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-ever Enchanted Storybook Castle, with attractions including a TRON roller coaster joining high-tech reboots of old favourites like Pirates of the Caribbean. With an estimated 350 million people living less than three hours away, expect long queues for rides – arrive before 9am if you plan to do it all in a day.
Shanghai Disneyland
Top choice in Shanghai
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Yuyuan Gardens & Bazaar
11.98 MILES
With its shaded alcoves, glittering pools churning with fish, plus pavilions, pines sprouting wistfully from rockeries, and roving packs of Japanese…
The Bund
12.48 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…
Jade Buddha Temple
14.92 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…
Shanghai Tower
11.57 MILES
China’s tallest building dramatically twists skywards from its footing in Lujiazui. The 121-storey, 632m-tall, Gensler-designed Shanghai Tower topped out…
Tianzifang
12.67 MILES
Tianzifang and Xintiandi are based on a similar idea – an entertainment complex housed within a warren of lòngtáng (弄堂, alleyways). Unlike Xintiandi,…
Xintiandi
12.76 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…
Shanghai Museum
12.92 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…
M50
14.97 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 Shanghai attractions
1. Himalayas Museum
7.91 MILES
In the eye-catching Himalayas Center (attached to the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel), and formerly the Zendai Museum of Art, this art gallery is a fixture on…
2. Century Park
8.4 MILES
This modern park at the eastern end of Century Ave is strong on hard edges and synthetic lines, but there’s an attractive central lake (with expensive…
3. Shanghai Science & Technology Museum
9.19 MILES
You need to do a huge amount of walking to get around this seriously spaced-out museum and some of it is pretty dated, but there are some fascinating…
4. China Art Museum
10.8 MILES
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…
5. Dongjiadu Cathedral
10.95 MILES
Just outside Shanghai Old City and once known as St Francis Xavier Church, this magnificent whitewashed cathedral is Shanghai’s oldest church, built by…
6. Power Station of Art
10.97 MILES
The vast Power Station of Art in the disused Nanshi Power Plant holds modern large-scale installations, design shows and other temporary exhibitions, some…
7. Cool Docks
11.05 MILES
The riverside Cool Docks consist of several shíkùmén (石库门, stone-gate houses) surrounded by red-brick warehouses, near (but not quite on) the waterfront…
8. Sunny Beach
11.06 MILES
Life’s a beach, even in the middle of Shanghai. If the sun comes out, pop down to this small but amusing artificial strip of sand right by the river and…