Shanghai Tourist Attractions and Sightseeing

(Shanghai, China)

Shanghai does not have many tourist attractions on the scale of Beijing's Forbidden City or the Great Wall of China. However, Shanghai's many colonial neighbourhoods, historic houses, parks, museums and shopping avenues, not to mention Asia's most famous street, attest to a unique legacy all of its own.

Popular tourist attractions around Shanghai include a swanky aquarium complex, an exciting water park, a family theme park, pleasure boats along the Huangpu River, and walking tours of the Bund. The main tourist attractions are shown below.

Aquaria 21 Shanghai

Address: Chang Feng Park, Shanghai, 31 200062, China, CN
Tel: +86 021 5281 8888
In this new and modern indoor aquarium, visitors can get a taste of life on the ocean bed. The unusual entrance of Aquaria 21 Shanghai consists of a mock airplane and a stairway that resembles an Inca temple. Shoals of colourful fish swim against a backdrop of different themes, including a sunken pirate ship, rainforest and a mountain stream. A petting pool and tanks with unusual crustaceans, sea horses, anemones and corals are other attractions.
Open hours: daily - 08:30 to 17:00
Admission: charge

Dino Beach

Address: Dino Beach, Shanghai, China, CN
Tel: +86 021 6478 3333
Shanghai's best water park boasts Asia's largest wave pool. There are also eight water slides, three children's swimming pools, a mile-long river with rapids, as well as organised beach volleyball, water polo games and other sporting attractions. Throw in a bevy of fast-food outlets and Dino Beach is the closest that you will get to an American-style water park in China.
Open hours: June to early September, daily - 09:00 to 21:00
Admission: charge

Riverside Promenade

Address: Riverside Promenade, Shanghai, China, CN
This stretch of green along the Huangpu River's east bank offers a great view of the Bund from a distance. After nightfall, when the Bund's buildings are lit up and the river lanes are swept by beacon lights, the view is one of the finest in the whole of Shanghai. Spectacular views of Pudong's skyscrapers, and the Shanghai International Conference Centre and its twin globes, can also be enjoyed from here. The 2-km / 1.5-mile promenade stretches from Dongchang Lu and the river ferry terminal in the south to Taidong Lu in the north, and features manicured lawns, flower beds and a wide pavement dotted with kiosks.
Open hours: daily - 06:30 to 23:00
Admission: no charge

Huangpu River Trip

Address: 153 Zhongshan Dong Erlu, Shanghai, China, CN
Tel: +86 021 6374 4461
Regular boats provide appealing pleasure cruises along the Huangpu River, leaving from the dock in Shanghai's Bund area. Offering superb views of the city's impressive skyline, the cruise lasts around one hour and passes many interesting attractions and sights along the route, turning around at the Yangpu Bridge. Further, longer cruises are available, lasting up to four hours in total. Cruises usually depart in both the afternoon and evenings, with additional morning cruises on offer during the weekends.
Open hours: daily - hours vary
Admission: charge

Jinjiang Amusement Park

Address: 201 Hong Mei Road, Shanghai, 200000, China, CN
Tel: +86 021 6436 4956
The many fun attractions within the Jinjiang Amusement Park are always a big hit with children and families, being located in the Xuhui area of Shanghai. With fast rides, a stylish monorail and an extensive Water World area, this theme park boasts a loop-the-loop roller coaster, haunted house and summer water sports.
Open hours: daily - seasonal variations
Admission: charge, concessions apply