Modern · Pudong
You have seen the skyline from the Bund. This is the version from underneath, plus the ferry, the riverside park and one very good museum.
Pudong was farmland in 1990. It now has three of the tallest buildings in the world within four blocks. Walking it at street level is disorienting in a way that photographs never are — the buildings are simply too close together to read.
The trick: do the observation deck if you want it, then get down and walk the riverside, then take the ferry back. The best view of Pudong is from the water, at dusk, leaving it.
Start above ground. The elevated walkways connect the towers and give you the scale without the traffic.
The footbridge ring is the only comfortable way to move around this district on foot. Use it.
The tallest building in China. Observation floor on one of the highest levels, reached by a very fast lift.
The ticket is expensive — the most expensive thing in this guide. Go on a clear day or skip it entirely; the building is impressive from below.
A large lawn ringed by the towers. The best place to sit and look up.
Free, open, and the only place in the district where you can see more than two towers at once.
Walk east to the water. A long, well-kept path facing the Bund across the river.
This stretch is quiet in the morning and busy at sunset. Go at sunset.
Finish on the commuter ferry back to the Bund side. A few yuan, ten minutes, and the best view in Shanghai.
Verify the last sailing. Sitting outside on the lower deck is the whole point.
Start at Lujiazui (Line 2 / 14), Exit 1. Finish: Dongchang Road ferry pier, back across to the Bund.
Keep walking
One and a half hours, timed to the light: bridges, the promenade, the clock, then two yuan for the ferry back across the river.
You landed at Hongqiao, you have a hotel and two free hours, and every guide says the city centre is forty minutes away. Here is what is actually outside your door.
Four kilometres of former coal docks and runway turned into museums, oil tanks and the best flat riverside path in the city.
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Every route on this site can be walked on your own. If you would rather have someone explain it, these are the listed guides who cover this one.
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FAQ
Everything on this site is written and re-checked on the ground. When something changes, this page changes.
Only on a clear day. On a hazy one you will pay a lot for a view of cloud. Check visibility first.
The commuter ferry between Dongchang Road and Jinling Road — a few yuan. It crosses at the exact point where the skyline looks best.
Two metro stops, or the ferry. Take the ferry.
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