Shanghai
The Bund on one bank and the towers of Lujiazui on the other, lane houses turned into villas, a three-star table and a dozen with two, and business aviation at both airports.
- Arrival
- Shanghai Pudong International · PVG
- To the city
- About 50 minutes by car, or 8 minutes by maglev to Longyang Road
- Private jets
- Business aviation centres at Hongqiao and Pudong
- Best time
- April to May · September to October
The city
Two banks of the Huangpu.
Shanghai faces itself across the river. On the west bank the Bund keeps its stone façades, with 102 House on the fifth floor of number 27; on the east bank Lujiazui has the Shanghai Tower, with a hotel high inside it. Behind the Bund, the old lane houses of Xuhui and the Chamber of Commerce building in Jing’an have become hotels, and a former quarry at Sheshan has become another.
The city is best taken in two short windows: April and May, at 18 to 23 °C, before the plum rains, and September and October, at 22 to 27 °C, once the typhoon season passes. The plum rains fall from mid-June to mid-July, typhoons can come between August and mid-September, and winter highs drop to 7 °C.
Arriving
Pudong for the world, Hongqiao for the hangars.
Pudong, about 30 km east of the centre, is the international airport: the maglev reaches Longyang Road in 8 minutes and a car takes about 50. Hongqiao sits 13 km west of the centre, a drive of around thirty minutes.
- Taipei 1 h 15
- Hong Kong 2 h 00
- Singapore 5 h 15
- Doha 9 h 00 long-range jet
- Frankfurt 11 h 40 long-range jet
When to go
April to May, and September to October.
Temperate, with rain in every month. April to May and September to October are the pleasant months, at 18 to 27 °C. Summer is hot and wet: the plum rains in June and early July, then highs of 31 °C and the typhoon season. January highs average 7 °C.
- 7° J 43
- 8° F 61
- 12° M 84
- 18° A 104
- 23° M 114
- 27° J 160
- 31° J 135
- 31° A 137
- 27° S 152
- 22° O 58
- 17° N 51
- 10° D 38
What to see and do
Days in and around Shanghai.
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Landmark
The Bund
The river front of banks and hotels on the west bank, with the towers of Pudong opposite.
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Landmark
Shanghai Tower
The tallest of the Lujiazui towers, with the J Hotel in its upper floors.
-
Landmark
The shikumen lanes
Brick lane houses of the early twentieth century in Xuhui, some now restored as hotel villas.
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Culture
Shanghai Museum East
Fully opened in Pudong in December 2024, the new wing of the Shanghai Museum shows ancient bronzes, sculpture, ceramics, jade, seals and coins.
Official site -
Culture
Yu Garden
Pan Yunduan began this Ming garden of about two hectares in 1559, with rockeries, pavilions, dragon walls and the 3.3 metre Exquisite Jade Rock.
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Culture
Long Museum
On a former coal wharf of the West Bund, Atelier Deshaus built vaulted concrete halls for the ancient and contemporary art of Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei.
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Opera & music
Shanghai Symphony Hall
Home of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra since 2014, Arata Isozaki's building in Xuhui has a 1,200 seat hall with acoustics by Yasuhisa Toyota.
-
Culture
Zhujiajiao
Canals crossed by 36 stone bridges run through this water town of some 1,700 years in Qingpu, on the western edge of Shanghai.
On the calendar
Dates to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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16–18 Apr 2027
Formula 1
Chinese Grand Prix
Round 5 of the 24-round 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, held at Shanghai International Circuit.
Shanghai International Circuit
In 6 months
-
July 2027 Dates to be confirmed
Technology & AI
World Artificial Intelligence Conference
Annual government-backed artificial intelligence conference and exhibition held in Shanghai.
Shanghai
In 8 months
Where to stay
Lane houses, a tower and a quarry.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li Fifty-five rooms in three-storey shikumen villas made from the old lane houses, and Pierre Gagnaire’s only restaurant in mainland China.
- Bvlgari Hotel Shanghai In and beside the old Chamber of Commerce building, with Bao Li Xuan holding two stars and Niko Romito’s restaurant one.
- The Peninsula Shanghai The Peninsula on the Bund, with Yi Long Court and its star for Cantonese cooking.
- Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai On the Pudong bank of the Huangpu, where Yong Yi Ting, with one MICHELIN star, cooks in the Hangzhou style.
- Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund One MICHELIN Key, and a heritage wing that was the Shanghai Club, built in 1911.
- The Sukhothai Shanghai Neri&Hu designed the interiors in stone, fine woods, silk and polished brass; the hotel holds one Key.
- Park Hyatt Shanghai Floors 79 to 93 of the Shanghai World Financial Centre, with the 100 Century Avenue steakhouse.
- The Langham, Shanghai, Xintiandi T’ang Court, with two MICHELIN stars in 2026, is one of the restaurants in this hotel of 357 rooms.
- The St. Regis Shanghai Jingan Five glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly, and a club floor, The Manor, on the 55th storey.
- The Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai Five hundred and ninety-three rooms and suites, and afternoon tea in The Ritz Bar & Lounge.
- J Hotel Shanghai Tower High in the Shanghai Tower, and a new entry with two Keys in the 2026 selection.
- The PuLi Shanghai One Key in the 2026 selection, held again this year.
- Amanyangyun Aman outside the city, with one Key in the first Shanghai selection and two in 2026.
- Upper House Shanghai The former Middle House, renamed by Swire, central in Jing’an and holding one MICHELIN Key.
- InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland Built down the wall of a former quarry at Sheshan, with a Key in the 2025 selection.
Where to dine
Taian Table and the two-star twelve.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Taian Table Three Michelin stars Innovative ¥¥¥¥ Zhenning Road, Changning
- Bao Li Xuan Two Michelin stars Cantonese ¥¥¥¥ Bvlgari Hotel, Jing’an
- Fu He Hui Two Michelin stars Vegetarian ¥¥¥¥ Yuyuan Road, Changning
- 102 House Two Michelin stars Cantonese ¥¥¥¥ House of Roosevelt, Bund 27
- The House of Rong Two Michelin stars Taizhou ¥¥¥¥ Nanyang Road, Jing’an
- Tou Zao Two Michelin stars Cantonese ¥¥¥¥ Shanghai Centre, West Nanjing Road
- Ji Pin Court Two Michelin stars Cantonese ¥¥¥ South Wulumuqi Road, Xuhui
Elsewhere in China
More reasons to come.
- Beijing The Forbidden City, and the hutong lanes around it.
- Xi'an The Terracotta Army, and the old city walls.
- Hangzhou West Lake, and the tea villages in the hills around it.
- Chengdu Giant pandas, tea houses and Sichuan cooking.
- Guilin Karst peaks along the Li river.
- Sanya The beaches of Hainan island, in the far south.
Flying to Shanghai?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.