Modern skyline
Lujiazui
Shanghai’s financial district, where landmark towers frame the Huangpu River.
About this experience
Walk among Shanghai’s most recognizable skyscrapers and riverside promenades in Lujiazui, with easy access to observation decks, galleries and waterfront views.
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Read more about Lujiazui
The Bund at Night Is the Postcard — Here's How to See It Right
Shanghai's signature view is the Bund promenade looking across the Huangpu to Pudong's towers. The night version — lit up, reflected on the water, from a cruise — is the one worth planning for.
Read the guide →How to Read Shanghai's Skyline from the Top of Shanghai Tower
At 632 metres, Shanghai Tower is one of the tallest buildings on earth — and its observation deck is the best seat for understanding the city. Here is how to do the skyline justice.
Read the guide →Shanghai's Rooftop Music Season Is the Easiest Free Night Out on the Bund
Every weekend through 30 August, BFC's riverside rooftop turns into an open-air music stage with the Pudong skyline as the backdrop. It is free, it is booked through a simple mini-program, and it might be the best low-effort evening in the city this summer.
Read the guide →Shanghai Haichang's 'Orca Wave Festival' Is the City's Biggest Summer Splash
Through 31 August, Haichang Ocean Park in Lingang runs night sessions, water parties, drone and fireworks shows, and an orca starlight performance. It is the freshest family day-trip option near Shanghai this summer — and a world away from the crowded city center.
Read the guide →The 'Goldfish Theater' at BFC Turns the Bund Into a Thousand-Year Water Dream
Opened 6 August at BFC Bund Finance Center, 'Goldfish Theater' is a national-style immersive exhibition that folds a thousand years of Chinese goldfish culture into light, water and live fish. It is the most talked-about new indoor escape on the riverfront this summer — cool, calm and very photogenic.
Read the guide →Escape the Heat at the World's Largest Indoor Snow World, an Hour from Shanghai
Yaoxue Ice & Snow World in Lingang is billed as the world's largest indoor snow venue — sub-zero all summer, with ski slopes, penguin meet-and-greets and play snow. When Shanghai hits 38°C, it is the city's most refreshing day-trip contradiction.
Read the guide →Disney by Day, Tennis by Afternoon: Shanghai's Limited Summer Combo Ticket
A new combined ticket links Shanghai Disney Resort with the Rolex Masters tennis at nearby Qizhong. For international visitors, it is a neat two-in-one piece of summer planning.
Read the guide →Lujiazui's Anime Takeover: The 'Goods' Carnival at Super Brand Mall
The financial district's Super Brand Mall has become a cosplay and anime-goods playground this summer. A different, playful side of Lujiazui — and an easy add-on to a skyline day.
Read the guide →WorldSkills 2026 in Shanghai: 29 Themed Routes to See the City
As the 48th WorldSkills competition arrives, Shanghai has launched 29 themed tourist routes built around the event. A neat frame for visitors who want the city beyond the usual stops.
Read the guide →Johnny Depp's 'Fringe Figures' Just Opened in Shanghai — A Celebrity Art Show on the Pudong Riverside
From 15 August to 13 December 2026, the Modern Art Museum (Yicang / 艺仓美术馆) on the Pudong waterfront hosts 'Fringe Figures,' Johnny Depp's first major solo exhibition in China. Here is how to see it and pair it with a Pudong afternoon.
Read the guide →A Venice Carnival in Glass Just Landed on the Bund — GLASSTRESS Opens in Shanghai
GLASSTRESS: Carnival of Venice brings 700-year-old Murano glass and 19 countries' contemporary artists to the Bund's Jiushi Art Museum (through 18 Oct). Here is what to see and how to pair it with a Bund afternoon.
Read the guide →Shanghai International Light Festival 2026: Seeing the City in Light, the Private Way
The 3rd Shanghai International Light Festival (Sep 17–Oct 16, 2026) turns the whole city into a canvas of building projections, water-screen shows and art installations. Here is how to see it from the best vantage points — with a private car, a riverfront terrace and zero queues.
Read the guide →Shanghai's Autumn Theatre Season 2026: From Phantom's Farewell to Broadway Queens
Shanghai's autumn 2026 stage is exceptional: The Phantom of the Opera 40th-anniversary farewell, a Broadway Queens gala in Pudong, and the dance drama Gui Zi on the West Bund. Here is how to see the season from the best seats — with a private box and concierge booking.
Read the guide →The Americas, in Shanghai: A Blockbuster Civilization Show at the People's Square Museum
Shanghai's most talked-about exhibition of the year is 'At the Summit of the World Tree: Ancient American Civilizations' at the People's Square Museum — nearly 3,000 treasures from Maya, Inca and Aztec worlds, through November 2027.
Read the guide →Design by the Waterfront: MAISON SHANGHAI at the Expo Centre
Each September, MAISON SHANGHAI (Modern Shanghai Design Week) turns the Pudong Expo Centre into a calm, curated stage for furniture, lighting and the art of living well — a traveller's window into how the city actually designs.
Read the guide →The Art of the Atelier: CHANEL le19M at Museum of Art Pudong
From 25 September to 15 November 2026, the Museum of Art Pudong becomes a quiet stage for CHANEL's le19M — a celebration of the house's haute couture métiers. An intimate, craft-led kind of luxury, best paired with the Lujiazui waterfront and a private car between them.
Read the guide →Riverside Autumn: Qiantan's Light, Flowers, and Jazz
From 20 September to 1 November 2026, Shanghai's Qiantan waterfront becomes an autumn salon of flower fields, architectural light and open-air jazz. Seen from a riverside suite with a private car between the installations and the Bund, it reads as a composed season rather than a crowded festival.
Read the guide →Shanghai in Winter: Heritage Tea, Clear Nights, and Riverside Ice
From November to February, Shanghai trades its humidity for crisp, clear air and an unhurried elegance. The Bund's skyline snaps into focus on cold nights, heritage hotels pour champagne afternoon tea by the fire, and open-air ice rinks open along the river. Taken from a five-star suite with a private car between stops, winter here is the city at its most composed.
Read the guide →A Warm Friday Afternoon in Shanghai: The Walking Tour That Brings Travellers Together
The best trips begin with a welcome, not a check-in. Each Friday afternoon a local English-speaking guide leads a relaxed 1.9 km, three-hour riverside walk from Bund No. 1 (外滩一号) to North Bund — a chance to hear the stories of Shanghai's modern history and to meet fellow travellers from around the world over a cup of Chinese coffee. It is the human way to arrive.
Read the guide →For Eight Days, Saudi Arabia Sets Up Shop Beneath the Pearl Tower — Free of Charge
A 1,000-square-metre slice of Saudi Arabia has landed at the foot of the Oriental Pearl Tower — oasis walks, dates and cardamom coffee, oud music, and a quiet invitation to plan the trip after. It is free, it is drop-in, and it is only here until November 15.
Read the guide →Getting From Shanghai's Airport to the City: A Calm Arrival, by Taxi, Metro, or Private Car
The trip begins the moment you land. From Pudong International, three routes reach the city — a taxi, the metro, or a private car with a driver who meets your flight. Each has its place; the difference is how the first hour of your stay feels. Here is the honest comparison, written for travellers who would rather arrive than scramble.
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