Shanghai, China

Photo spots in Shanghai

• The BundLandmarks
  Historic waterfront promenade with colonial architecture and Pudong skyline.
• Oriental Pearl TV TowerLandmarks
  Iconic spheres with observation decks overlooking the city.
• Shanghai Tower Observation DeckLandmarks
  China's tallest building with 360-degree city views from 546m high.
• Yu GardenReligious sites
  Classical Ming Dynasty garden with pavilions, bridges, and landscaping.
• City God TempleReligious sites
  Ancient Confucian temple in old Shanghai with intricate carvings.
• Jing'an TempleReligious sites
  Buddhist temple with gilded Buddha and traditional architecture.
• Longhua TempleReligious sites
  Shanghai's oldest temple with pagoda; peaceful grounds away from center.
• French ConcessionHistoric
  Tree-lined streets with European architecture, cafes, and boutiques.
• Nanjing RoadHistoric
  Famous pedestrian shopping street with historic storefronts and neon.
• West Bund Art DistrictWaterfront
  Contemporary art museums and galleries along scenic Huangpu River.
• Suzhou CreekWaterfront
  Revitalized waterfront promenade with galleries, restaurants, river views.
• Zhujiajiao Water TownDay trips
  Ancient water village 30km west with canals, bridges, classic houses.
• Waibaidu Bridge (Garden Bridge)Bridges
  1908 steel truss bridge over the mouth of Suzhou Creek. Stand mid-span and frame the creek's confluence with Broadway Mansions and the Bund towers behind, strongest at blue hour when both banks light up.
• St. Ignatius Cathedral, XujiahuiArchitecture
  Twin Gothic spires over Xujiahui. Shoot the west facade from the small plaza opposite in soft morning light before the surrounding office crowds arrive; exterior only unless mass is in session.
• Wukang Building (Normandie Apartments)Architecture
  Flatiron-shaped 1924 apartment block at the fork of Wukang and Huaihai roads. Cross to the traffic island opposite for the wedge-shaped facade shot, best in soft morning light before the selfie crowds build up.
• Rockbund Art MuseumMuseums
  1932 art deco museum on Huqiu Road near where Suzhou Creek meets the Huangpu. Shoot the stepped facade from across the street, or from an upper window for a rare skyline angle over the Bund's rooftops.
• Jade Buddha TempleReligious sites
  Yellow-walled Song-dynasty-style temple in Putuo district. Arrive at opening for incense smoke curling through the courtyard before tour groups arrive; interior photography of the jade Buddha itself is restricted.
• Fairmont Peace HotelArchitecture
  Green pyramid roof at the Bund and Nanjing Road East corner, anchor of most Bund skyline compositions. Shoot the art deco lobby by day (small fee) or the illuminated roofline from across the street at blue hour.
• TianzifangNeighborhoods
  Maze of shikumen lane houses off Taikang Road turned into galleries and cafes. Duck into the narrow lilong alleys off the main drag for laundry-line and lantern shots with far fewer tourists than the main lane.
• XintiandiNeighborhoods
  Restored shikumen blocks turned into bars and boutiques. The stone-gate lane between North and South Block lights up at dusk; shoot straight down the lane for symmetrical grey-brick facades.
• Fuxing ParkParks
  French-designed park in the former Concession. Arrive at dawn for tai chi practitioners, ballroom dancers and calligraphers using water on the paving stones; the plane-tree allees frame well through mid-morning too.
• Sinan MansionsHistoric
  51 restored garden villas along tree-lined Sinan Road in the former French Concession. Walk the closed-to-cars lane at golden hour for dappled light through plane trees onto the brick facades.
• Moller VillaArchitecture
  Fairy-tale Nordic-style mansion with a spired tower, now a boutique hotel near South Shaanxi Road. Shoot the turret and stained-glass windows from the street; the low fence usually leaves a clear sightline.
• Shanghai Grand TheatreNightlife & music
  Glass-curtain-wall theatre on People's Square's north side with an upturned eave roofline. Shoot from across the square at blue hour when the glass facade glows and the fountains are running.
• Shanghai Concert HallNightlife & music
  1930 neoclassical hall that was physically relocated 66m in 2003 to escape elevated-road noise. Shoot the colonnaded facade from People's Avenue in late-afternoon side light.
• Shanghai Museum, People's SquareMuseums
  Bronze-vessel-shaped building on the south side of People's Square. The circular plaza and reflecting pool out front photograph best in soft morning light before the square fills with crowds.
• Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition HallMuseums
  The giant 1:500 scale model of the entire city on the third floor is the real draw. Go right at opening to shoot it without a crowd blocking the rail.
• Shanghai Natural History MuseumMuseums
  Nautilus-shell-shaped building beside Jing'an Sculpture Park. Shoot the spiraling green-wall exterior from the park side; arrive near opening since weekend ticket slots sell out.
• Shanghai Science and Technology MuseumMuseums
  Monumental Pudong museum facing Century Square. The fan-shaped facade and fountains out front catch good light in late afternoon, framed against the Pudong towers beyond.
• Shanghai Oriental Art CenterNightlife & music
  Paul Andreu's five-petal glass concert hall near Century Park. The curved petals light up individually after dark; shoot from the plaza across Dingxiang Road at blue hour.
• West Bund Museum (Centre Pompidou x West Bund)Museums
  Cross-shaped glass-and-steel building on Longteng Avenue at the southern end of the West Bund art strip. Shoot the riverside facade from the promenade as the city towers fade into haze downstream.
• Jiangwan StadiumSports
  1935 Art Deco stadium built for a 'Greater Shanghai Plan' cut short by war. The curved brick grandstand and entrance arches photograph well in low morning light; now inside a university campus in Yangpu.
• Shanghai StadiumSports
  Saucer-shaped 80,000-seat stadium in Xuhui, home to Shanghai Shenhua and major concerts. The ring of light towers glows well after dark on event nights; shoot from the surrounding plaza.
• M50 (50 Moganshan Road)Architecture
  Former cotton mill on Suzhou Creek now packed with galleries and graffiti-covered walls. The laneways between warehouses give raw industrial-brick backdrops; quietest on weekday mornings.
• Hu Xin Ting (Mid-Lake Pavilion Teahouse), Yu Garden BazaarMarkets
  The zigzag Nine-Turn Bridge leading to the teahouse is one of Shanghai's most photographed spots. Shoot from the bridge's far end back at the pavilion's upturned eaves reflected in the pond; arrive before 9am to beat tour groups.
• Chenxiangge NunneryReligious sites
  Working Ming-dynasty Buddhist nunnery for women tucked in the Old Town's alleys, quieter than City God Temple nearby. The carved wooden Guanyin hall photographs well with morning side light through the courtyard screens.
• Confucian Temple of Shanghai (Wen Miao)Religious sites
  The city's only Confucian temple, in the Old Town south of Fuxing Road. The stone Lingxing gate and lotus pond are calmest on weekday mornings; a Sunday book market fills the courtyard on weekends.
• Fuyou Road MosqueReligious sites
  Shanghai's oldest mosque, blending Chinese temple architecture with Islamic function, in the Old Town backstreets near the Bazaar. Shoot the tiled roofline from the narrow lane outside prayer times.
• Zhongshan ParkParks
  Century-old Changning district park with a British-designed lawn and old plane trees. Dawn brings tai chi groups and mist over the central lawn; autumn foliage is the strongest photo window.
• Shanghai Botanical GardenParks
  80-hectare garden in Xuhui with a notable bonsai collection and greenhouses. Lotus ponds peak in July-August and the osmanthus grove scents the whole park in early autumn; go weekday mornings for empty paths.
• Lupu BridgeViewpoints
  Steel arch bridge over the Huangpu near the former Expo site. A paid sightseeing platform near the arch's top (book ahead) gives a rare high angle back over both riverbanks at dusk.
• Jin Mao TowerViewpoints
  1999 pagoda-inspired tower in Lujiazui. The 88th-floor observation deck undercuts Shanghai Tower's price and crowds while still framing the Bund and the newer supertalls across the river.
• Shanghai World Financial CenterViewpoints
  The 'bottle opener' tower's 100th-floor glass-bottomed Sky Walk looks straight down between Jin Mao and Shanghai Tower. Go at golden hour for warm light through the trapezoidal aperture.
• Fosun Foundation Art CenterArchitecture
  Foster + Heatherwick's kinetic bronze-fringe facade on the South Bund can raise and lower like curtains. Check the show schedule and shoot from across Zhongshan East 2nd Road as the 'curtains' catch the sunset.
• Shanghai Symphony HallNightlife & music
  Sunken glass-and-timber hall on Fuxing Middle Road, built below street level to isolate vibration from the metro. Shoot the low glass facade and garden from the surrounding lawn at dusk when the lobby lights up.
• Broadway MansionsArchitecture
  1934 Art Deco apartment tower on Suzhou Creek's north bank at Waibaidu Bridge. Cross the bridge for a low angle that stacks the tower's setbacks against the Bund skyline behind; strongest at blue hour. Position estimated from its confirmed street address near the bridge, not a stated point coordinate.
• Shanghai History MuseumMuseums
  Housed in the 1934 neoclassical former Shanghai Race Club clubhouse at the corner of People's Park. Shoot the clock tower and colonnade from across West Nanjing Road in soft morning light. Wikipedia's own stated coordinate for this building conflicts with its described location, so position is estimated from the People's Park corner instead.
• First Food Hall, Nanjing Road EastFood & drink
  Multi-floor '第一食品' emporium on Nanjing Road East selling Shanghai snacks like nougat and preserved plums since 1926. Shoot the neon storefront after dark against the pedestrian street's crowds, or duck inside for shelves of tins and candy.
• Qibao Old StreetMarkets
  Song-dynasty water town swallowed by Minhang's suburbs, with a canal-side snack street selling stinky tofu and sweet rice cakes. Go early morning for the canal without crowds; the covered bridges and old pawnshop building are the standout frames.
• Shanghai DisneylandTheme parks
  The largest Disney castle anywhere plus the TRON lightcycle coaster's glowing canopy, 30 minutes out on Metro Line 11. Tripods aren't allowed inside, so brace on railings for the nighttime castle show and stake out a lakeside spot an hour early on weekends.
• Happy Valley ShanghaiTheme parks
  Big-coaster park below Sheshan hill, about 35 km southwest via Metro Line 9 — the giant wooden coaster and dive machine give easy long-lens midway shots. Near-empty on weekdays, and the hilltop Sheshan Basilica nearby adds a bonus sunset vantage.
• Shanghai Ocean AquariumZoos & aquariums
  Pyramid-topped aquarium next to the Oriental Pearl with a 155 m viewing tunnel, one of the world's longest. Duck in when Lujiazui light turns harsh at midday; the tunnel's moving walkway forces quick shooting, so raise ISO and pre-focus.
• Shanghai ZooZoos & aquariums
  Leafy 1950s-era zoo on the old Hongqiao golf course — giant pandas, golden snub-nosed monkeys and huge plane trees for dappled light, all for about 40 yuan. Animals are liveliest right at opening, before the midday lull.
• Huangpu River Cruise (Shiliupu Wharf)Nature
  The only way to shoot the Bund facades and the Lujiazui towers from mid-river; 50-minute sailings leave Shiliupu Wharf just south of the Bund. Book the first post-sunset departure and claim a top-deck stern rail early — the skyline lights switch off around 22:00.

Where to stay

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