Shanghai

The Shanghai Maglev covers the 30 km from Pudong International Airport to Longyang Road metro station in eight minutes at a top speed of 431 km/h. That is faster than a commercial aircraft at takeoff, and it sets a tone: Shanghai does things at a scale and speed that can feel destabilising for the first day or two, then addictive.

Getting to the City

From Pudong Airport (PVG), the Maglev is the right choice if you want the experience (50 RMB, eight minutes, then a Metro Line 2 transfer to People’s Square or Nanjing East Road for another 6 to 10 RMB). Total time to the city centre is around 40 minutes. A taxi runs 160 to 190 RMB and takes 60 to 80 minutes depending on traffic, which on the Yan’an Elevated Road during rush hour can be genuinely severe. The Metro alone (Line 2 the whole way) takes about 60 minutes and costs 6 to 10 RMB; it is the most useful option if you have manageable luggage and are arriving mid-day.

From Hongqiao Airport (SHA), Metro Lines 2 and 10 cover the western end of the city efficiently; most hotels in the French Concession or Jing’an are 40 minutes away.

Visa and Entry

China requires a visa for most foreign nationals, but the 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit policy covers 54 countries as of 2026. If you hold a qualifying passport, have a confirmed onward ticket to a third country, and enter and exit through the designated ports (Pudong is one), you can spend up to 240 hours in Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces without a visa. The 240-hour window opens at midnight on the day after arrival. This policy has made Shanghai genuinely accessible as an extended stopover rather than a rush-through.

Download and set up your VPN before you land. China blocks Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, most Western news sites, and much of what non-Chinese smartphones assume will be available. A working VPN is not a nice-to-have; it is essential. China-purchased SIM cards typically include domestic data but not VPN-bypassed international access, so the most reliable approach is to buy a dedicated China-compatible eSIM or activate international roaming before departure and load your VPN on the plane.

Getting Around the City

The Metro is the most efficient way to move. Shanghai’s system has 20 lines and over 500 stations; Line 2 (east-west through the centre), Line 1 (north-south through Jing’an and the French Concession), and Line 10 (French Concession and Yuyuan) cover most tourist areas. The Jiaotong Card (transit card) works on Metro, buses, and taxis and is bought at any station. Single fares are 3 to 9 RMB based on distance.

DiDi is the main ride-hailing app; it works similarly to Uber and generally has a function for passengers who need to communicate in English (you can enter your destination in text). Foreign credit cards do not work with DiDi without setup, so have your WeChat Pay or Alipay linked to a bank card - or ask your hotel to call a taxi for short trips.

Bike-sharing (Hello Bike, Meituan Bike) is genuinely useful for exploring the French Concession and areas along the Bund; both apps require a mainland Chinese mobile number for registration, which is a significant friction point for visitors without one. Ask at your hotel reception - some will register for you.

The Bund and Pudong

The Bund (Waitan) is the 1.5-km riverside promenade lined with early 20th-century banking and trading house facades - Beaux-Arts, Art Deco, Neo-Gothic - that were built by the European and American colonial trading houses that made Shanghai rich in a way that had nothing to do with Chinese prosperity. Across the Huangpu River, Pudong’s skyline (Shanghai Tower at 632 m, the Jin Mao Tower, the Oriental Pearl) rose in the 1990s and 2000s on what was farmland in 1990. The juxtaposition is one of the most photographed urban views in the world, and at night, both banks light up in a way that is genuinely spectacular rather than merely bright.

The Bund is at its least crowded early morning; arrive before 08:00 and you will find the promenade occupied by people doing tai chi rather than tour groups. An evening walk on the Bund followed by a ferry crossing to Pudong (3 RMB, pedestrian ferry from the dock near the Bund Financial Centre) is the most efficient and atmospheric way to see both banks.

Shanghai Tower’s observation deck on the 118th floor (around 180 RMB) is the highest point in China and gives a view that makes the city’s scale comprehensible. Buy tickets in advance online; queues on weekends are long.

The French Concession and Tianzifang

The former French Concession (now mostly Xuhui and Luwan districts) is the most comfortable neighbourhood for walking. The plane trees planted in the early 20th century now form continuous canopy along Wukang Road, Fuxing Road, and the lanes off Huaihai Middle Road. Former villas and lane houses (shikumen) from the 1920s and 1930s have been converted into cafes, galleries, restaurants, and boutiques in a process that has been happening for twenty years and is still ongoing.

Tianzifang is a converted shikumen neighbourhood in the southern French Concession with narrow alleys, craft shops, small cafes, and an independent character that feels genuine despite the tourist foot traffic. It gets extremely crowded on weekend afternoons; a weekday morning visit is a different experience.

Xintiandi, a few streets north, is the higher-end version: fully renovated shikumen with international brands and several good restaurants in preserved traditional architecture.

Yu Garden and the Old City

Yu Garden (Yuyuan) is a classical Chinese garden built in 1577 for a Ming dynasty official and is worth the 40 RMB entry ticket despite the surrounding tourist market area (which is overwhelming in the worst possible way on a Saturday). The garden’s five acres hold halls, rockeries, ponds, and pavilions in a state of preservation that conveys something of what a wealthy private garden in late imperial Shanghai actually looked like. Arrive when it opens at 09:00.

The City God Temple (Chenghuang Miao) adjacent to the garden is a functioning religious site with incense burners and worshippers mixed in among the visitors; it is not a museum.

Where to Eat

Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings): Jia Jia Tang Bao on Huanghe Road is the correct answer for visitors who want the real thing at honest prices (under 50 RMB for a basket). The dumplings are thin-skinned, full of soup, and eaten with ginger in black vinegar. Arrive early (they open at 07:00) or be prepared for a queue. Lai Lai on Tianjin Road earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2025; crab roe with pork xiaolongbao are 70 RMB for eight.

Shanghainese home cooking: The Fu restaurant group (Fu 1015, Fu 1039, Fu 1088) operates in three restored villas in the French Concession and serves refined traditional Shanghainese cooking at prices that reflect the settings (300 to 600 RMB per person). It is unhurried and excellent.

Street food: Yongkang Road in the French Concession is a short pedestrian stretch of small restaurants, breakfast stalls, and juice shops used daily by the neighbourhood’s residents. It is not a tourist market but it is approachable and cheap.

High-end: The 2025 Michelin Guide lists 145 Shanghai restaurants, 52 of which have at least one star. Meet the Bund (Wai Tan 22) was ranked among Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2025 and offers refined modern Chinese cuisine with Bund views. Taian Table holds three Michelin stars and serves a lengthy tasting menu at around 2,000 to 3,000 RMB per person.

Tipping is not practised and can cause confusion. Do not leave money on the table.

Where to Stay

For the French Concession neighbourhood and the best walking access to restaurants and the tree-lined lanes: The Middle House (Jing’an, 5-star), Capella Shanghai (Jian Ye Li, renovated shikumen, extremely expensive), or the cluster of reliable mid-range hotels around Shaanxi South Road Metro station. For the Bund area: The Peninsula Shanghai is the best-located luxury option; boutique hotels along the Bund are priced at a significant premium for views.

Practical Notes

Payment: WeChat Pay and Alipay dominate almost all transactions in Shanghai. Many smaller places do not accept cash or foreign cards. Since 2023, international visitors can link a foreign Visa or Mastercard to a limited WeChat Pay or Alipay account (available from the International User version of each app). Set this up before you need it. Cash (RMB) is accepted almost everywhere as a fallback; carry some.

Mobile data: Your home carrier’s international data roaming will work but typically does not bypass the Great Firewall. A pre-downloaded and pre-tested VPN from a reputable provider (install and test before departure) is the reliable solution.

Language: English is spoken in major hotels, international restaurants, and high-end shops. It is not reliably spoken elsewhere. Having your destinations written in Chinese characters on your phone is practical for taxi drivers and market stalls.

Weather: Shanghai has four distinct seasons. Summer (June to August) is hot and humid, frequently above 35C with high humidity; typhoons can affect the city in August and September. Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are the most comfortable travel periods. Winter is cold and damp but rarely snowy.

Safety: Shanghai is a very safe city by international standards. Pickpocketing exists in crowded tourist areas (the Bund, Yu Garden market, metro during rush hour) but is less common than in comparable European cities. The most common tourist friction is overpricing at unlicensed tour operators and some camera-toting strangers near the Bund who will eventually ask for payment for their “photography services” - politely decline upfront.