# Shanghai: map, what to do and when to go

In Shanghai, the Bund, with buildings from 1900 to 1937, and Pudong, built over rice paddies after 1990, face each other across the Huangpu River. A port opened to foreign trade in 1843, it's China's largest city, with about 24.9 million residents.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/xangai/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Shanghai: do Google and WhatsApp work in China?** No: Google, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram, and most Western services don't open on the Chinese network, and the local app stores don't sell VPNs.
- **Shanghai: can you make a connection between Pudong and Hongqiao?** Yes, but with margin: Pudong (PVG) and Hongqiao (SHA) are 55km apart, about 1 hour 30 minutes by subway, and many connections between an international and a domestic flight switch airports without a clear warning on the ticket.
- **Shanghai: how long does the train to Suzhou take?** Suzhou is 25 to 30 minutes away by bullet train from Hongqiao station, for about 40 CNY.

## The river and its two banks
Start at 8am on the Bund promenade, between Waibaidu Bridge and Chen Yi Square: the morning light hits the façades and the walkway is still empty.
- The Bund (Waitan)
- Shanghai Tower
- Oriental Pearl Tower
- Shanghai Museum (People's Square)
- Shanghai Museum East

## Concessions, lanes and plane trees
Have breakfast of shengjianbao and hot soy milk at a neighborhood shop near Shaanxi South Road station.
- Jing'an Temple
- Xintiandi, Tianzifang and Wukang Mansion

## Art, water and the rest
Start the morning at the Power Station of Art, a 1985 power plant with a 165m chimney, and head to the West Bund, where the Long Museum, Tank Shanghai, and the West Bund Museum are within walking distance.
- Power Station of Art and West Bund
- Longhua Temple and Pagoda

## The Bund (Waitan)
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/xangai/#g-lugar-o-bund
Xangai
About 1.5km of riverside promenade on the west bank of the Huangpu, with 52 buildings put up between 1900 and 1937. Worth stepping into the lobby of the former HSBC building (1923), whose dome carries a 1923 mosaic of eight port cities, and looking up at the 1927 Customs House, with its 79 m tower and the Big Ching bell.
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## Shanghai Tower
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/xangai/#g-lugar-shanghai-tower
Xangai
632 m, completed in 2016, the tallest building in China. The observation deck is on the 118th floor, at 546 m, and the elevators climb at about 20.5 m/s; tickets run around 180 CNY, with a timed slot booked through the app.
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## Oriental Pearl Tower
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/xangai/#g-lugar-torre-perola-do-oriente
Xangai
468 m, opened in 1994, the first tall thing in Pudong and the silhouette that became a postcard. It has a glass floor at 259 m and, at its base, the Shanghai Urban History Museum, more interesting than the viewing deck.
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## Yu Garden
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Huangpu
A private garden built between 1559 and 1577 by Pan Yunduan for his father, covering about 2 hectares, with Lake Tai rocks and dragon-topped walls. Next door are the Yuyuan Bazaar, the City God Temple, and the 1855 Huxinting teahouse at the end of the Nine-Turn Bridge.
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## Shanghai Museum (People's Square)
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Huangpu
Opened in 1996, laid out in the shape of a ding, the ritual bronze vessel. Its galleries of bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy and Ming furniture remain the best introduction to Chinese art in the country; free admission with advance booking.
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## Shanghai Museum East
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/xangai/#g-lugar-museu-de-xangai-leste
Huamu Subdistrict · Half a day or more
The new headquarters in Pudong, opened in stages between 2023 and 2024, covers about 113,000 m². The main galleries call for three hours, and anyone who also wants to see the painting and calligraphy galleries needs half a day. Individual visits have skipped the reservation requirement since 2024, with a passport, but on holidays and for special exhibits it's required again.
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## Power Station of Art and West Bund
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/xangai/#g-lugar-power-station-of-art
Xangai
A 1985 power plant converted in 2012 into China's first public museum of contemporary art, with a 165 m chimney; it hosts the Shanghai Biennale in odd-numbered years. 5 km away, West Bund lines up Long Museum, Tank Shanghai (1959 fuel tanks) and the West Bund Museum.
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## Jing'an Temple
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/xangai/#g-lugar-templo-jing-an
Xangai · Up to half an hour
Founding traced to 247, moved to its current site in 1216, and rebuilt in gold and wood between 1980 and 2010. The main hall holds a silver Buddha weighing about 15 tons; outside, the gilded temple presses right up against office towers.
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## Longhua Temple and Pagoda
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Xuhui
The city's largest Buddhist complex, in the south. The seven-story, 40.6 m pagoda was rebuilt in 977 and cannot be climbed; at Lunar New Year the bell is struck 108 times at midnight.
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## Xintiandi, Tianzifang and Wukang Mansion
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Huangpu
Xintiandi and Tianzifang show two fates for the shikumen lane houses: Xintiandi (2001) demolished and rebuilt the houses as a commercial gallery and holds the site of the 1st CCP Congress, while Tianzifang kept its lanes and residents. In the same old concession, Wukang Mansion, designed by László Hudec in 1924 on the prow of a Y-shaped intersection, is the city's most photographed corner.
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**Shanghai: do Google and WhatsApp work in China?**
No: Google, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram, and most Western services don't open on the Chinese network, and the local app stores don't sell VPNs. Anyone who needs them installs a VPN before boarding, because once you've landed it's too late; use is tolerated in practice, but it isn't legal.

**Shanghai: can you make a connection between Pudong and Hongqiao?**
Yes, but with margin: Pudong (PVG) and Hongqiao (SHA) are 55km apart, about 1 hour 30 minutes by subway, and many connections between an international and a domestic flight switch airports without a clear warning on the ticket. Check the code before locking in the connection.

**Shanghai: how long does the train to Suzhou take?**
Suzhou is 25 to 30 minutes away by bullet train from Hongqiao station, for about 40 CNY.

**Shanghai: is it safe to walk at night?**
Shanghai has a very low violent-crime rate for a city of about 24.9 million people, and walking alone at night downtown is routine for residents.

**Shanghai: what is shengjianbao?**
A pork bun seared on the griddle, with a crisp bottom, scallions and sesame on top, and hot broth inside.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 3 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/xangai/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/xangai/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/xangai.md