Shanghai Highlights
A curated tour of Shanghai's most iconic landmarks, blending colonial history, classical Chinese gardens, futuristic skyscrapers, and vibrant street culture.
Trip Stops
- 1
Shanghai's most iconic waterfront promenade stretching 1.5 km along the Huangpu River. Lined with 52 buildings in Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassical, and Art Deco styles from the colonial era, it offers a jaw-dropping night view of the futuristic Pudong skyline across the river. Fun fact: The word 'Bund' comes from Hindustani, meaning an embankment — a legacy of the British colonial presence in Shanghai.
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 2
A stunning classical Chinese garden built during the Ming Dynasty in 1559, covering nearly 5 acres with six scenic areas featuring rockeries, ponds, pavilions, and ornate carved woodwork. Fun fact: The garden took 18 years to complete and contains a legendary five-ton 'Exquisite Jade Rock' that was salvaged from a sunken boat originally destined for the emperor in Beijing.
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 3
Shanghai's most famous tailoring destination — a three-floor indoor maze of around 300 stalls where skilled seamstresses and tailors craft bespoke suits, qipaos, dresses, coats, and shirts, often ready within 1–3 days. Fabrics range from fine silk to premium wool, at a fraction of Western prices. Fun fact: The market went viral globally in 2024 when foreign visitors discovered they could get a custom suit for under $100 USD — it's now one of Shanghai's hottest stops for international tourists.
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 4
One of China's premier museums, located in People's Square, housing over 1.2 million artifacts spanning 5,000 years of Chinese history — including ancient bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy, jade, coins, and furniture. Fun fact: The building's circular top and square base deliberately represent the ancient Chinese cosmological concept of 'round heaven and square earth.'
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 5
One of Shanghai's most revered Buddhist temples, founded in 1882 to house two exquisite jade Buddha statues brought from Myanmar by monk Huigen. The seated white jade Buddha stands nearly 2 meters tall and is encrusted with jewels, while a smaller reclining Buddha rests on a carved redwood bed. Fun fact: Despite being a functioning active temple in a modern metropolis, it draws thousands of pilgrims daily alongside tourists.
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 6
One of the world's busiest shopping streets, attracting over 1 million visitors per day. The pedestrianized section runs for about 1.2 km through the heart of Shanghai, lined with flagship stores, century-old Chinese brands, neon signs, and street food. Fun fact: Nanjing Road is often compared to New York's Fifth Avenue and features 37 ornamental manhole covers telling the story of the city's history underfoot.
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 7
A charming arts and crafts district in the former French Concession, built within a labyrinth of narrow alleyways (shikumen lane houses) dating from the 1930s. Over 200 studios, boutiques, cafés, and galleries are tucked into the winding lanes. Fun fact: Tianzifang was named after Tian Zi Fang, a pseudonym of the ancient Chinese painter Qi Baishi — a nod to the district's artistic soul.
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 8
Shanghai's only French-style park, originally a private Ming Dynasty estate converted by the French in 1909 into a formal garden modelled on Parisian parks. Today it's one of the city's most beloved social spaces — you'll find tai chi groups at dawn, ballroom dancers in front of the Marx & Engels statue, opera singers, and card players in the shade of over 10,000 trees. Fun fact: It's the only park in Shanghai with a 6.4-metre double statue of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, weighing 70 tonnes each, which doubles as a backdrop for couples practicing waltz on weekday mornings.
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 9
An iconic 468-meter-tall TV tower on the Pudong riverbank, instantly recognizable for its distinctive spheres resembling pearls on a jade plate. It has multiple observation decks including a 360° glass-floor gallery at 259 m and a 'Space Capsule' at 351 m. Fun fact: Its design references a classical Chinese poem: 'A string of pearls falling on a jade plate' — describing the rain-like visual of its stacked spheres.
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 10
The tallest building in China and second tallest in the world at 632 meters, with a dramatic twisting form that reduces wind loads by 24%. Its observation deck on the 118th floor at 546 m is the world's highest, and it houses the world's fastest elevator, traveling at 20.5 m/s. Fun fact: The building's 120-degree spiral twist is not just aesthetic — it was engineered to cut construction costs by $58 million by reducing wind pressure.
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 11
A 492-meter skyscraper famous for its distinctive trapezoidal aperture at the top — originally designed as a circle, it was changed to a rectangle to avoid resemblance to the Japanese flag. The 100th-floor Sky Walk observation deck has a glass floor at 474 meters, making it one of the most thrilling viewpoints in the world. Fun fact: Locals nicknamed it the 'bottle opener' due to the shape of its open top.
📍 Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 12
Known as the 'Venice of Shanghai,' this ancient water town about 50 km from central Shanghai is laced with canals, 36 stone bridges from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and well-preserved whitewashed architecture. Boat rides along the canals, rice dumplings, and traditional crafts make it a complete cultural escape. Fun fact: The town is over 1,700 years old and was once a major commercial hub thanks to its prime position on the Grand Canal trade routes.
📍 Qingpu, Shanghai, China
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