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Directory · route matching · introduction board

Local English-speaking guides

Every guide listed here is shown in full — their lines, the districts they work, the languages they actually guide in, and the routes they cover. Pick the ones who fit, tell us when you are coming, and we take it from there.

Guides listed
All shown with their lines
Routes covered
Every walk on this site
Cost to travellers
Nothing — you settle directly with the guide
First reply
Within one working day

How it works

You choose who you want. We check the details and send it through.

01

Browse the directory

Each card shows the guide's line, languages, districts, group size and how fast they reply. Filter by language, area or theme, or start from a route you like.

02

Pick who fits

Add any number of guides to your request. Nothing is sent until you press send, and you can change your mind at any point.

03

We check and match

We read it, check availability against the dates you gave, and send it to the guides who fit. If nobody does, we say so instead of sending you to whoever is free.

04

You and the guide agree the rest

The quote, the timing and how you settle come directly from the guide. This site handles no payment and takes no part in what you agree.

Two ways in

Looking for someone, or being that someone.

For travellers

Pick a guide and send a request

Dates, how many of you, what you want to understand rather than see. Choose the guides you like below and everything follows in one message.

Send a request →

Free to use, and free to tell us you changed your mind.

For guides

Be listed here

Standard listing costs nothing. Send your certificate, the languages you really guide in and the routes you cover — after the credential check your card appears in this directory.

See the plans →

Standard listing is free. Pro and Featured add reach, placement and route tags.

Find the right person

The directory

Filter the directory, or jump straight from a route to everyone who walks it.

01

The Bund & Huangpu — the history line

The waterfront from the Customs House to Waibaidu, told as a trading-port story rather than a list of buildings — including which facades are 1920s originals and which are post-1990s work.

EnglishMandarinHistoryArchitectureRiverfront
Rate
On request
Group size
2–4
Districts
The Bund · Huangpu
Replies
Replies in about 6 hours
Sample cardFast reply Open →
02

Wukang Road & the concession — architecture

Plane trees, 1920s villas and the specific reason this grid looks European without being European — read street by street, including the addresses people photograph and the ones worth stopping at.

EnglishMandarinFrenchArchitectureHistoryPhotography
Rate
On request
Group size
2–5
Districts
French Concession · Wukang Road
Replies
Replies in about 4 hours
Sample cardFast reply Open →
03

Hongkou: Jewish Shanghai & lilong life

The 1930s refugee quarter read alongside the lilong it sat inside — the synagogue, the lanes families actually lived in, and how much of it survives the current redevelopment.

EnglishMandarinGermanHistoryLocal lifeEasy access
Rate
On request
Group size
2–4
Districts
Hongkou · Tilanqiao
Replies
Replies in about 12 hours
Sample card Open →
04

Hongqiao & the exhibition district — business half-day

For people in town for a trade fair with four hours between meetings: what is genuinely within reach of the exhibition centre, how long the transfers really take, and where to eat without a two-hour lunch.

EnglishMandarinJapaneseBusinessLocal lifeFood
Rate
On request
Group size
1–3
Districts
Hongqiao · Exhibition district
Replies
Replies in about 3 hours
Sample cardFast reply Open →
05

Old City breakfast & the market lanes

Start at seven, before the tour groups: soup dumplings, the wet market under the flyover, and the lanes where the old street grid survived the demolitions — read as a working neighbourhood rather than a heritage site.

EnglishMandarinShanghaineseFoodLocal lifeHistory
Rate
On request
Group size
2–4
Districts
Old City · Yu Garden
Replies
Replies in about 8 hours
Sample card Open →
06

Lujiazui: the skyline read from underneath

The towers are easy to photograph and hard to understand. This line gets under them — how a paddy field became a financial district in twenty years, and where to actually stand.

EnglishMandarinCantoneseArchitecturePhotographyWith children
Rate
On request
Group size
2–6
Districts
Lujiazui · Pudong riverfront
Replies
Replies in about 10 hours
Sample card Open →
07

West Bund — galleries, cranes and the river

Eight kilometres of former industrial riverbank turned into museums and running track, walked from the north end south, with the exhibitions that are actually on rather than the ones listed in a guidebook.

EnglishMandarinFrenchArtArchitecturePhotography
Rate
On request
Group size
2–4
Districts
West Bund · Xuhui riverfront
Replies
Replies in about 12 hours
Sample card Open →
08

Zhangyuan & Xintiandi — shikumen revisited

Two answers to the same question, forty minutes apart on foot: what happened to Shanghai’s 1930s lane houses, and what is reconstruction rather than preservation.

EnglishMandarinKoreanArchitectureShoppingLocal life
Rate
On request
Group size
2–5
Districts
Xintiandi · Zhangyuan
Replies
Replies in about 5 hours
Sample cardFast reply Open →
09

Jing’an: the temple and the lanes behind it

A working Buddhist temple with a gold-domed hall rebuilt in the 1980s, wedged between department stores — read outward into the wet markets, hardware lanes and noodle shops behind it.

EnglishMandarinJapaneseLocal lifeFoodHistory
Rate
On request
Group size
2–4
Districts
Jing’an · West Nanjing Road
Replies
Replies in about 9 hours
Sample card Open →

These cards are samples — the directory is being filled. They show what a listed guide gets: their own line, languages, districts, group size, how fast they reply, and every route they cover. We do not publish rates here: ask the guide directly, or mail us and we will pass it on.

Routes, and who walks them

Routes, and who walks them

Every route on this site, with the guides who cover it. Start here if you would rather choose a walk than a person.

Xuhui Wukang Road & the French Concession 2 hours · 4.2 km
Wukang Road & the concession — architecture→

Huangpu The Bund at Dusk 1.5 hours · 2.4 km
The Bund & Huangpu — the history line→Old City breakfast & the market lanes→

Hongkou Hongkou: Shanghai's Jewish Quarter 2.5 hours · 3.8 km
Hongkou: Jewish Shanghai & lilong life→

Huangpu Old City & Yu Garden 2 hours · 3.2 km
Old City breakfast & the market lanes→

Putuo / Jing'an Suzhou Creek to M50 2.5 hours · 4.5 km
The Bund & Huangpu — the history line→Hongkou: Jewish Shanghai & lilong life→Jing’an: the temple and the lanes behind it→

Jing'an Zhangyuan & West Nanjing Road 2 hours · 3 km
Zhangyuan & Xintiandi — shikumen revisited→

Huangpu / Xuhui Tianzifang & Sinan Mansions 2.5 hours · 4 km
Wukang Road & the concession — architecture→

Huangpu Xintiandi & the Shikumen Museum 1.5 hours · 2.2 km
Zhangyuan & Xintiandi — shikumen revisited→

Xuhui West Bund: Museums & Riverfront 3 hours · 5 km
West Bund — galleries, cranes and the river→

Hongqiao Hongqiao After Hours 1.5 hours · 2.8 km
Hongqiao & the exhibition district — business half-day→

Jing'an Jing'an Temple & the Backstreets 2 hours · 3.4 km
Jing’an: the temple and the lanes behind it→

Pudong Lujiazui: The Skyline Walk 2 hours · 3.6 km
Lujiazui: the skyline read from underneath→

The standard listing is free to apply for — it is how most guides start

What a guide partnership includes

Travellers never pay us anything — this board is funded by the guides on it. The directory is still being filled, so we are not publishing a price list yet: tell us what you guide, in which languages and districts, and we will come back with terms by email.

basic

Standard listing — free to apply, no card required

  • Profile card on the directory with your line, languages and areas
  • Up to 3 introduction requests a month
  • Credential verified and the "checked" badge published
  • Your own contact method on the card, so nothing routes through us
  • Route tags: up to 2 of our published lines

Email us about the free listing →

Most picked

pro

Everything in the standard listing, plus:

  • Unlimited introduction requests
  • Reply-time shown on your card, plus the "fast reply" badge
  • Up to 8 route tags, so you appear on every walk page you cover
  • Priority placement in the directory sort order
  • WeChat or WhatsApp shown directly, no delay
  • Your card included in our monthly round-up to subscribers

Email us about Pro →

8 slots

featured

Includes everything in Pro

  • Top-of-directory placement in your districts
  • Rotation on the ShanghaiWalk home page
  • A short editorial interview published on your profile
  • Included in our quarterly guide newsletter
  • Everything included in Pro

Email us about Featured →

Terms are agreed by email, case by case, while the directory is being filled — there is no public price list and no fixed contract.

Every button above opens an email to us with the subject filled in — it all starts with a conversation, not a payment.

Optional extras

Available when you want them. Priced per case — ask by email.

Express introduction

We hand your request straight to the guide and copy you in the same day instead of waiting for the next matching round.

Extra route tags

Add up to five more of our published routes to your card, beyond your plan allowance.

Profile rewrite

One of our editors interviews you for an hour and writes the card in English and Chinese, in your voice.

What we check before a card goes up

Four things. If one is missing, the profile does not go live.

01

A current guiding credential

We check the electronic tour guide certificate against the national register before publishing. No certificate, no card.

02

Languages tested in conversation

We talk to every applicant in each language they intend to be listed for. Some English is not English guiding.

03

Districts they actually work

A card names the areas the guide knows at street level and nothing else. Whole-city claims are a warning sign, not a selling point.

04

A plain answer on money

We charge travellers nothing and publish no rate band. The quote comes from the guide, is agreed with the guide, and is settled directly with the guide.

FAQ

Questions about guides and how this works

Everything on this site is written and re-checked on the ground. When something changes, this page changes.

Does this cost me anything as a traveller?

No. Browsing, filtering, requesting and our introduction cost nothing. Guides pay to be listed, which is how this board is funded — that does not add anything to what you pay the guide.

Do you take a cut of what I pay the guide?

Nothing passes through this site, so there is nothing to take a cut of. The guide quotes you and you settle with the guide. Our income comes from the guide's own listing plan.

Are these real guides?

The cards published now are labelled samples showing exactly what a listing looks like. Real profiles go up as guides apply and their credentials are checked.

How fast will I hear back?

We reply within one working day. If nobody fits what you asked for, we say so plainly rather than sending you to whoever happens to be free.

Can I change or cancel my request?

Yes. Reply to whatever we send, or write to us. Nothing has been booked and nothing has been paid, so there is nothing to cancel through us.

Can a guide drive me around or buy things for me?

What is offered here is guiding on foot — walking with you and explaining what you are looking at. No transport is arranged, and nothing is purchased in your name.

I am a guide. How do I get listed?

Use the application form below. Standard listing costs nothing; the paid plans add placement, route tags and reach. We check every credential before anything goes live.

For travellers

Your request

The more specific you are, the better the match. Everything arrives in one message, addressed to whoever you picked.

We use these details to answer you and for nothing else. See our privacy page. Privacy

This site publishes profiles and makes introductions. Nothing is booked, paid or guaranteed here: the quote, the timing and how you settle are arranged directly between you and the guide.

For guides

Apply to be listed

Standard listing is free. Tell us what you guide, where, and in which languages — we reply within one working day.

We use these details to answer you and for nothing else. See our privacy page. Privacy

This site publishes profiles and makes introductions. Nothing is booked, paid or guaranteed here: the quote, the timing and how you settle are arranged directly between you and the guide.