This British-built jail was once Shanghai’s biggest. Used by the Japanese during WWII, it’s still functioning as a prison (renamed Tilanqiao Prison) and is probably as close as you’ll get, or would want to get, to a Chinese detention facility.
Ward Road Jail
Hongkou & North Shanghai
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.19 MILES
With its shaded alcoves, glittering pools churning with fish, plus pavilions, pines sprouting wistfully from rockeries, and roving packs of Japanese…
1.62 MILES
Symbolic of concession-era Shanghai, the Bund was the city’s Wall Street, a place of feverish trading and fortunes made and lost. Originally a towpath for…
3.88 MILES
One of Shanghai’s few active Buddhist monasteries, this temple was built between 1918 and 1928. The highlight is a transcendent Buddha crafted from pure…
1.53 MILES
China’s tallest building dramatically twists skywards from its footing in Lujiazui. The 121-storey, 632m-tall, Gensler-designed Shanghai Tower topped out…
3.97 MILES
Tianzifang and Xintiandi are based on a similar idea – an entertainment complex housed within a warren of lòngtáng (弄堂, alleyways). Unlike Xintiandi,…
3.13 MILES
With its own namesake metro station, Xintiandi has been a Shanghai icon for over a decade. An upmarket entertainment and shopping complex modelled on…
2.72 MILES
This must-see museum escorts you through the craft of millennia and the pages of Chinese history. It's home to one of the most impressive collections in…
3.61 MILES
Shanghai may be known for its glitz and glamour, but it's got an edgy subculture too. The industrial M50 art complex is one prime example, where galleries…
Nearby Hongkou & North Shanghai attractions
1. Ohel Moishe Synagogue & Jewish Refugees Museum
0.07 MILES
Originally built by the Russian Ashkenazi Jewish community in 1928, this synagogue lies in the heart of the 1940s Jewish ghetto. In 2007 it was restored…
0.07 MILES
The name of this large Buddhist temple means 'Going Out to Sea Temple'. It was built during the Qing dynasty, during the rule of the Qianlong emperor (r…
0.19 MILES
Look above the convenience store to admire the magnificent art deco former Broadway Theatre building, located in the Jewish Quarter.
0.98 MILES
This vast concrete former abattoir is one of Shanghai's unique buildings, today converted to house a number of boutiques, galleries and restaurants …
1.09 MILES
Education meets entertainment in this slick and intelligently designed aquarium that children will love. Join them on a tour through the aquatic…
1.2 MILES
This 468m-tall globe-on-a-tripod tower is the most iconic contemporary building in the city, and its image is omnipresent around town – from postcards to…
7. Shanghai Stock Exchange Building
1.27 MILES
Shanghai's stock exchange used to run in the Peacock Hall of the Astor House Hotel before moving to new custom-made digs in Pudong.
1.28 MILES
The lack of English captions badly hobbles the displays of this small museum detailing the life and work of artist, poet, calligrapher and seal carver Wu…