Tour guides China > Shanghai

5 ideas for guided tours in Shanghai

• Nanjing Road: The Beating Heart of Shanghai

  

  From People’s Square, Nanjing Road shoots straight ahead—a wide artery packed with lights and signs. The crowd moves in waves, bags in hand, laughter mixing with the shouts of street vendors. It’s a street that almost never sleeps.

  Old buildings stand next to newer façades, some monumental, others simple shopfronts. Look up and you can still spot traces of the past, while at ground level the signs flash, especially as you head toward the Bund waiting at the end of the walk.

  At night, the avenue blazes with neon, making it hard to settle your gaze on just one spot. Children stop to watch street performers, tourists take photos, and you feel a continuous, almost physical energy. Nanjing Road becomes an open stage.

  For a moment’s pause, you only need to step into People’s Square or the quieter side streets that branch away from the main drag. The contrast is striking and makes the walk even more memorable. The glow of the lights seems to echo long after you’ve left.

• The Bund

  

  Walking along the banks of the Huangpu, the Bund impresses with its row of massive façades, relics of another era. Columns, domes, and ornate balconies stand out against the skyscrapers of Pudong rising across the water. The impression is strongest as the light begins to fade.

  Crowds fill the promenade—couples, families, photographers—everyone slowing down without quite noticing. The contrast is striking: these austere, solemn buildings facing the futuristic silhouette of the Oriental Pearl Tower, a dialogue between stone and glass.

  Turning back, you spot the shadow of the old Custom House and its clock, still keeping time for the city. Footsteps echo on the paving stones, the signs begin to glow, and reflections multiply on the dark waters of the Huangpu. Something simple yet unforgettable stays with you.

  Not far away, the narrow lanes of Tianzifang and the galleries of Xintiandi extend the walk into another setting. After the Bund’s grandeur, you find narrow passages, wood and brick, a completely different atmosphere. The city changes its face in just a few steps.

• Yuyuan Garden

  

  In Shanghai’s old town, the Yuyuan Garden offers a peaceful escape—glazed pavilions, sculpted rocks, ponds where carp brush past lotus flowers. The street noise fades, and you walk slowly, your eye caught by a carved beam, a reflection, a pierced stone.

  The Hall of Jade Magnificence displays fine woodwork and lacquered ceilings, all in quiet symmetry. From the Jiuqu Zigzag Bridge, the water plays with the light. You move in short, careful steps, almost holding your breath, then exhale again in front of a strangely shaped rock.

  Outside the walls, the Chenghuangmiao Bazaar awakens the senses—red lanterns, the smell of tea, vendors calling without insisting. Stop at the Huxinting Teahouse, its windows opening onto the pond, a hot cup resting on dark lacquer—something simple, yet unforgettable.

• The Tianzifang District

  

  In the former French Concession, Tianzifang surprises with its narrow lanes, red brick walls, and balconies crowded with plants. It’s easy to get lost in this maze, wandering past artist studios, quiet cafés, and little shops with colorful signs.

  Around a corner, graffiti-covered walls sit next to low gray-stone houses. Conversations overlap, cooking smells drift from open windows. You walk without a plan, and that’s exactly what makes the place so endearing.

  Not far away, Xintiandi shows another side—modern, sleeker, but still preserving some restored shikumen houses. The contrast with Tianzifang is striking, almost disorienting, yet the two complement each other in a traveler’s memory.

  A few metro stops away, the calm of the Yuyuan Gardens awaits, with pavilions and ponds carefully arranged. After Tianzifang’s bustle, the quiet of water and stone restores a sense of balance, like a deep breath within the city.

• Qibao

  

  Just a few metro stops from the city center, Qibao keeps its cobbled lanes, narrow canals, and whitewashed houses reflected in the water. The atmosphere is lively yet simple, a mix of old shops and street stalls where you linger without thinking too much about time.

  Inside the Qibao Temple, incense drifts through the air and the polished wood seems to tell stories of the neighborhood. You hear the bells, watch the slow gestures, then step back outside into the light, still carrying that moment of calm.

  On the water, a small boat slides under stone bridges and past low façades, Qibao unfolding at canal level. Street vendors offer steaming bites—sweet or spicy—something simple but unforgettable, an image that stays with you.