Shanghai

Understand

Shanghai is one of four cities in China that are administered as municipalities (市), meaning that it is not part of any province, and its government instead reports directly to the central government in Beijing. There are several ways to rate the size of cities; based on UN numbers, Shanghai is the fifth-largest city in the world after Jakarta, Dhaka, Tokyo and Delhi. By any measure, it is in the top ten for the world and either the largest in China or second to Chongqing. The municipality covers quite a large area — 6341 km2 or 2,448 square miles — and has a population over 25 million, about the same as Australia. Its GDP is larger than that of many countries, and it has the world's busiest container port. Shanghai is the main hub of the East China region, all of which is densely populated, heavily industrialized, prosperous, well supplied with migrant workers from poorer parts of China, and still growing. History has shaped Shanghai's cityscape significantly. British-style buildings can still be seen on the Bund, while French-style buildings are still to be found in the former French Concession. What was once a horse racing track on the edge the British area is now People's Park, with a major metro interchange underneath. Other metro stops include the railway station at the edge of what was once the American area, and Lao Xi Men and Xiao Nan Men, Old West Gate and Small South Gate respectively, named for two of the gates of the old Chinese walled city. Shanghai is a cosmopolitan city by Chinese standards, although it is less diverse than many western cities. The population was 23 million as of the 2010 census; 9 million (almost 40%) of those were migrants, people from elsewhere in China who have come to find work or to attend one of Shanghai's many educational institutions. There is also a substantial international contingent: 208,300 foreigners lived in Shanghai as of 2010, slightly over a third of the national total of 594,000. There are services catering to these migrants — restaurants with food from anywhere in China for the migrants (in particular, much good cheap Sichuan food and West-of-China noodles) and a variety of grocery stores, restaurants and bars that cater to the foreigners. Groups of refugees from other parts of the world have sometimes arrived in Shanghai. One group were White Russians fleeing the 1917 revolution; in the 1920s the French Concession had more Russians than French (and of course more Chinese than both of those together). Another group were Jews leaving Germany in the 1930s; they mainly settled in Hongkou, a district tha

Getting there

Shanghai is one of China's main travel hubs and arriving from pretty much anywhere is easy.

Visa-free transit

Visitors from 54 countries who are transiting through Shanghai are permitted to visit without a visa for up to 240 hours. People visiting under this scheme can travel freely between Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but may not travel beyond the three provincial-level units. At immigration, you will need to present an onward ticket to a country other than the one you arrived from. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan count as separate countries with regard to this scheme. The following countries are included in the transit program:

24 Schengen Agreement Countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland 15 Other European Countries: Russia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Belarus, Monaco 6 American Countries: the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile 2 Oceania Countries: Australia, New Zealand 6 Asian Countries: Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Qatar

By plane Shanghai has two main airports, with Shanghai Pudong International Airport being the main international gateway, and Hongqiao being the main domestic airport, but also serving some international destinations in East Asia. Transfer between the airports takes about 40 min via the Airport Link Line, or about 1 hour by taxi. There are also direct shuttle buses. If you're not in a hurry, you can also travel between the two airports in about two hours by metro. The airports are opposite ends of line 2 , the main East-West line through downtown Shanghai. You can reduce the time by taking the Maglev train (described in the next section) part of the way. A traveller making that transfer with a few hours to spare and a desire to get a quick look at Shanghai (and not too much luggage) might get off at Nanjing Road East and walk a few blocks to the Bund. Free tourist maps of central Shanghai, with major sights labeled in English, are available in little racks as you enter either airport. These are worth grabbing as you walk by since, except at some hotels, free maps are unavailable elsewhere. Both airports also have direct bus service to major nearby cities such as Hangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing, though the new fast trains may be preferable, especially from Hongqiao Airport which

Getting around

Shanghai has an excellent public transport network with the one of the world's most extensive metro (subway and elevated train) systems as its backbone and buses that go more-or-less everywhere else. Taxis are plentiful, and cheap by international standards, and getting around on foot is often practical. Metro, taxi and walking will be the main means of transport for most travellers. The city is huge (24 million), though, and all transport methods sometimes have problems with congestion.

Metro cards International credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, JCB) including mobile payment apps can now be used to "tap to pay" on all Shanghai metro lines. They are not accepted by buses or most taxis.

Shanghai Jiaotong Card If you intend to stay in Shanghai for more than a few days, a metro card — also called a Shanghai Jiaotong Card (上海公共交通卡) or Shanghai Public Transportation Card — is a must. You can get these cards at any metro station, as well as some convenience stores like Alldays and KeDi Marts. You can load the card with money and use it in buses, the metro and even taxis, saving the hassle of buying tickets (sometimes with long queues) and keeping change for buses and taxis. Also, the card allows you to change lines at some stations where without the card you would need to get another ticket, and gives a ¥1 discount for each bus↔bus or metro↔bus transfer. These cards do not require contact with the card reader to work. It is quite common to see someone just pass a purse, wallet or shoulder bag over the reader without taking the card out, and this almost always works. The card can be used once after it runs out of money; up to a ¥8 "overdraft" is allowed. Cards come in several sizes — regular (credit card size), mini, and "strap" (for hanging on mobile phones) — and special editions with interesting pictures are available for each. New machines that can load money to any size of card are replacing older machines, but they do not take cash, generally only accepting Alipay or UnionPay/Discover cards. Service counters in most metro stations will recharge any type of card in multiples of ¥10, but a few stations are no longer staffing their service counters, while others are experimenting with requiring recharges to be done at the self-service machines, so it is advised to make sure sufficient funds are available for your return trip if you are going to a less-populated part of town. There is a ¥20 deposit for the card; regular-sized cards can be returned for a deposit refund, but mini or strap sizes cannot. For any card type, the balance on the card can be

See

Individual listings can be found in Shanghai's district articles Where to go in Shanghai depends largely on available time and your interests. For the areas with most of the main tourist attractions, see the Downtown and Pudong sections above and the district articles they link to. If you read Chinese well, the Meituan app, Amap, or Baidu search engine may also be helpful. Many of Shanghai's main tourist sights are in Huangpu District:

The Old City (老城厢; Lao Chengxiang, also known as 南市, Nanshi) is the original Chinese city going back about 1000 years, now a major tourist area. The center of that area is Yuyuan Gardens. The International Settlement and the Bund People's Square (人民公园, Renmin Gongyuan). What was once the horse-racing track on the edge of the British district is now a large and busy downtown park. The old track's clubhouse now houses a museum and a fine restaurant. Under the square at the edge of the park is a metro station that is one of the hubs of the Shanghai system and one of the busiest subway stations on Earth; lines 1 , 2 and 8 meet there. Nearby are several large high-end malls and department stores.

Nanjing Road was the main street of the old British Concession; today it is a major upmarket shopping street. Line 2 runs under it for some distance and has four stations along it; listed east-west they are Nanjing Road East, People's Square, Nanjing Road West and Jing'an Temple. The road extends across two districts.

Nanjing Road East in Huangpu District extends from the Bund to People's Park, and most of it is a very busy pedestrians-only strip. Nanjing Road West is the continuation into Jing'an District. Part of it runs along the north side of People's Park. A landmark beyond the park is Jing'an Temple, a beautiful ancient building with a metro station named after it. If your taste runs more to very modern architecture, remarkably tall buildings and enormous shopping malls, the prime districts for skyscrapers are Pudong and Jing'an. Other major sights are in the former French Concession. This has always been a fashionable area—even in the colonial period, many famous Chinese lived there—and it remains so today with much of Shanghai's best entertainment and shopping. We treat it as a single district and give it its own article. Within it are:

Xujiahui, the center of Xuhui District, with a metro interchange (lines 1 , 9 and 11 ), major roads, huge malls including many electronics stores, and high-end residential and office buildings. Huaihai Road is an upmarket shopping street which many Shanghai people prefer over Na

Do

Individual listings can be found in Shanghai's district articles The municipal government runs the Shanghai Cultural Information website which has good listings of current events (special exhibits at museums and galleries; shows such as acrobatics at the circus, touring musicians, and plays; sporting events).

Shopping If you like shopping or window shopping, a walk along either of Shanghai's major commercial streets takes an hour or two (or up to several days if you visit many stores and explore side streets) and can be quite interesting:

Nanjing Road, starting from the Bund (Nanjing Road East metro station, line 2 or 10 ) and heading west toward People's Park, Jing'an Temple and perhaps beyond Huaihai Road in the French Concession, starting at South Huangpi Road metro station on Line 1 and heading west. At the cross street just past the Changshu Road station, turn left (past the Starbucks) to reach a whole district of bars and restaurants along Hengshan Road to end your journey in comfort. See #Buy below for more on these streets and nearby areas.

Parks Almost every district in Shanghai has some parks. Some of the major ones are:

People's Park, very central and with a major metro interchange below it (lines 1 , 2 and 8 ) Jing'an Park, across the street from the temple and metro station (lines 2 and 7 ) Fuxing Park in the French Concession Lu Xun Park in Hongkou is named for a famous writer. It has kids' rides and a lake with boats for rent. Gongqing Forest Park in Yangpu also has rides and boats. (Hongkou Stadium station, line 8 and 9 ) Zhongshan Park in Changning. (Zhongshan Park metro station, lines 2 3 & 4 ) Daning Tulip Park, north of the railway station in Zhabei Shanghai Expo Park is in two parts, the larger in Pudong and the smaller in Puxi, toward the south of Huangpu. The Power Station of Art (listed under #Art galleries) is in the Puxi part of the park. Jinjiang Action Park, an amusement park in the southern part of the French Concession. Has a large Ferris wheel with a good view over much of the city. Metro line 1 to Jinjiang Park Station. If you play the game called wei qi in Chinese, or "Go" in English, you are likely to find locals playing it in Fuxing Park or Jing'an Park.

Theme parks Shanghai Disney Resort Shanghai Disney Resort sits in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. The park is home to many one-of-a-kind attractions, such as the TRON Lightcycle Power Run.

Other Drink at a tea house. Visit one of Shanghai's many tea houses. Be careful not to order amazingly expensive teas or too much food. Beware of frie

Buy

Individual listings can be found in Shanghai's district articles Much of the shopping in Shanghai is either downtown or (mostly for big malls) across the river in Pudong. Many clothing shops are downtown, but others are scattered citywide; see #Clothing for details. There are also many shopping opportunities in the big malls of Pudong, and all the suburban areas have malls as well. Two of the largest malls on the Puxi side of the river are:

Cloud Nine shopping center in Changning district has nine floors above ground (hence the name) and two below. Wanda Plaza in Yangpu is the favorite entertainment spot for university students and locals on the north side. With those exceptions, most of the shopping is downtown

Nanjing Road in Huangpu is Shanghai's best-known shopping street, and probably China's. Nanjing Road starts on the riverside at The Bund and goes about 6 km (3.7 mi) west from there to Jing'an Temple. It continues beyond the temple, gradually changing from intensively commercial to more office and residential use. The park divides Nanjing Road into two parts: Nanjing Road East (Nanjing dong lu) in Huangpu District, mostly pedestrians-only and a major shopping area since the mid-19th century. It is a 1-km long pedestrian boulevard running inland from the Bund, lined with busy shops. The wide boulevard is often packed with people on weekends and holidays. The shops are often targeted to domestic tourists, so the prices are surprisingly reasonable. The Nanjing Road East station (lines 2 and 10 ) is near the center of that pedestrian area. The People's Park station (lines 1 , 2 and 8 ) is at the inland end, furthest from the Bund. Beyond that station the road is no longer pedestrian-only; it runs along the north side of People's Park (人民广场), which is often considered the center of Shanghai. For high-end international brands, go to Nanjing Road West (南京西路 Nanjing xi lu) near Jing'an Temple station (line 2 or 7 ). Several large shopping malls (Plaza 66 aka Henglong Plaza, Citic Plaza, Meilongzhen Plaza, and others being built) house boutiques bearing the most famous names in fashion. The French Concession is another major shopping area. Huaihai Road is a busy boulevard with upscale stores; well-off locals tend to shop there in preference to the more touristy Nanjing Road. For boutique shopping, head to the smaller streets just off it — Xinle Lu (新乐路), Changle Lu (长乐路) and Anfu Lu (安福路) — starting from east of Shaanxi Lu (陕西路); the nearest Metro station is South Shanxi Rd on Line 1 . This area of low-rise buildings and tree-lined streets bu

Eat

Individual listings can be found in Shanghai's district articles Many food options in Shanghai are much as anywhere else in China. A lot of the street food is cheap and interesting; roasted sweet potatoes are a common and low-risk item. Hole-in-the-wall restaurants, especially West-of-China Muslim noodle places or spicy Sichuan places, often have good cheap food as well. The local bakeries are generally reasonably priced and the coffee houses have Western-style baked goods for not much more. For excellent Sichuan food in classier surroundings, Spicy Joint on Huaihai Road is extremely popular; do not go at a peak time unless you are willing to wait for a table. While there are some good Indian and Thai places, there are also many Japanese curry places in Shanghai. A popular chain is Coco Ichibanya with about a dozen locations from Pudong to Suzhou, mostly downtown. One is in the mall attached to Jing'an Temple metro station, another in Metro City mall at Xujiahui, and another on Huaihai Road. The Wagas chain has restaurants offering coffee and a mostly western menu—mainly light choices like sandwiches, soups and salads—at mid-range prices and "Baker & Spice" places which combine a café and bakery. They offer free WiFi and are a popular spot for locals and digital nomads working on laptops as they sip coffee. Downtown Shanghai has at least one Wagas location in each of the eight #Districts covered in this article, including at least two in Jing'an. The ground-level strip of restaurants behind Grand Gateway Mall at Xjiahui has a Wagas with a Baker & Spice shop next door. There are plenty of places with various sorts of international cuisine, mostly at higher prices than those mentioned above. The largest group are in the French Concession, mostly along Hengshan Road or streets running off it, but there are also many in Jing'an, Huangpu and Pudong, and some elsewhere. As anywhere in China, Brazilian all-you-can-eat barbeque restaurants are common; one is on Hengshan Road. There is also an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet above the Dutch department store on Huaihai Road. Huanghe Rd (黄河路), off Nanjing Road has upmarket Chinese-style seafood. Much western fast food is available: McDonald's, Starbucks and KFC are ubiquitous, while Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts and Burger King are fairly common. Shanghai has a few you might not find (yet?) in smaller cities, such as a Papa John's Pizza on Hengshan Road and a Carl's Jr. burger place at Xujiahui.

Shanghai cuisine Shanghai's cuisine, like its people and culture, is primarily a fusion of the forms of the surr

Drink & nightlife

Individual listings can be found in Shanghai's district articles Most of the places mentioned under #Eat above also serve booze, and the rest have coffee and tea. The traditional alcoholic drink of choice for the Shanghainese is Shaoxing rice wine, and this can still be found in most restaurants. Prices of drinks in cafés and bars vary like they would in any major metropolis. They can be cheap or budget-busters, with a basic coffee or beer costing ¥10-40. In a high-end hotel bar, one basic beer may cost as much as ¥80. Western-style cafés and bars have also become commonplace. There are internationally-known chains, like Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, as well as popular domestic and local java joints to satisfy those looking to relax. Hong Kong-style tea cafés are also common, as are Asian "pearl milk tea" or "bubble tea" bars. Some traditional tea houses can still be found, especially in the Old City. Tsingtao, Snow and Pearl River beer are widely available. Major foreign brands are produced domestically and smaller brands are typically imported. There is also a local brew known as REEB (beer spelled backwards). A large bottle (640 ml) of any of these costs anywhere from ¥2-6. Shanghai is filled with amazing nightlife, complete with both affordable bars and nightclubs that pulsate with urban energy. There are plenty of bars in all areas, with the biggest concentration in the French Concession. Xintiandi in particular has many upmarket bars and nightclubs, many with live music. Gay bars are concentrated in the French Concession and the Xinhua Road Residential District in neighboring Changning district. There are many magazines for expats available at hotels and expat eateries, listing and reviewing events, bars, clubs and restaurants in Shanghai. The most popular are That's Shanghai, City Weekend, and Time Out. Shanghai also has an English newspaper, Shanghai Daily, and an English-medium TV channel, International Channel Shanghai or ICS; most expats find these better than the corresponding national media outlets, People's Daily and CCTV channel 9.

Shanghai Pub Crawl, ☏ +86 181-0214-1515, [email protected]. In addition to a plethora of watering holes ranging from bars, lounges, dives and world-class clubs, there is a pub crawl that arranges transportation to various popular venues. For non-Mandarin speakers or those in town for just a few days, this service takes the guesswork out of finding the hippest, most interesting spots that bustle with expatriates and locals. ¥150.

Sleep

Individual listings can be found in Shanghai's district articles Accommodation in Shanghai can be rivaled by few cities in China, in terms of both variety and services. There are establishments for all types of travelers, from backpacker options for the weary to top-of-the-line hotels and serviced apartments for those wishing to be spoiled. Puxi has both new and old hotels with classy architectural styles and charm, some of them described in stories when Shanghai may have been the only place in China known to much of the rest of the world, while modern amenities commonly found in Pudong rival many hotels in Asia and beyond. For clean, safe, budget accommodation, three reliable options are the Jin Jiang Star (website in Chinese), Motel 168 (website in Chinese) and Motel 268 chains, all of which have locations in most districts of Shanghai. For long-term accommodation, be prepared to splurge as Shanghai's real estate prices are among the highest in the world, rivaling even those of major Western cities. If your budget allows it, all the downtown districts except the Old City have high-end hotels, and Pudong across the river has many others. Prices are near international levels, anywhere from around ¥700 a night to several times that. Most of the big international chains have at least one location in Shanghai, and many have hotels in both Pudong and central Puxi; Hilton has those plus a third one at Hongqiao Airport. Many of these hotels are in very convenient locations; Les Suites and Hyatt are on the Bund, Le Meridien is just off Nanjing Road, and Radisson is on People's Square; see Huangpu for listings. In Jing'an, the Shangrila is right next to the temple and metro station, and in the French Concession, the Langham Xintiandi is close to Xintiandi and the old town. Shanghai also has some grand old hotels built in the art deco style during the city's glory days (1840s-1930s). The Peace Hotel and Astor House are on the Bund and the Park Hotel is across from People's Park on Nanjing Road; all are listed in the Huangpu article. These are often somewhat cheaper than the newer luxury hotels. Quite a few low-priced and mid-range places are in the area north of Jing'an Temple, in Jing'an, Zhabei and Putuo districts. For a more central location the Captain's Hostel is a backpacker place just off the Bund. Backpacker dorms are under ¥100 in most places, while many hostels and most of the plainer hotels can provide private rooms with private shower in the ¥250-600 range.

Go next

Several other major cities are near Shanghai and conveniently reachable on the new CRH high-speed (over 300 km/h) trains. These are comfortable and reasonably priced and, except at holidays, are not too crowded since other trains are cheaper. Look for the separate ticket windows with "CRH" on the signs.

Hangzhou — 45 minutes away by high-speed train, is one of China's top domestic tourist destinations, featuring the famous West Lake, a fine silk market, and Buddhist caves. The popular times of year to go are spring and fall. An information booth at the train platform exit provides a useful booklet with maps. Suzhou — a historic town half an hour away from Shanghai by high-speed train, is also a major destination for Chinese tourists. Traditionally a city of scholars and poets with many fine classical Chinese gardens and enough canals that it has been called the "Venice of the East". It has also become a major center of hi-tech manufacturing. There is a Chinese saying along the lines The sky has heaven; the Earth has Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Nanjing — about 1.5 hours away by high-speed train, is a great place to get a Chinese history lesson. Nanjing was the capital of China under several dynasties, and of the Nationalist government in the early 20th century. From the city walls to the Presidential Palace, it's a walkable, friendly place with a variety of hotels for all budgets. Well worth the effort. It is also home to the tombs of three prominent figures in Chinese history. Wuxi — roughly halfway between Suzhou and Nanjing, known for the Grand Canal, Lake Tai, the giant Buddha at Lingshan, and delicious local cuisine. Ningbo — is two and a half to three hours away from Shanghai, across the 36 km-long Hangzhou Bay Bridge. The train, via Hangzhou, is faster. There are places that serve as the somewhat rural escapes for Shanghai residents. These are near cities mentioned above, and probably neither would seem at all rural to someone from a less densely populated country.

Mount Putuo, a very scenic island with an important Buddhist temple, near Ningbo. One of China's "Four Great Mountains of Buddhism". See East China for other cities and attractions in the area around Shanghai.