Shanghai

Somewhere between the 300 km/h train and the tea-house con artist waiting by the Bund, Shanghai will teach you the difference between “fast” and “worth it.” This guide covers both, plus where to eat dumplings that people actually queue for.

Getting There and Away

Pudong International (PVG) handles the international traffic; Hongqiao (SHA) sits closer to town and plugs straight into the high-speed rail network for Suzhou and Hangzhou day trips. The Maglev at PVG is the one every brochure photographs and nobody explains properly: it only runs to Longyang Road station, which is still a Metro Line 2 ride or a taxi from downtown. Hauling luggage through that transfer erases whatever time you saved hitting 431 km/h. Metro Line 2 runs the whole way from PVG through Lujiazui and Nanjing East Road to Hongqiao, and it’s the boring, correct choice.

Skip the airport touts quoting flat “discount” fares. Head to the marked taxi rank, get a teal or turquoise cab, and insist the meter runs. Expect roughly Y180-220 plus tolls for the ride into town.

Where to Sleep

Budget for location as much as star rating here; the metro makes most neighborhoods workable, but staying near the Bund or in the French Concession cuts your commute to the good stuff. Whatever you book, hand over your passport at check-in: Chinese law requires hotels to register overnight foreign guests with police, and they’ll do it automatically without you asking.

Where to Point Your Feet

The Bund costs nothing and never closes; go at dawn when it’s yours alone, or after dark when Pudong’s skyline switches on across the water. Yu Garden runs about Y40 and is genuinely worth the ticket, but the bazaar wrapped around it sells fake antiques at tourist markup and calls itself “Nanxiang” despite having nothing to do with the actual original dumpling restaurant, which sits inside the garden grounds. Walk past it.

Shanghai Tower’s 118th-floor deck costs around Y180 (up to Y199 on holidays) and delivers one of the highest views on the planet. Jing’an Temple, a working temple wedged between office towers, is about Y50. The French Concession’s Wukang Road and Anfu Road are free and made for aimless wandering, which is the entire point of visiting them.

For museums, the flagship Shanghai Museum East in Pudong is free and, as of September 2024, needs no advance booking for individuals. Just show up with ID. The older branch on People’s Square still requires a WeChat reservation, so plan ahead if that’s your target.

Things to Actually Do

A Huangpu River cruise gives you the skyline from the water, which is the one angle photos from the Bund can’t replicate. Tianzifang, tucked into old shikumen laneways near the French Concession, rewards slow wandering through indie shops and cafes; it’s scrappier and more interesting than Xintiandi, which is reconstructed, polished, and better for a walk-through than a meal. Nanjing Road is free pedestrian shopping and simultaneously the highest-density scam zone in the city, so keep your guard up while you browse.

Eating the Right Things

Jia Jia Tang Bao is the local favorite for xiaolongbao: Y20-30, a line out the door, and cash or mobile pay only. Din Tai Fung serves a more polished version for Y80-120, and it’s worth remembering the chain is Taiwanese, not a Shanghai original, before you credit it with “authentic local flavor.” For shengjianbao, the pan-fried cousin of the soup dumpling, Yang’s Fry Dumpling runs Y15-25 and moves fast.

Getting Around

The metro spans 20 lines now, base fare Y3, most rides Y4-8, running roughly 5:30am to 11pm. Bind a foreign card to the Metro Dazhong app, or use Alipay’s transit QR, which works everywhere. Since mid-2023, Alipay and WeChat Pay both accept international Visa, Mastercard, and JCB cards bound directly through your passport, no local bank account needed. Transactions under Y200 carry no fee; above that, expect about 3%. Late 2025 added stricter identity verification that can take a day or two to clear, so set this up before you fly, not from the arrivals hall. Didi covers the gaps with an English interface and international card support.

Things Worth Knowing

Shanghai runs hot and humid June through August, with the plum rain season (mid-June to mid-July) adding weeks of sticky drizzle on top. Spring and autumn are the reward: mild, clear, and the reason people actually enjoy walking around outdoors here. Avoid Golden Week (October 1-7) entirely; prices spike and every attraction hits capacity.

The Great Firewall blocks Google, Gmail, Maps, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Get a VPN installed and tested before you leave home, because app stores inside China won’t offer you one once you’ve landed. Apple Maps and Amap work locally without any workaround.

Travelers from 55-plus countries, including the US, UK, EU nations, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil, qualify for 240-hour visa-free transit, good for up to 10 days across Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang with a confirmed onward ticket. That window comfortably covers Suzhou by bullet train (25-30 minutes from Hongqiao) and makes it the stronger single day trip over Hangzhou, whose West Lake deserves an overnight rather than a rushed there-and-back.

One Warning Worth Repeating

Near the Bund and Nanjing Road East, a friendly stranger will offer to “practice English” and steer you toward a nearby tea house. The bill arrives somewhere between Y3,000 and Y10,000, and the door has a way of staying shut until you pay it. A legitimate tea ceremony costs Y50-200 with a printed menu shown up front. Never follow anyone to an unnamed venue, and ask to see prices before you sit down.