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Voykit pocket guide · China
Shanghai
上海
Pick Shanghai over Beijing if you want the Bund skyline, 1930s architecture and a food-and-shopping city rather than imperial sights; give it 3 nights and pair it with a day trip to Suzhou or Hangzhou by high-speed rail.
Shanghai is China's largest city and its financial capital. The Bund's colonial-era waterfront faces the Pudong skyscraper district across the Huangpu River, and the former French Concession has tree-lined streets, cafes and boutique shopping. High-speed rail puts Hangzhou under an hour away and Beijing under 5 hours.
- Country
- China
- Local name
- 上海
- Best months
- Mar–May and Oct–Nov: mild, drier air before summer humidity sets in and after the main typhoon risk passes
- Avoid
- Jun–Jul (Meiyu plum-rain season, persistent drizzle and humidity), Aug (30°C+ heat with occasional typhoon remnants), early Oct (Golden Week brings domestic crowds and higher hotel prices)
- Stay
- 3 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CNY
- Money
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
- SIM and data
- A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
- Emergency
- Police 110 · Ambulance 120 · Fire 119
- Plugs
- Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
- Water
- Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.
Get in
By air
- PVG · Shanghai Pudong
- Maglev to Longyang Rd metro (8 min, separate fare) or Metro Line 2 into the centre; confirm current maglev hours with the operator
- SHA · Shanghai Hongqiao
- Domestic-focused; shares a hub with the high-speed rail station, Metro Lines 2 and 10
Get around
The metro is extensive, cheap and covers almost every sight; buy a transit card or use a mobile payment app for entry. Taxis and ride-hailing (Didi) are affordable but need a Chinese phone number or hotel help to book. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you arrive, as many shops and street vendors no longer take cash easily.
See and do
Known for
- The Bund waterfront and its 1930s bank buildings
- Pudong skyline: Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower observation decks
- Former French Concession plane-tree streets and cafes
- Yu Garden and the old-city bazaar
- Xintiandi and Tianzifang lane shopping and bars
- Shanghai Museum's bronze and ceramics collection
Sleep
- The Bund and People's Square
- Central, on Metro Lines 1/2/8, walkable to the waterfront and museum.
- Former French Concession
- Quieter tree-lined streets, cafes and bars around Xintiandi and Tianzifang.
- Jing'an
- Mid-range hotels near a metro interchange, close to shopping on Nanjing Road West.
Language
Mandarin is the language of the whole country, written in Simplified characters; Cantonese dominates Guangdong and Hong Kong, and dozens of regional languages survive at home. English is on metro signs, airports and large hotels; elsewhere use a translation app. Pinyin (the romanisation) helps with names but tones change meaning.
- Translation apps: Baidu Translate, Youdao, Microsoft Translator and Apple Translate work without a VPN; Google Translate needs one or a roaming eSIM.
- Show destinations to taxi drivers in characters; copy them from Amap.
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
- Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
- Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
- Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
- Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
- Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
- Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
- Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4
Scams and watch-outs
- Mobile payment (Alipay/WeChat Pay) is expected almost everywhere; carry some cash and a foreign card as backup in case app setup fails.
- Tourist-area tea-ceremony and bar scams around Nanjing Road and the Bund: friendly strangers invite you for tea or drinks that end in an inflated bill — walk away from unsolicited invitations.
- Foreign visitors need a valid visa or the 144-hour transit exemption; rules change, so confirm with the Chinese embassy or a current official source before booking flights.
- Air quality can be poor on still winter days; check an air-quality app if you have respiratory issues.
Violent crime against tourists is rare; the real risks are scams, traffic and getting stuck without a working payment app — set up Alipay/WeChat Pay before you land.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Shanghai yet. Suggested stay: 3 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- The Bund waterfront and its 1930s bank buildings
- Pudong skyline: Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower observation decks
- Former French Concession plane-tree streets and cafes
- Yu Garden and the old-city bazaar
- Xintiandi and Tianzifang lane shopping and bars
- Shanghai Museum's bronze and ceramics collection
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Shanghai official tourism: english.shanghai.gov.cn/
- Wikivoyage — Shanghai: en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Shanghai
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Printed from Voykit (/shanghai). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.