Shanghai Travel Guide: The Bund, Pudong, Old Lanes
Updated
The best view in Shanghai costs 2 yuan: the public ferry across the Huangpu, from the 1920s banks of the Bund to the towers of Pudong.
A short story about Shanghai in Mandarin, with English alongside. The beginner version needs no Chinese. Jump to the storyA short history of Shanghai
A river port and cotton town until 1843, when the treaty ending the First Opium War opened it to foreign trade. Britain and America ran the International Settlement, France a concession beside it. By the 1930s it was one of the world’s largest cities.
In 1990 Pudong, then fields and warehouses, was opened for development.
The Bund
外滩 Wàitān
1.5 km of riverfront banks, hotels and a customs house from the 1890s to the 1930s, on a raised promenade. Across the water: the Oriental Pearl, Jin Mao, the World Financial Center and the 632-metre Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest.
Go twice: by day for the buildings, after dark for the lit towers.
How to visit the Bund
- 1
Book a tower slot first
The Bund is free; book only a tower deck, on Trip.com or Klook with a foreign card and your passport (shown at the door). Shanghai Tower is about 180 yuan; the World Financial Center costs less for as good a view. Book sunset a day ahead.
- 2
Start at the north end
Start at Waibaidu Bridge, by the old Astor House hotel. Stop at the clock-tower customs house and the former HSBC bank.
- 3
Take the ferry, not the tunnel
From Jinling East Road pier to Dongchang Road in Pudong in a few minutes. Pay by transport card or phone. Skip the sightseeing tunnel.
- 4
Come back after dark
The skyline lights up at dusk. Walk back along the Bund and eat in the streets behind it.
Weekend and holiday evenings are packed; go on a weekday.
Things to do in Shanghai beyond the Bund
Lujiazui is one stop on Line 2, Yu Garden a walk south, the lanes a metro ride west.
Lujiazui 陆家嘴
Lùjiāzuǐ
Pudong’s district of towers and malls. Go for a deck view.
The lane houses 石库门
shíkùmén
Stone-gated terraced houses; longtang are the lanes between them. By the 1940s more than half the city lived in them; most have gone since 1990. Tianzifang and Xintiandi are now shops and bars. For lived-in lanes, walk the old French Concession (1849–1943) around Wukang Road.
Yu Garden and the old town 豫园
Yùyuán
A Ming-dynasty garden of rockeries, ponds and pavilions inside a snack bazaar, with the famous zigzag bridge. Go at opening; by midday it is packed.
What to eat in Shanghai
Xiaolongbao 小笼包
xiǎolóngbāo
Thin-skinned pork dumplings full of hot soup: bite, sip, eat. Nanxiang, in the Yu Garden bazaar, has the famous queue.
Shengjianbao 生煎包
shēngjiānbāo
The fried breakfast cousin: thicker dough, crisp bottom, same soup.
Scallion oil noodles 葱油拌面
cōngyóu bànmiàn
Noodles in soy sauce and slow-fried spring-onion oil. Cheap and everywhere.
Plan your trip to Shanghai
Best time to visit Shanghai
- JanMixed
- FebMixed
- MarMixed
- AprGood
- MayGood
- JunMixed
- JulMixed
- AugMixed
- SepGood
- OctBest
- NovBest
- DecMixed
Plum rains run mid-June into July; August is hot and peak typhoon season; winter is grey and damp. Avoid Golden Week (1–7 October) and Chinese New Year.
Getting to Shanghai
- Suzhou by train25 min
- Hongqiao Airport by train35 min
- Pudong Airport by train1 h
- Hangzhou by train1 h
- Beijing by train4½ h
Pudong Airport: maglev to Longyang Road in about 8 minutes, then Line 2. Hongqiao Airport is on Line 2, beside Hongqiao station, where most fast trains stop.
Getting around Shanghai
The metro covers everything, with English signs. Tap a contactless Visa or Mastercard, or use the Alipay transit code (buses too). Didi works in English with a foreign card.
Link your card to Alipay or WeChat Pay before you arrive. Small noodle shops rarely have English menus.
Where to stay in Shanghai
People’s Square and East Nanjing Road: a walk from the Bund, on Line 2 to both airports. The French Concession is leafier, with better food. Lujiazui goes quiet after dark.
Shanghai in three days
- Day 1. The Bund from the north end, the ferry to Pudong, a tower at sunset.
- Day 2. Yu Garden at opening with xiaolongbao, then the French Concession lanes.
- Day 3. A fast train from Hongqiao to Hangzhou for West Lake, or Suzhou for its gardens.
Questions about visiting Shanghai
Is the Bund free?
Yes, day and night. You only pay to go up a Pudong tower.
How do you get from the Bund to Pudong?
The 2-yuan ferry from Jinling East Road pier, or Metro Line 2, one stop from East Nanjing Road to Lujiazui.
Do you need cash in Shanghai?
Almost never. Alipay and WeChat Pay take foreign cards; keep a little cash for stalls.
Can you visit Hangzhou as a day trip from Shanghai?
Yes. Fast trains from Hongqiao reach Hangzhou East in 45 minutes to an hour; metro Line 1 to West Lake takes about 20 more.
Is Shanghai easy to visit without Chinese?
One of the easiest in China: English on the metro and in Didi. Small restaurants are the gap.
Chinese you’ll see in Shanghai
On the signs, the ferry and the metro map.
- 上海Shànghǎi
- Shanghai, "on the sea"
- 外滩Wàitān
- the Bund, literally "outer bank"
- 浦东Pǔdōng
- Pudong, east of the Huangpu
- 黄浦江Huángpǔ Jiāng
- the Huangpu River
- 轮渡lúndù
- ferry
- 码头mǎtou
- pier
- 弄lòng
- lane; on address plates, "100弄" is lane 100
- 地铁dìtiě
- metro
- 小笼包xiǎolóngbāo
- soup dumplings
- 出口chūkǒu
- exit
Want more? Browse Chinese vocabulary by level.
Hear Shanghai in Mandarin
Across the river by ferry, then into a shikumen lane behind the Bund.
The story is Shanghai: The Two-Yuan Boat That Built the Skyline. Every level has a transcript, pinyin and English.
