and a mild, clear autumn that is the best time to come. The sun rises at 04:49 in June and sets at 16:53 in December. Tap a month for temperatures, daylight and what is on.
Scale in °C. Bars run from the average daily low to the average daily high. Source: monthly temperature data, last checked 2026-07-30.
Shanghai in October
Mild- Average high
- 24 °C
- Average low
- 18 °C
- Sunrise / sunset
- 05:56 – 17:24
- Daylight
- 11 h 28 min
On in Oct
- Golden Week crowds, 1–7 Oct
- Most comfortable month
How hot is Shanghai in summer?
Hot, and the humidity makes it feel hotter. The plum rains usually set in around the middle of June and bring weeks of drizzle; July and August are the hottest months, with nights that stay in the high twenties. Typhoons can pass between July and September and occasionally stop the ferries and flights for a day.
June
29° / 23°
Sun 04:49–18:59 · 14 h 10 min
July
35° / 28°
Sun 05:00–19:00 · 14 h 0 min
August
34° / 27°
Sun 05:19–18:39 · 13 h 19 min
Winter
December – FebruaryDamp and chilly, but it rarely freezes.
January averages about 9 °C by day and 3 °C at night. Snow is rare, but the damp cold creeps indoors: as is usual south of the Huai River, many older buildings have no central heating. Clear winter days are good for the skyline, and around the Spring Festival the Yu Garden bazaar puts up its lantern fair.
What to wear: A warm coat, layers and something waterproof — and a jumper for indoors.
Spring
March – MayMild and changeable — the magnolias come first.
March is cool and damp, and it is when the white Yulan magnolia, the city flower, blooms. April and May warm up into the twenties, with rain on and off. The May Day holiday at the start of May fills the Bund and Yu Garden.
What to wear: Layers, a light jacket and an umbrella.
Summer
June – AugustHot and humid, with plum rains and typhoons.
The plum rains (meiyu) usually arrive in mid-June and last into July: weeks of grey, muggy drizzle. July and August are the hottest months, around 34–35 °C by day and 27–28 °C at night, and typhoons can pass between July and September. Do the Bund at dawn or after dark and keep the afternoons for air-conditioned museums — our night photograph of Lujiazui is from 25 August 2026.
What to wear: Light, breathable clothes, sun protection, an umbrella for the downpours — and a layer for the strong air-conditioning indoors.
Autumn
September – NovemberThe best time: late September to mid-November.
September is still warm, around 29 °C by day; our walks along the Bund and through Yu Garden (25–26 September 2018) were on cloudy, dry mornings, with the crape myrtles still flowering on the promenade. October, around 24 °C, is the most comfortable month — but avoid Golden Week, 1–7 October, when the Bund and Yu Garden are packed. November cools to the high teens.
What to wear: Summer clothes in September, a jacket for October evenings, a warmer layer by November.
October, at about 24 °C by day, is the month we would pick; late September (29 °C) is still warm. In October the city also hosts the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament. For how Shanghai compares with the rest of the country month by month, see the best time to visit China.
What to see
13 places, from the Bund and Yu Garden to the Expo site and West Nanjing Road — every one of them in our own photographs. Start with the skyline: tap the numbers to put a name to each tower on the Lujiazui side and each building on the Bund.
Which building is which?
1Oriental Pearl Tower
东方明珠 · TV tower · 468 m
The TV tower with the pink spheres, the first of Pudong’s landmarks, from the mid-1990s. The upper sphere holds the observation levels.
Lujiazui in “What to see” →Height
Tap a number on the photo, or a name in the list.
13 places in our photographs
Filter by district, or by whether you need to be indoors.
The Bund
外滩Treaty-port heritageHuangpu · 黄浦区OutdoorsThe riverfront of the old British, later International, Settlement: about 1.6 km of banks, hotels and trading houses from the early twentieth century along the west bank of the Huangpu, facing the towers of Lujiazui across the water. The raised promenade gives you both views — the stone facades behind you, the glass skyline in front. We walked it end to end from half past six on the morning of 26 September 2018, among joggers and tai chi groups, and came back on 7 September 2025. The photographs at the top of this section put a name to each building.
Nanjing East Road station (Lines 2 and 10) is about ten minutes' walk west of the promenade. Free and open at all hours. Come early for the buildings — they face east and catch the morning sun — and after dark for the skyline lights, which go off late in the evening.
- Entry
- Free
- Opening hours
- Open at all hours
- LandmarkPudong · 浦东新区Outdoors
The financial district on the Pudong bank, wharves, warehouses and low houses until the 1990s and now the skyline everyone knows: the Oriental Pearl TV Tower with its pink spheres (468 m), the pagoda-like Jin Mao Tower (420.5 m, 1999), the World Financial Center with the opening at the top (492 m, 2008) and the twisting Shanghai Tower (632 m), China's tallest building. It is best seen from the Bund: at dawn a grey silhouette, after dark every tower lit and the river cruises passing in front.
Lujiazui station (Lines 2 and 14) is among the towers. The Oriental Pearl, the World Financial Center and the Shanghai Tower all have observation decks with tickets; we have not checked their prices or hours. The view from the Bund costs nothing.
- Entry
- Price not verified — check on site
- Opening hours
- Hours not verified — check on site
Huangpu Park and the Monument to the People's Heroes
黄浦公园 · 人民英雄纪念塔LandmarkHuangpu · 黄浦区OutdoorsThe small park at the north end of the Bund, where Suzhou Creek flows into the Huangpu. It was laid out in 1868 as the Public Garden of the foreign settlement. Today it is dominated by the Monument to the People's Heroes — three granite pillars about 60 m tall, finished in 1993 — with the Bund History Museum in the hall beneath. At seven in the morning the plaza belongs to tai chi groups, and it has one of the best angles on the Lujiazui towers.
At the north end of the Bund promenade, about 15 minutes' walk from Nanjing East Road station. The promenade side is open at all hours; park and museum hours are not verified.
- Entry
- Free
- Opening hours
- Hours not verified — check on site
Treaty-port heritageHuangpu · 黄浦区OutdoorsThe steel truss bridge that carries the Bund across Suzhou Creek, opened in January 1908 and still in use. On the north bank stand the brown-brick Broadway Mansions and the white Russian consulate with its red roof; looking back through the girders you get the Lujiazui towers framed in steel. Walk a few minutes west along the creek for the old General Post Office, whose clock tower is reflected in the water behind the Sichuan Road bridge.
At the north end of the Bund, next to Huangpu Park. Free and open at all hours, with a footway on both sides of the bridge. The Post Office building on North Sichuan Road houses a postal museum, whose hours we have not checked.
- Entry
- Free
- Opening hours
- Open at all hours
Classical gardenHuangpu · 黄浦区OutdoorsA classical Chinese garden in the old walled city, laid out from 1559 by Pan Yunduan, a Ming-dynasty official, for his parents. Inside the whitewashed walls — whose ridges end in dragons' heads — is a maze of halls, rockeries, ponds and covered walkways. It is small and it fills up: we went in at four minutes past nine on Wednesday 26 September 2018, and the first tour groups were already on the paths.
Yuyuan Garden station (Lines 10 and 14), then through the bazaar. 40 CNY from April to June and September to November, 30 CNY in the other months; half price for 6–18-year-olds and over-60s with ID. 09:00–16:30, last entry 16:00; closed on Mondays except public holidays. Tickets at the gate or through the garden's official mini-program. The north gate on Fuyou Road takes everyone, the south gate on Yuyuan Old Street individual visitors only.
- Entry
- 40 CNY · Apr–Jun and Sep–Nov; 30 CNY otherwise
- Opening hours
- 09:00–16:30, last entry 16:00; closed Mondays except holidays
LandmarkHuangpu · 黄浦区OutdoorsThe two-storey wooden pavilion in the pond outside Yu Garden, reached by a zigzag stone bridge. Cloth merchants built it in 1784 as a meeting hall; it has been a teahouse since 1855 and is the oldest in Shanghai. From the bridge you see its upturned eaves against the Shanghai Tower — old and new Shanghai in a single frame.
In the middle of the Yuyuan bazaar, outside the paid garden: the bridge and the pond cost nothing. Tea is served inside; we have not checked prices or hours. Before the shops open the bridge is almost empty — we were there at a quarter to nine.
- Entry
- Free
- Opening hours
- Hours not verified — check on site
StreetHuangpu · 黄浦区OutdoorsThe lanes around Yu Garden, rebuilt as a bazaar under tiers of upturned roofs: jewellers, tea and souvenir shops, dumpling restaurants, a snack hall — and a Starbucks under a curved tiled roof. Locals call the whole quarter Chenghuangmiao, after the City God Temple at its heart. It is touristy and makes no secret of it; come for the architecture and a plate of soup dumplings rather than for bargains.
Yuyuan Garden station (Lines 10 and 14). The lanes are free and open at all hours; shops keep their own hours — at ten past eight on a weekday most were still shut, by half past nine the snack hall was busy. Our photographs are from 26 September 2018, so some shop fronts will have changed.
- Entry
- Free
- Opening hours
- Open at all hours
ArchitecturePudong · 浦东新区IndoorsThe crimson, upside-down pyramid that was China's pavilion at Expo 2010; its stacked beams borrow from the dougong brackets of traditional timber roofs. Since 2012 it has been an art museum. The canopy of the Expo Axis next door frames it well.
China Art Museum station (Line 8, exit 3) or Yaohua Road (Line 7, exit 1). Free for the permanent collection — individual visitors collect a ticket at the visitor entrance, no booking needed; special exhibitions 20 CNY. Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:00; closed on Mondays except public holidays.
- Entry
- Free
- Opening hours
- 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:00; closed Mondays except holidays
Expo Axis and the Mercedes-Benz Arena
世博轴 · 梅赛德斯-奔驰文化中心ArchitecturePudong · 浦东新区OutdoorsTwo more survivors of Expo 2010. The Expo Axis was the site's covered spine, running from the China Pavilion towards the river under a white membrane roof held up by funnels of glass and steel; it is now a shopping and restaurant mall. Near the river, the flying-saucer-shaped Mercedes-Benz Arena, built as the Expo's culture centre, is one of the city's big concert halls.
Between the China Art Museum and the river. The axis is free to walk through; shop and event hours vary and we have not checked them. We were there at dusk on 25 September 2018, when the lights under the canopy came on.
- Entry
- Free
- Opening hours
- Hours not verified — check on site
Expo riverside and Lupu Bridge
世博滨江 · 卢浦大桥ParkPudong · 浦东新区OutdoorsThe Pudong riverbank below the Expo site has become a long waterfront park, with a red running and cycling track, lawns and cafés — the quiet counterpart to the Bund. Upstream rises the steel arch of Lupu Bridge, opened in 2003; far downstream, the Lujiazui towers.
Behind the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Free to walk; on a Tuesday afternoon in September 2018 we had it almost to ourselves. Opening hours of the riverside sections are not verified.
- Entry
- Free
- Opening hours
- Hours not verified — check on site
Wukang Mansion
武康大楼Treaty-port heritageXuhui · 徐汇区OutdoorsA red-brick apartment block shaped like the prow of a ship, on the corner of Wukang Road and Middle Huaihai Road in the former French Concession. László Hudec, the Hungarian-Slovak architect behind many of Shanghai's inter-war buildings, designed it; it was finished in 1924 as the Normandie Apartments. People still live here, so you look from the street — as everyone does: the crossing in front is one of the most photographed corners in the city.
Jiaotong University station (Lines 10 and 11) or Shanghai Library (Line 10), each a short walk. Free to look at, at any hour; it is a residential building, not open to visitors. Wukang Road runs north from here under plane trees, lined with villas of the old concession.
- Entry
- Free
- Opening hours
- Open at all hours
Starbucks Reserve Roastery Shanghai
星巴克臻选上海烘焙工坊FoodJing'an · 静安区IndoorsStarbucks' roastery on West Nanjing Road opened on 6 December 2017: about 2,700 m² on two floors, where the coffee is roasted in front of you. The centrepiece is a two-storey copper cask covered in hand-carved Chinese seal characters — the one in our photograph. A café and a sight at once.
HKRI Taikoo Hui, 789 West Nanjing Road (南京西路789号), by West Nanjing Road station (Lines 2, 12 and 13). Free to walk in; you pay for what you order. Opening hours not verified. Louis Vuitton's ship, The Louis, is on the same development.
- Entry
- Free
- Opening hours
- Hours not verified — check on site
ArchitectureJing'an · 静安区IndoorsA 30-metre-high ocean liner clad in steel panels with the Monogram pattern, moored on the plaza of HKRI Taikoo Hui since June 2025. On its three levels are an exhibition on the brand's travel history, a shop and, on the top deck, a café. There is usually a crowd photographing its bow.
HKRI Taikoo Hui, 789 West Nanjing Road, next to the Starbucks Roastery; West Nanjing Road station (Lines 2, 12 and 13). Reported as open 10:00–22:00 daily; we have not checked the hours, the entry or whether the exhibition needs booking.
- Entry
- Price not verified — check on site
- Opening hours
- Hours not verified — check on site
Entry prices and opening hours are marked unverified where we have not checked them against an official source. We would rather show a gap than a number we made up.
More places, and the station for each
- People's Square and Shanghai Museum 人民广场 / 上海博物馆People's Square station, Line 1/2/8. One of the biggest interchanges – read the signs carefully, the walks are long.
- Jing'an Temple 静安寺Jing'an Temple station, Line 2/7/14. The temple is right by the station.
- Xintiandi 新天地Xintiandi station, Line 10/13. Restaurant and nightlife quarter in restored shikumen houses.
- Tianzifang 田子坊Dapuqiao station, Line 9. A warren of lanes with shops and cafés, a few minutes from the station.
- Shanghai Disney Resort 上海迪士尼度假区Disney Resort station, Line 11. Terminus of the Disney branch of Line 11.
- Zhujiajiao water town 朱家角Zhujiajiao station, Line 17. On the edge of the city; Line 17 starts at Hongqiao railway station.
Getting to Disneyland: Line 11 to Disney Resort; more on our theme parks in China page.
Routes that don't double back
Three half-days that cover the centre: the Bund at dawn into the old town, the Expo site on the Pudong bank, and the western districts. The first two are the walks we did ourselves in September 2018, with our clock times. Each route runs in one direction, with the time and distance between stops.
A morning · about 1.6 km on foot and one short taxi ride
The Bund at the Customs House
Walk 4 min· 300 m
Nanjing Road and the Peace Hotel
Walk 9 min· 600 m
Huangpu Park and the Monument to the People's Heroes
Walk 6 min· 500 m
Garden Bridge and Suzhou Creek
Taxi 4 min· 2.2 km
Huxinting and the Yuyuan bazaar
Walk 3 min· 200 m
Yu Garden
6 stops · 22 min walking · 4 min by taxi
An afternoon · about 1.8 km on foot
China Art Museum
Walk 7 min· 500 m
Mercedes-Benz Arena
Walk 8 min· 600 m
Expo riverside and Lupu Bridge
Walk 9 min· 700 m
Expo Axis
4 stops · 24 min walking
Half a day · one taxi ride
Wukang Mansion
Taxi 5 min· 4.1 km
Starbucks Reserve Roastery
Walk 3 min· 200 m
The Louis
3 stops · 3 min walking · 5 min by taxi
Stop by stop
The Bund at dawn, then Yu Garden
The morning we did on Wednesday 26 September 2018: on the promenade opposite the Customs House at 06:33, the Peace Hotel at 06:44, the monument in Huangpu Park at 06:55, over the Garden Bridge at 07:00 and along Suzhou Creek until about 07:20. Then south to the old town: Huxinting at 08:46 and into Yu Garden at 09:04, just after it opened. Start before seven — the facades face east and catch the first light, and the promenade belongs to joggers and tai chi.
1The Bund at the Customs House
外滩 · 海关大楼Start on the raised promenade opposite the clock tower and walk north, with the river on your right and the Lujiazui towers across it.
- Entry
- Free
- Hours
- Open at all hours
Walk 4 min· 300 m
2Nanjing Road and the Peace Hotel
南京东路口 · 和平饭店The two Peace Hotel buildings stand on either side of the end of Nanjing Road; the green pyramid roof is the Fairmont. The shopping street runs west from here, if you want to come back to it later.
- Entry
- Free
- Hours
- Open at all hours
Walk 9 min· 600 m
3Huangpu Park and the Monument to the People's Heroes
黄浦公园 · 人民英雄纪念塔Tai chi at seven, and the classic angle on the Oriental Pearl and the Shanghai Tower between the granite pillars.
- Entry
- Free
- Hours
- Promenade side always open
Walk 6 min· 500 m
4Garden Bridge and Suzhou Creek
外白渡桥 · 苏州河Cross the bridge, look back at Pudong through the girders, then follow the creek a few minutes west for the Post Office reflected in the water.
- Entry
- Free
- Hours
- Open at all hours
Taxi 4 min· 2.2 km
5Huxinting and the Yuyuan bazaar
湖心亭 · 豫园商城A short taxi ride south — or about half an hour back along the Bund on foot. Before the shops open, the zigzag bridge is almost empty.
- Entry
- Free (tea extra)
- Hours
- Lanes open at all hours
Walk 3 min· 200 m
6Yu Garden
豫园Opens at nine: go in first, ahead of the groups. We spent about half an hour among the rockeries and the dragon walls.
- Entry
- 40 CNY (30 CNY Jul–Aug, Dec–Mar)
- Hours
- 09:00–16:30, closed Mondays
Easy add-ons: Nanjing Road East, the shopping street, starts at stop 2 and runs west towards People's Square. After dark, come back to the promenade for the Lujiazui lights.
* Walking times and distances are computed from OpenStreetMap walking routes between the stops; taxi times are OpenStreetMap driving times without traffic — allow about double at rush hour, and more in Shanghai's centre. The clock times in the first two routes are from our own photographs (25–26 September 2018) and include time spent at each stop. Stops marked with a star have prices or opening hours we have not checked.
Getting there and getting around
From Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG)
- Metro Line 2 2号线Terminus at the airport. The line runs via Longyang Road, Lujiazui, Nanjing East Road (the Bund), People's Square and Jing'an Temple right across the city centre – cheap, but the slowest option.Fare: regular metro fare by distance
- Maglev 磁浮8 minutes to Longyang Road, where you change to the metro. It only stops at these two stations.50 CNY — 40 CNY with a same-day flight ticket or a Shanghai transport card; round trip 80 CNY (valid 7 days).from Longyang Road 6:45–21:40, from the airport 7:02–21:42
- Airport Link Line 机场联络线Connects Pudong with Hongqiao railway station in about 40 minutes – handy if you're switching between a flight and a high-speed train.4–26 CNY, by distance
From Shanghai Hongqiao Airport (SHA)
Metro Lines 2 and 10. Terminal 2 has its own station on Lines 2 and 10, Terminal 1 on Line 10. Both run straight into the city centre.
Nonstop from Europe
Long-haul flights from Europe land at Pudong. Our flight list has nonstop routes from 25 European airports: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belgrade, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Helsinki, Istanbul, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Madrid, Manchester, Marseille, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Venice, Vienna, Zurich. Airlines and frequencies →
Flight data checked 12 September 2026.
Airport transfers from our Shanghai Metro dataset, checked 13 September 2026.
Three stations called Shanghai
Your train ticket will name one of these. They are far apart.
- Shanghai Hongqiao 上海虹桥站The big high-speed station in the west, next to Hongqiao Airport's Terminal 2. Many trains from Beijing, Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou arrive here. Metro Lines 2, 10 and 17, and the Airport Link Line to Pudong Airport.
- Shanghai 上海站The old main station north of the centre, on Metro Lines 1, 3 and 4 — closest to People's Square and the Bund, but a different place from Hongqiao.
- Shanghai South 上海南站In the south-west of the city, on Metro Lines 1, 3 and 15.
By high-speed train
Shanghai is the end of the high-speed lines from Beijing, Nanjing and Hangzhou, and many of those trains terminate at Shanghai Hongqiao, next to Hongqiao Airport. Tickets name the station — Hongqiao, Shanghai or Shanghai South — and they are far apart. We have not checked journey times against the 12306 timetable.
Schedules and journey times not yet verified against an official timetable.
The metro, in short
Shanghai Metro in detail →Twenty-one lines and about 906 km, counting the maglev and the Airport Link Line (end of 2025). Two do most of the work for visitors: Line 2 runs from Pudong Airport through Lujiazui, Nanjing East Road for the Bund, People's Square and Jing'an Temple to Hongqiao; Line 10 runs from Hongqiao via Jiaotong University, Xintiandi and Yuyuan Garden to Nanjing East Road.
- Pay with
- Contactless cardat “Tap to Ride” gates
- Fare from
- 3 CNYfirst 6 km
- Day pass
- 18 CNY3 days: 45 CNY
- Network
- 523 stations
At gates marked “Tap to Ride” you tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB or UnionPay card, with no ticket; tap the same card again when you leave. Everyone needs their own card.
Fares by distance: 3 CNY up to 6 km, 4 CNY up to 16 km, 5 CNY up to 26 km, then 1 CNY more per 10 km. The maglev and the Airport Link Line have their own fares.
Reported: first trains between about 05:00 and 06:00 and last trains between about 22:30 and 23:30, depending on line and station; on Fridays and Saturdays Lines 1, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 13 run later, to around midnight. We have not checked this line by line — look at the display in the station.
| The Bund, Peace Hotel, Nanjing Road East | Nanjing East Road 南京东路 | Line 2/10 |
| Lujiazui towers | Lujiazui 陆家嘴 | Line 2/14 |
| Yu Garden, Huxinting, Yuyuan Bazaar | Yuyuan Garden 豫园 | Line 10/14 |
| China Art Museum | China Art Museum 中华艺术宫 | Line 8 |
| Wukang Mansion | Jiaotong University 交通大学 | Line 10/11 |
| Starbucks Reserve Roastery, The Louis | West Nanjing Road 南京西路 | Line 2/12/13 |
| Jing'an Temple | Jing'an Temple 静安寺 | Line 2/7/14 |
Station names, signs and announcements are in Chinese and English, and exits are numbered 1, 2, 3 … — the station map by the gates tells you which exit leads to which street.
Source and date: Fare bands, Tap to Ride and network size: our Shanghai Metro page, checked 13 September 2026 against the Shanghai government's Travel Your Way guide and Xinhua. Stations for the China Art Museum: the museum's own visitor guide; for HKRI Taikoo Hui (West Nanjing Road): the developer's and press descriptions. First and last trains: the Shanghai government's January 2026 timetable post and press summaries — reported, not checked line by line.
Shanghai is one of the cities we price up on the trip cost calculator, if you want to model a budget.
Before you go
Most European passports are visa-free for a short trip — under a one-sided waiver with an end date worth checking before you book:
- UK passport
Visa-free up to 30 days per trip, currently until 31 December 2026.
- EU passports
Dutch, German, French, Irish, Nordic and most other EU passports: visa-free up to 30 days, currently until 31 December 2026.
- US passport
No general waiver: a visa, or the 10-day visa-free transit if you fly on to a third country.
Shanghai's airports are entry points for China's 10-day visa-free transit, for travellers continuing to a third country. Check your passport.
- Pre-trip checklist
Payments, SIM, apps — the things to sort before you fly.
- How to order food
Scan-to-order menus, step by step — you will meet them all over Shanghai.
- Golden Week 2026
1–7 October: the week to avoid the Bund and Yu Garden.
- Shanghai Masters
Tennis in October: tickets, the shuttle to Qizhong, match times.
- Qingdao
The German-built port on the Yellow Sea, about 550 km north.
FAQ
Is Shanghai worth visiting?
Yes. No other Chinese city puts its history and its future so close together: the banks and hotels of the 1920s on the Bund look straight across the river at some of the tallest towers in the world, and a Ming-dynasty garden sits ten minutes’ walk from both. It is also the easiest big city in China for a first-time visitor — bilingual signs, a metro you can ride with a foreign credit card and nonstop flights from much of Europe.
How many days do you need in Shanghai?
Three. One morning for the Bund at dawn and Yu Garden (our first route), one for the Expo site and the Pudong riverside, and one for the western districts — Wukang Road, West Nanjing Road, Jing’an Temple. Add a day for Disneyland or a water town like Zhujiajiao. Avoid putting Yu Garden or the China Art Museum on a Monday: both are closed.
Is Yu Garden open on Mondays?
No. Yu Garden is closed on Mondays except on public holidays. On other days it is open 09:00–16:30, with last entry at 16:00. The bazaar and the Huxinting teahouse bridge outside the garden stay open.
How much is the ticket for Yu Garden?
40 CNY from April to June and from September to November, 30 CNY in the other months; half price for 6–18-year-olds and over-60s with ID. You buy at the gate or through the garden’s official mini-program.
Where is the best view of the Shanghai skyline?
From the Bund promenade on the west bank — anywhere between the Customs House and Huangpu Park. For a frame, stand by the Monument to the People’s Heroes at the north end, or look back through the girders of the Garden Bridge. It is at its best at dawn, as a silhouette, and after dark, when every tower is lit.
How tall is the Shanghai Tower?
632 metres, which makes it the tallest building in China. Its neighbours on the Lujiazui skyline are the World Financial Center (492 m), the Oriental Pearl TV Tower (468 m) and the Jin Mao Tower (420.5 m).
How do I get from Pudong Airport to the city?
Metro Line 2 starts at the airport and runs straight through the centre — to Lujiazui, Nanjing East Road for the Bund and People’s Square — cheap but slow. The maglev is faster: 8 minutes to Longyang Road, where you change to the metro. It only stops at these two stations. It costs 50 CNY; 40 CNY with a same-day flight ticket or a Shanghai transport card; round trip 80 CNY (valid 7 days). The Airport Link Line goes to Hongqiao railway station.
Can I pay for the Shanghai Metro with a credit card?
Yes. At gates marked “Tap to Ride” you tap a contactless UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB card and pay by distance, from 3 CNY. A 1-day ticket costs 18 CNY. Everyone needs their own card.
When is the best time to visit Shanghai?
Late September to mid-November: October averages 24 °C by day and 18 °C at night. Avoid Golden Week, 1–7 October. July is the hottest month at around 35 °C by day, with the plum rains in June and early July and typhoons possible from July to September. Winter is damp and chilly — January averages 9 °C by day — but rarely freezing.
How far is Shanghai from Beijing?
About 1,070 km in a straight line. High-speed trains run between the two cities, many of them to Shanghai Hongqiao; we have not yet checked journey times against the official timetable. Suzhou is about 80 km away and Hangzhou about 160 km — both are easy day trips by train.
Where is the Louis Vuitton ship in Shanghai?
On the plaza of HKRI Taikoo Hui, 789 West Nanjing Road in Jing’an district, by West Nanjing Road station (Lines 2, 12 and 13). The Louis opened there in June 2025. The Starbucks Reserve Roastery is on the same development.
Do I need a visa for Shanghai?
Not for a short trip on a British, Irish, Dutch, German, French, Nordic or Australian passport: all are visa-free for up to 30 days per trip, under a one-sided waiver that currently runs until 31 December 2026. US passport holders have no general waiver, but can use the 10-day visa-free transit through Shanghai if they fly on to a third country. Check your own passport on our visa check page.
Sources and status
All photographs on this page are ours: the Expo site, the Bund and Yu Garden on 25–26 September 2018; the Bund by day, Wukang Mansion, West Nanjing Road and Lujiazui with the cruise boat in September 2025; Lujiazui at night on 25 August 2026. Faces of passers-by have been blurred. Data sources: Monthly temperature data, Shanghai; Yu Garden: visitor information (tickets, hours, gates); China Art Museum: visitor guide (hours, free tickets, metro); Huxinting (Wikipedia, Chinese); Monument to the People's Heroes, Shanghai (Wikipedia, Chinese); The Bund: buildings and history (Wikipedia); Waibaidu (Garden) Bridge (Wikipedia); Jin Mao Tower, with the heights of the Lujiazui towers (Wikipedia); Wukang Mansion (Wikipedia); Starbucks Reserve Roastery opens in Shanghai (Starbucks Stories, Dec 2017); Louis Vuitton opens The Louis in Shanghai (Inside Retail Asia, Jun 2025); Shanghai Metro first and last trains (Shanghai government, Jan 2026); Shanghai Municipal Government: Travel Your Way – Metro.
Changelog (1)
- 2026-09-29Page created, with our own photographs from 25–26 September 2018, September 2025 and 25 August 2026. Yu Garden and China Art Museum tickets and hours checked on this date; metro data from our Shanghai Metro page (checked 13 September 2026).