Shanghai Old City
Chinese towns traditionally had a Taoist temple of the town god, but many fell victim to periodic upheaval. Originally dating from the early 15th century,…
Must-see attractions in Shanghai
Hongkou & North Shanghai
This vast expanse of forested parkland (131 hectares) on the western shore of the Huangpu River is a tranquil slice of countryside in Shanghai with around…
French Concession
Founded by Taiwanese artists Loretta Yang and Chang Yi, the Liuli China Museum is dedicated to the art of glass sculpture (pâte de verre or lost-wax…
Shanghai Arts and Crafts Museum
French Concession
Repositioned as a museum, this arts and crafts institute displays traditional crafts such as needlepoint embroidery, paper cutting, lacquer work, jade…
Soong Qingling’s Former Residence
French Concession
Built in the 1920s by a Greek shipping magnate, this quiet building became home to Soong Qingling, wife of Dr Sun Yatsen, from 1948 to 1963. Size up two…
The Bund & People's Square
Occupying the site of the colonial racetrack (which became a holding camp during WWII), People’s Park is the city centre's green refuge. It's home to the…
Shanghai
A very pleasant walk up through the trees of Sheshan National Forest Park, this cruciform red-brick and granite church is the highlight of the West Hill…
French Concession
This leafy spot with a large lawn, laid out by the French in 1909 and used by the Japanese as a parade ground in the late 1930s, remains one of the city’s…
French Concession
This two-floor exhibition invites you into a typical shíkùmén (stone-gate house) household, decked out with period furniture. The ground-floor arrangement…
The Bund & People's Square
Standing at No 27 on the Bund is the former headquarters of early opium traders Jardine Matheson, which went on to become one of the most powerful trading…
French Concession
Sun Zhongshan predictably receives the full-on hagiographic treatment at this shrine to China’s guófù (国父, father of the nation). A capacious exhibition…
Shanghai
Set on the former site of the World Expo China Pavilion, this 160,000-sq-metre, five-floor, modern-art museum hosts some excellent international…
French Concession
This charming little pebble-dash residence with a delightful garden is where the acclaimed author Ba Jin (1904–2005) lived from 1955 to the mid-1990s. Ba…
Chinese Printed Blue Nankeen Exhibition Hall
French Concession
Head down the lane and through courtyards until you see blue cloth drying in the yard. Originally produced in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guizhou provinces,…
Shanghai
Plans are in the works for Shanghai's own Legoland to open in 2022, but until then the Discovery Centre is more than enough to keep Lego fans happy. It…
The Bund & People's Square
Designed by Hungarian architect Ladislaus Hudec and erected as a bank in 1934, the Park Hotel was Shanghai’s tallest building until the 1980s, when…
Shanghai
Until 2019, this was the largest Starbucks store on the planet, with 30,000ft of space built in the shape of a giant coffee bean. The Tokyo store…
Shanghai
The dignified twin-spired St Ignatius Cathedral (1904) is a major Xujiahui landmark. Its nave is a long span of Gothic arches, while the exterior is…
Shanghai Old City
Located at the former site of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, this museum showcases the history of world expositions. Using old video footage, interactive…
Shanghai Old City
This simple but very active temple is curiously accessed from the west, rather than the south, where the entrance to Buddhist temples usually lies. The…
French Concession
In 1946, Zhou Enlai, the much-loved (although some swear he was even more sly than Mao) first premier of the People’s Republic of China, lived briefly in…
Hongkou & North Shanghai
This museum in the Main Post Office building explores postal history in imperial China, which dates back to the 1st millennium BC. The system used an…
Shanghai
This sister museum to the Pudong venue of the same name is an important part of the movement to create a world-class art hub along the West Bund. The four…
Shanghai
There's no shortage of entertainment value here, beginning from the moment you enter the exhibits via a 'red carpet' corridor of simulated applause and…
Former Residence of Mao Zedong
Shanghai
The Great Helmsman Mao Zedong lived here in the latter half of 1924 with his second wife, Yang Kaihui, and their two children at the time, Anying and…
Shanghai
This park marks the site of an old Kuomintang prison, where 800 communists, intellectuals and political agitators were executed between 1928 and 1937. A…
Shanghai
This arts centre features over 100 leading galleries from around the world showing contemporary art to Asian fine arts. The enormous gallery spaces here…
Shanghai
Education meets entertainment in this slick and intelligently designed aquarium that children will love. Join them on a tour through the aquatic…
Shanghai
Founded in 1896, Jiaotong University (literally 'Transport University') has a lovely, leafy campus, with well-kept lawns a short walk beyond the main gate…
Shanghai
This lovely sculpture park fills 87 hectares with over 70 art works, which are curated across the vast green lawns. A mountainous backdrop and the Yue Hu …
Wukang Road Tourist Information Centre
French Concession
On one of the area’s best-preserved streets, this centre displays scale-model concession buildings, photos of historic Shanghai architecture and maps for…
Hongkou & North Shanghai
Sky Wheel has sweeping views over north Shanghai plus glimpses of the Huangpu River, Shanghai Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center in the distance…
Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art
The Bund & People's Square
Nonprofit MOCA Shanghai has an all-glass home to maximise natural sunlight (when it cuts through the clouds), a tip-top location in People’s Park and a…
The Bund & People's Square
This elegant 1922 neoclassical building served as the office of a British shipping company before being occupied by the Japanese during WWII and serving…
The Bund & People's Square
The Shanghai branch of this Hong Kong contemporary gallery is set within an old bank building dating from 1936. With a mix of Chinese and international…
French Concession
On those rare days when Shanghai’s skies are cloud-free, the chic Ferguson Lane courtyard fills up in the blink of an eye with boutique browsers, latte…
French Concession
This small, French-inspired park features a central avenue lined with statuesque plane trees. Come evening, this walkway regularly transforms into a stage…
Hongkou & North Shanghai
This vast concrete former abattoir is one of Shanghai's unique buildings, today converted to house a number of boutiques, galleries and restaurants …
The Bund & People's Square
Housed in a beautiful 1932 art deco building, that – like several other galleries in the area – was formerly a Chinese bank, AroundSpace is an elegant art…
French Concession
One of Shanghai's top galleries, this small space is concealed high above the street-level crowds. Curator Jean Loh captures humanistic themes in…
