Must-see attractions in Shanghai

  • My only regret is that the moment was almost too perfect...

    Yuyuan Gardens & Bazaar

    Shanghai Old City

    With its shaded alcoves, glittering pools churning with fish, plus pavilions, pines sprouting wistfully from rockeries, and roving packs of Japanese…

  • Sunrise on Bund Shanghai with walking man

    The Bund

    The Bund & People's Square

    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…

  • Close-Up Of Gold Male Statue In Jade Buddha Temple

    Jade Buddha Temple

    Shanghai

    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…

  • China, Shanghai, Pudong, Shanghai Tower against sky

    Shanghai Tower

    Shanghai

    China’s tallest building dramatically twists skywards from its footing in Lujiazui. The 121-storey, 632m-tall, Gensler-designed Shanghai Tower topped out…

  • Souvenir shop in Tianzifang.

    Tianzifang

    French Concession

    Tianzifang and Xintiandi are based on a similar idea – an entertainment complex housed within a warren of lòngtáng (弄堂, alleyways). Unlike Xintiandi,…

  • Xintiandi, Shanghai, China, Asia

    Xintiandi

    French Concession

    With its own namesake metro station, Xintiandi has been a Shanghai icon for over a decade. An upmarket entertainment and shopping complex modelled on…

  • Shanghai,People's Square,Shanghai

    Shanghai Museum

    The Bund & People's Square

    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…

  • People at ShanghART art gallery, Moganshan Road, Shanghai, China, Asia

    M50

    Shanghai

    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…

  • Jing'an Temple

    Shanghai

    With the original temple dating back to AD 1216, the much-restored Jing'an Temple was here well before all the audacious skyscrapers and glitzy shopping…

  • SHANGHAI, CHINA - MAY 28: Oriental Pearl Tower over river on May 28, 2012 in Shanghai, China. The tower was the tallest structure in China excluding Taiwan from 1994~2007 and the landmark of Shanghai.; Shutterstock ID 126669962; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; Project no. or GL code: 56530; Network activity no. or Cost Centre: Online-Design; Product or Project: 65050/7529/Josh Vogel/LP.com Destination Galleries

    Oriental Pearl TV Tower

    Shanghai

    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…

  • Shanghai Natural History Museum

    Shanghai

    It's not quite on the same scale as Washington, DC's Smithsonian, but this sleek space is nevertheless as comprehensive as it is entertaining and…

  • Shanghai History Museum

    The Bund & People's Square

    Originally opened as the Shanghai Race Club in 1934, and having undergone several incarnations since, this iconic building now houses the Shanghai History…

  • Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall

    The Bund & People's Square

    Set over five levels, this modern museum covers Shanghai's urban planning history, tracing its development from swampy fishing village to modern-day…

  • Shanghai Museum of Public Security

    French Concession

    This offbeat and macabre museum over three floors details how the Chinese authorities keep control. Display cases depict the illicit activities local cops…

  • Rockbund Art Museum

    The Bund & People's Square

    Housed in the magnificent former Royal Asiatic Society building (1932) – once Shanghai's first museum – this world-class gallery behind the Bund focuses…

  • Propaganda Poster Art Centre

    French Concession

    Design junkies and history buffs will love this vast collection of original posters from 1950s, ’60s and ’70s China, stored in the basement of a…

  • Aurora Museum

    Shanghai

    Designed by renowned Japanese architect Ando Tadao, the Aurora Museum is set over six floors of the Aurora building and houses a stunning collection of…

  • Shanghai Disneyland

    Shanghai

    Disney has magicked-up a spectacular theme park in Shanghai, offering a subtly Chinese take on Mickey and Co. Six themed areas encircle Disney’s biggest…

  • island6

    Shanghai

    One of the M50 art precinct's most creative, thought-provoking, interactive and engaging galleries is island6. Artist Liu Dao showcases his work and that…

  • QIBAO, SHANGHAI-MARCH 16, 2010: village canal at sunset. Qibao water village is Shanghai tourist attraction with 1000000 visitors year.; Shutterstock ID 297106160; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Gillmore; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online-Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: 65050/ Online Design /LaurenGillmore/POI

    Qībǎo

    Shanghai

    If you tire of Shanghai's incessant quest for modernity, this tiny town is only a hop, skip and metro ride away. An ancient settlement that prospered…

  • Pudong,Shanghai

    Shanghai World Financial Center

    Shanghai

    Although trumped by the adjacent Shanghai Tower as the city’s most stratospheric building, the awe-inspiring 492m-high Shanghai World Financial Center is…

  • 500px Photo ID: 125642099 -

    Longhua Temple & Pagoda

    Shanghai

    Shanghai's oldest and largest monastery is named after the pipal tree (lónghuá) under which Buddha achieved enlightenment. Trees are decorated with red…

  • Exhibition Centre.

    Shanghai Exhibition Centre

    Shanghai

    The hulking monolith of the Shanghai Exhibition Centre was built in 1955 as the Sino-Soviet Friendship Mansion – a friendship that soon turned sour and…

  • The Bund, customs house.

    Custom House

    The Bund & People's Square

    The neoclassical Custom House, established at this site in 1857 and rebuilt in 1927, is one of the most important buildings on the Bund. Capping it is Big…

  • Jing'an Sculpture Park

    Shanghai

    The attractive Jing'an Sculpture Park contains a mix of permanent and temporary pieces created by mainly international artists. The sculptures are…

  • Hongkong & Shanghai Bank Building

    The Bund & People's Square

    Adjacent to the Custom House, the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank Building was constructed in 1923. The bank was first established in Hong Kong in 1864 and in…

  • Yuanmingyuan Road

    The Bund & People's Square

    Like a smaller, more condensed version of the Bund, the pedestrianised, cobblestone Yuanmingyuan Rd is lined with a mishmash of colonial architecture…

  • Former British Consulate

    The Bund & People's Square

    The original British Consulate was one of the first foreign buildings to go up in Shanghai in 1852, though it was destroyed in a fire and replaced with…

  • Yuz Museum

    Shanghai

    A huge development for Shanghai's contemporary art scene, this enormous gallery is housed in the former hangar of Longhua Airport and sprawls over 9000 sq…

  • Duoloun Road Cultural Street, Hongkou.

    Duolun Road Cultural Street

    Hongkou & North Shanghai

    This pleasantly restored but sleepy street of fine old houses, just off North Sichuan Rd, was once home to several of China’s most famous writers (as well…

  • Shanghai Botanical Gardens.

    Shanghai Botanical Gardens

    Shanghai

    The spacious 200 acres of gardens here offer an escape from Shanghai’s synthetic cityscape. The floral displays are truly impressive, especially during…

  • Relaxing beside Lotus pond, Lu Xun Park, Hongqiao.

    Lu Xun Park

    Hongkou & North Shanghai

    Particularly photogenic in spring and summer when the trees are in blossom, Lu Xun Park is one of the city’s most pleasant green spaces. It was originally…

  • Lu Xun Former Residence entrance.

    Lu Xun Former Residence

    Hongkou & North Shanghai

    Writer Lu Xun's final residence was this three-floor domicile on lovely Shanyin Rd, where an excellent English-speaking guide can fill you in on his life…

  • Jinmao Tower

    Shanghai

    Resembling an art deco take on a pagoda, this crystalline edifice is a beauty. It’s essentially an office block with the high-altitude Grand Hyatt renting…

  • Liu Haisu Art Gallery interior.

    Liu Haisu Art Museum

    Shanghai

    The impressive Liu Haisu gallery exhibits works of the eponymous painter (one of China's earliest modern artists) and displays international contemporary…

  • Guangfulini Ancient Relics Park

    Shanghai

    This enormous archaeological park is built around the ancient relics of Songjiang and spans nearly three miles. You'll need a day to properly experience…

  • Wall panels inside Lu Xun Memorial Hall.

    Lu Xun Museum

    Hongkou & North Shanghai

    An excellent museum, this modern hall charts the life and creative output of author Lu Xun with photographs, first editions, videos and waxworks. Detailed…

  • Chenxiangge Monastery

    Shanghai Old City

    Sheltering a community of dark-brown-clothed monks from the Chenhai (Sea of Dust) – what Buddhists call the mortal world, but which could equally refer to…

  • East Nanjing Road

    The Bund & People's Square

    Linking the Bund with People’s Square is East Nanjing Rd, once known as Nanking Rd. The first department stores in China opened here in the 1920s, when…

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