Shanghai Travel Guide
Shanghai Municipality | Population: 24,300,000
Shanghai is one of the largest and most vibrant cities in the world. It’s one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of China, which means that it’s essentially both a city and a province. One of China’s most modern cities, the city combines the ultra-modern skylines of Pudong (Lujiazui) with classic European style architecture on the Bund and the French Concession. The city is probably the best example of contemporary Chinese life, but lacks the classic historical attractions found in cities like Beijing.
Shanghai has also been a major point of trade in the past, and still retains this today. It was originally one of the five cities forced to open to foreign trade after the first opium war, and this period had a lasting impact on the city even today. Today, it’s also a significant financial hub and is home to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Compared to other Chinese cities, Shanghai is quite friendly for foreign tourists, with quite a few people speaking English, and most signs being written in dual language.
When staying in Shanghai, many tourists like to stay on somewhere near Metro Line 2. The reasons are obvious: it runs right through the middle of downtown and it connects with Pudong International Airport at one end, and Hongqiao International Airport and Railway Station at the other end. It also intersects with almost every other metro line. In addition, many of Shanghai's most famous landmarks including Lujiazui, Nanjing Road East, The Bund and People's Square are all along this metro line, as well as the commercial areas of Jingan Temple and Nanjing West Road.
If your're looking to spend quite a bit of money, then the towers and hotels in the Lujiazui area offer fantastic views of the city. This however is not the place to stay if you're looking for a more traditional Shanghai Experience.
If you're travelling on business and will need to access Hongqiao Airport or Railway Station, there are many options near Zhongshan Park and Luoshanguan Road that might be suitable, as well as some new hotels opened in the Hongqiao CBD (right next to the train station).
Shanghai has one of the world's most developed Metro systems, consisting of 15 different lines and still growing rapidly. Fares start at just 3 RMB, maxing out at 7 RMB if you're taking a much longer journey. You can buy single use tickets at every single station from the machine using coins, while some machines also accept notes. All machines have an option to switch to English. Alternatively you can buy a rechargeable metro card from the counter at each station. The deposit for the card itself is 20 RMB and be returned when you leave to get your money back. Be aware that during peak hours in the morning and evening the trains gets extremely crowded, so try to avoid travelling at peak times if you don't like crowds. Information on all signs and maps is in both English and Chinese, but don't expect that many of the staff will be able to speak English.
Lines:
Line 1,
Line 10,
Line 11,
Line 12,
Line 13,
Line 16,
Line 17,
Line 2,
Line 3,
Line 4,
Line 5,
Line 6,
Line 7,
Line 8,
Line 9,
Maglev,
Pujiang Line
Bus
Unfortunately, busses in Shanghai are not a particularly tourist-friendly mode of transport, as none of the timetables are in English. Recently though English has been added to the on-board announcements, so if you know where you are going you should be fine. The other confusing thing can be the pricing as it varies depending on the route, however most busses are a flat fee of 2 RMB. Deposit coins in the chute as you enter the bus (there's no ticket), or swipe your metrocard when boarding.
Maglev Train
Shanghai is home to one of the fastest trains in the world, known as the Maglev. This magnetically levitating training will whisk you from Pudong International Airport to Longyang Rd in just 8 mins at 430km/h for 50 RMB. The only problem is the Longyang Road is basically in the middle of nowhere. It does however have 3 metro lines to change to (Line 2, Line 7 & Line 16), so there are some options when you get off. The train leaves every 15 minutes.
Taxi
Hailing a taxi is generally fairly easy during the day, but becomes very difficult during peak hours or in certain areas. Make sure you have your destination written down in Chinese, as driver's can't speak or read English. Credit cards are not accepted, so as a tourist your best option is cash. At the end of your journey the machine in the front will print out an invoice, and it's advisable to hang on to this. Generally speaking, there's no haggling on prices, and the price is calculated on distance plus a base cost. At night, the cost increases by approximately 25%.
See the table below for an overview of Shanghai's weather:
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Average High (C) |
7.0 |
10.0 |
13.8 |
19.5 |
24.8 |
27.8 |
32.2 |
31.5 |
27.9 |
22.9 |
17.3 |
11.0 |
| Average Low (C) |
2.1 |
6.9 |
6.9 |
11.9 |
17.3 |
21.7 |
25.8 |
25.8 |
22.4 |
16.8 |
10.6 |
5.0 |
| Rain (mm) |
74 |
59 |
94 |
74 |
84 |
182 |
146 |
214 |
87 |
56 |
52 |
44 |
| Rain (days) |
10 |
9 |
12 |
11 |
10 |
13 |
11 |
12 |
9 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
| Humidity (%) |
74% |
73% |
73% |
72% |
72% |
79% |
77% |
78% |
75% |
72% |
72% |
71% |
