Shanghai’s skyline is one of the world’s most cinematic: three supertall towers stacked together in Pudong, a 1920s stone waterfront facing them across the Huangpu, and a river that reflects both. The best views in Shanghai come from four different kinds of place — paid observation decks, rooftop bars, hotel lobbies you can walk into, and ground-level vantage points that cost nothing at all. This 2026 guide compares every one of them by height, price and what you actually see, corrects a few things older guides still get wrong, and tells you which are worth your money.
Table of Contents
- Best Views in Shanghai Compared
- Which One Should You Actually Pay For?
- Paid Observation Decks
- Rooftop Bars with Views
- Hotel-Lobby Views
- Best Views in Shanghai That Cost Nothing
- Unusual Angles
- A Two-Hour View Crawl
- Views From Your Hotel Room
- When to Go
- Will You See Anything? Air, Haze and Season
- Photography Tips
- Common Mistakes
- Practical Tips
- FAQ
Best Views in Shanghai Compared
| Viewpoint | Height | Cost | Best at | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Tower, F118 | ~546 m | ¥180 (¥199 peak) | 30 min pre-sunset | The definitive high view. Book online |
| Jin Mao Tower, F88 | 340.6 m | ~¥120 | Late afternoon | Quieter; the atrium below is the real draw |
| Oriental Pearl | ~263–350 m | ¥160–220 | Any | Retro fun with kids; weakest actual view |
| SWFC, F100 | 474 m | Was ~¥220 | — | Closed for renovation since 2023 |
| Flair, Ritz-Carlton | 58F | ¥150–220 a drink | Sunset | Highest open-air terrace in the city |
| Cloud 9, Grand Hyatt | 87F, ~340 m | ¥130–200 | After dark | Deck height for the price of two drinks |
| Sir Elly’s Terrace | 14F | ¥140–200 | Golden hour | Low, close, and the most composed Bund view |
| The Bund promenade | Ground | Free | 18:00 or after 22:00 | The picture everyone comes for |
| Pudong riverside walkway | Ground | Free | Blue hour | The better half of the pair, and emptier |
| Huangpu public ferry | Water | ¥2 | Dusk | The cheapest moving view in Shanghai |
Which One Should You Actually Pay For?
Most visitors buy one high ticket. Here is how to choose. If you want the single best high-altitude experience and you have one shot, take the Shanghai Tower — nothing else in the city competes for sheer altitude, and the 360-degree sweep at F118 is genuinely worth ¥180. If you would rather drink than queue, go to Cloud 9 at 87F of the Jin Mao instead: you are at roughly the same height as the Jin Mao’s own observation deck, two cocktails cost about what the deck plus a coffee would, and you get a seat.
If your priority is a photograph of the skyline rather than a photograph from it, do not go up at all. Every recognisable image of Shanghai is taken from outside the towers, at ground level — you cannot photograph the skyline while standing inside it. Spend the ¥180 on dinner and shoot from the Bund or the Pudong walkway instead.
And if you are travelling with children, the Oriental Pearl beats all of them: the glass floor, the 1990s space-age styling and the museum in the basement hold attention in a way a viewing gallery does not. See Shanghai with kids.
Paid Observation Decks
Shanghai Tower (F118, about 546 m)
China’s tallest building at 632 m, with the main deck on floor 118 at roughly 546 m and a second level at 119 around 552 m. Standard adult entry is ¥180, rising to about ¥199 on peak days, with a combined ticket including the damper show on floors 125–126 at around ¥268. Children between 1 m and 1.4 m are commonly around ¥95. Open 08:30–22:00 with last entry near 21:30. Metro Line 2 to Lujiazui, then about five minutes on foot following the signs. Pre-booked visitors typically wait 5–10 minutes; walk-ups at peak times can face 30 minutes or more. Full detail in our Shanghai Tower observation deck guide.
Jin Mao Tower (F88, 340.6 m)
The original Pudong deck, opened in 1999, at 340.6 m — not the 360 m you will see quoted, and well below the Shanghai Tower. Around ¥120, open roughly 08:30–21:30 with last admission about 20:30. There is also a Skywalk: a 60 m outdoor glass ledge, 1.2 m wide, with no handrail, harnessed and priced separately. The best thing about Jin Mao is not the deck at all — it is looking straight down the Grand Hyatt’s 33-storey barrel atrium from floor 87.
Oriental Pearl (main sphere around 263 m)
The 1994 landmark that defined the skyline before the towers arrived. Combination tickets run roughly ¥160–220 depending on which spheres and the space-capsule add-on you take. The view is the weakest of the three because you are looking at the Bund from lower down and the taller neighbours block the western sweep. Go for the building, not the panorama.
Shanghai World Financial Center (F100, 474 m)
The “bottle opener”, and its glass-floored walkway at 474 m used to be the most theatrical viewing experience in Shanghai. The observatory has been closed for renovation since 2023 and no confirmed reopening date has been announced. Do not build a plan around it — check on the day you arrive.
Heavenly Jin at J Hotel (F120, 556 m)
The restaurant near the top of the Shanghai Tower, recognised by Guinness World Records as the highest restaurant in a building, at 556 m — ten metres above the observation deck below it. Lunch 11:30–14:00, dinner 17:30–22:00, booking essential. It is expensive and it is a restaurant rather than a viewpoint, but it is the only way to sit down above F118.
Rooftop Bars with Views
One correction that matters, because it appears in almost every older list: Bar Rouge at Bund 18 has closed. The seventh floor now operates as a club called KEV. If a guide is still sending you to Bar Rouge, ignore the rest of its recommendations too.
- Flair, Ritz-Carlton Pudong (58F) — the highest open-air terrace in Shanghai, looking back at the Bund. ¥150–220 a drink. Smart casual is enforced: collared shirts and closed shoes for men
- Cloud 9, Grand Hyatt at Jin Mao (87F) — around 340 m, ¥130–200. Enclosed, which makes it the best winter option
- La Terrazza, Bulgari Hotel (48F) — Suzhou Creek and the north Bund, ¥140–220
- Sir Elly’s Terrace, The Peninsula (14F) — low, close to the water, and the most composed sunset on the Bund. ¥140–200. It has shut seasonally in deep winter before
- VUE Bar, Hyatt on the Bund (32–33F) — north Bund angle taking in both banks, ¥110–180
- Char, Hotel Indigo on the Bund (29–30F) — south Bund, looking north up the curve, ¥100–150
- TALES, Banyan Tree on the Bund — quieter, ¥110–170
- The Roof, Shanghai EDITION (7F) — open from daytime to midnight, ¥130–180
- Roosevelt Sky Bar, Bund 27 (8F) — ¥100–160, and rarely full
- The Captain, on the Bund — ¥60–110 a drink from a hostel rooftop. The cheapest Bund-view seat in the city and still one of the best
Full comparison of heights, prices and dress codes in our best rooftop bars guide, and the bars behind unmarked doors in cocktail bars and speakeasies.
Hotel-Lobby Views
The most underused trick in Shanghai. Five-star hotels here do not police their public floors, and a coffee at ¥60–80 buys you a window seat that would cost ¥180 with a ticket.
- Grand Hyatt at Jin Mao — the sky lobby is on 54F and the atrium runs to 87F. Ride up, look, buy something if you sit
- Mandarin Oriental Pudong — riverside lounge with a direct Bund view
- The Peninsula — lobby afternoon tea is a serious commitment at ¥600 or so, but the room and the view are worth it once
- Waldorf Astoria — the Long Bar is a rebuilt 1910 room rather than a view, but it is the best interior on the Bund
- Ritz-Carlton Pudong — the 52nd-floor lobby has the same outlook as Flair one level up, without the drinks minimum
Dress like you might be a guest and nobody will ask you anything. More on which hotels have the outlooks in hotels near the Bund and luxury hotels.
Best Views in Shanghai That Cost Nothing
The Bund promenade
The classic, 1.5 km of raised waterfront looking at Pudong. Free, open at all hours. The middle section opposite Bund 12 gives the widest panorama, and the lower riverside path has a fraction of the crowd of the elevated deck directly above it. See the Bund guide and the Bund at night.
Pudong riverside walkway (Binjiang Avenue)
The reverse view, and the better one for photography: you get the whole lit sweep of 1920s facades instead of a row of towers you are standing among. Far less crowded than the Bund side. Metro Line 2 to Lujiazui.
The ¥2 Huangpu ferry
Shanghai’s public ferries cross the river in about eight minutes for ¥2 with a transport card. The Jinling Road to Dongchang Road route puts you mid-river, outside on an open deck, at exactly the point where both banks are in frame. It is a better vantage than most ¥120 sightseeing boats and roughly one-sixtieth of the price. Run it at dusk. For the full-length version, see our river night cruise guide.
Lujiazui Central Green and the elevated walkway
The circular pedestrian bridge that rings the Lujiazui junction puts you at the base of all three towers with clear sightlines straight up — the best place in Shanghai to photograph the towers as objects rather than as a skyline. The park below is free and open all day.
West Bund
A 4 km riverside walk in Xuhui past the art museums and sculpture, with the most uninterrupted western sunset over the water in the city. The Long Museum’s raw concrete vaults make an unusually good frame. Combine with contemporary art.
Suzhou Creek
The renovated banks west of Waibaidu Bridge are the quietest central walk in Shanghai, with a low, intimate view of bridges and 1930s warehouses instead of towers. Almost no tour groups.
Lupu Bridge
The deck-level footpath gives a free panorama over the Huangpu and the former Expo site, linking Huangpu district with Pudong. Note that the old “Shanghai Climb” up the arch — the lift plus 367 steps to the top of the span — has been closed to sightseers since 2016, despite still appearing on plenty of lists.
More free options in free attractions and free things to do.
Unusual Angles
- The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel — a kitsch light-tunnel ride under the river at about ¥50 one way. Nobody’s idea of a good attraction, but it deposits you on the Pudong side at the right place for the reverse view
- Power Station of Art — the converted riverside power plant on the West Bund. Permanent collection free; the upper floors and terraces open to visitors give a Huangpu outlook no tour bus stops at
- BFC Bund Finance Centre — the newer development at the Bund’s southern end, with a rooftop garden and public terraces looking back up the curve of the waterfront
- Houtan Park — an ecological wetland park on the former Expo grounds in south Pudong. Free, quiet, and a completely different river
- The Shanghai Postal Museum — free, at the north end of Sichuan Road Bridge on Suzhou Creek, in a 1920s building whose surroundings are the best low view of the creek’s junction with the Huangpu
- Waibaidu Bridge at dusk — the 1907 steel truss bridge, floodlit, with the Broadway Mansions behind it. The single most under-photographed spot in central Shanghai
More in this vein in our guide to lesser-known Shanghai and Art Deco architecture.
A Two-Hour View Crawl
If you only do one evening properly, do this one. Times below assume a 19:00 sunset, which is roughly late April or mid-August; shift the whole sequence with the sunset time on the day.
- 17:45 — Metro Line 2 or 10 to East Nanjing Road, Exit 2. Five minutes east on foot brings you out at the middle of the Bund
- 18:00 — Walk the promenade south to north on the lower riverside path, not the elevated deck. Same view, a third of the people
- 18:30 — Up to Sir Elly’s terrace at The Peninsula, 14th floor, for one drink at ¥140–200 while the light goes. If it is full or shut, the Waldorf’s Long Bar is three minutes’ walk south
- 19:15 — Down to the Jinling Road ferry pier and across the Huangpu for ¥2. Stay outside on the deck. This is the eight minutes of the evening you will remember
- 19:30 — Arrive Dongchang Road on the Pudong side and walk north along Binjiang Avenue. Blue hour hits here, with the entire lit Bund facing you and space to set a camera down
- 20:15 — Cut inland to the Lujiazui elevated ring for the towers from directly below, then Line 2 home from Lujiazui
Total cost: ¥2 plus a metro fare, or about ¥200 if you take the drink. No tickets, no queues, and it covers four genuinely different vantage points. Add the Shanghai Tower at the start if you want the high view too — go up at 17:30 and come down in time to walk the Bund.
Views From Your Hotel Room
Waking up to the skyline is a different proposition from paying to look at it, and the arithmetic is better than people assume. A Bund-view room typically carries a premium of ¥600–1,200 a night over the same hotel’s city-view room — two or three observation-deck tickets, for a view you get for a whole stay including sunrise, which almost nobody sees.
- Facing Pudong (from the Bund side): The Peninsula, Waldorf Astoria, Fairmont Peace Hotel, Hotel Indigo, Banyan Tree. You see the towers, lit from 18:00 onward
- Facing the Bund (from Pudong): Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Ritz-Carlton Pudong, Grand Hyatt at Jin Mao, Park Hyatt. You see the heritage facades, which is the rarer and arguably better view
- The high-floor play: rooms in the Jin Mao’s Grand Hyatt start at floor 54, higher than most cities’ observation decks, at mid-range luxury prices
Two warnings. “River view” and “partial river view” are different things and hotels are not always forthcoming about which you have booked — ask for a specific floor band and a facing direction in writing. And low floors on the Bund lose the skyline behind the trees on the promenade, so under about floor 8 the premium is rarely worth paying. Compare properties in where to stay in Shanghai.
When to Go
The Bund’s illumination follows the season rather than a fixed clock: roughly 18:30–22:30 in spring, 19:00–22:30 in summer, 18:00–22:30 in autumn and 17:30–22:30 in winter, extended to 23:00 at weekends. Turn up 45 minutes before the lights and you get golden hour, the switch-on and blue hour in one stint.
- Blue hour — the 15–30 minutes after sunset, when the sky still has colour and the buildings are lit. This is the shot. Everything before is washed out and everything after is black sky
- Crowd peak — 19:30–21:30 at weekends, 19:00–21:00 on weekdays. It thins noticeably after 22:00
- Weekday over weekend, every time. Tuesday to Thursday on the Bund is a different experience from Saturday
- Avoid 1–7 October and Chinese New Year, when the promenade runs a one-way crowd-control system
- Last trains from East Nanjing Road run about 22:50–23:15, which catches people out after a long rooftop session. Metro guide
Will You See Anything? Air, Haze and Season
The thing nobody tells you about high views in Shanghai is that on a bad day you pay ¥180 to look at grey. Visibility here is driven less by pollution than by humidity: summer air over the Yangtze Delta holds enough moisture to soften anything beyond a couple of kilometres, so a July afternoon can be clean by air-quality index and still show you nothing.
- Best months: late October through November. Dry, cool, and the clearest air of the year
- Worst: July and August — hot, humid, hazy, and prone to afternoon storms. See visiting in summer
- The reliable trick — go the day after heavy rain or the day a cold front comes through in autumn or winter. Visibility on those days is exceptional
- Check the forecast the morning of, not a week ahead, and keep the deck ticket flexible if you can
- Winter is underrated: cold, dry days give the sharpest skyline of the year, and the decks are empty. Shanghai in winter
Month-by-month detail in weather by month and best time to visit.
Photography Tips
- Lens hood, always, at observation decks. The glass is angled and reflective; press the hood flat to the window and shoot through it. A dark jacket held against the glass kills the rest of the reflection
- Wide at 16–35 mm for the skyline from ground level; 70–200 mm to compress the three towers into a single stack from further down the promenade
- Tripods are restricted at the decks and unpopular on the crowded stretch of the Bund. A wall, a railing or a beanbag does the job
- Shoot the reflection — puddles after rain, polished granite on the promenade, glass on the Pudong side
- Phones are fine. Night mode on a recent handset handles the Bund better than most people handle a DSLR
- Drones are restricted over central Shanghai. Do not plan on aerials
Locations, settings and permissions in more depth in our Shanghai photography guide.
Common Mistakes
- Going up at midday. Harsh light, maximum haze, no illumination. The same ticket buys ten times the view three hours later
- Booking a deck for a skyline photo. You cannot photograph the skyline from inside it
- Believing the Shanghai Tower is 562 m tall at the deck. The building is 632 m; the deck is at about 546 m. Older guides mix the two figures up
- Turning up at SWFC. The observatory has been shut since 2023
- Planning around Bar Rouge or the Lupu Bridge arch climb. Both are gone
- Walking up to a rooftop in shorts. Flair and several others will turn men away
- Paying ¥298 for a dinner cruise when the ¥120 sightseeing boat or the ¥2 ferry shows you the same river
Practical Tips
- Pre-book the Shanghai Tower through Trip.com, Klook or the official mini-programme — pre-booked queues run 5–10 minutes against 30-plus for walk-ups
- Metro Line 2 to Lujiazui for all three Pudong towers; Lines 2 and 10 to East Nanjing Road for the Bund; Line 10 to Yuyuan Garden for the southern end. Getting around
- Carry a layer. The riverfront runs several degrees cooler than the street, in every season
- Combine the two banks in one evening — Bund at golden hour, ferry across at dusk, Pudong walkway for blue hour. Two hours, ¥2
- Do the whole thing free if you want: promenade, ferry, Lujiazui walkway, hotel lobby coffee. See Shanghai on a budget
- Bring your passport — security screening at the tower entrances and on the metro is routine
- Pair it with a Bund evening in a wider plan: one day in Shanghai, Shanghai for couples, or the 10-day Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou route
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best view in Shanghai?
Shanghai Tower F118 at about 546 m for the highest paid view; the Bund promenade for the most recognisable free one; Sir Elly’s terrace or Flair if you would rather have a seat and a drink. The honest answer is that the free ground-level views are the ones that photograph best.
How much is the Shanghai Tower observation deck?
¥180 standard, about ¥199 on peak days, and roughly ¥268 for the combined ticket including the damper show on floors 125–126. Children 1–1.4 m are commonly around ¥95. Open 08:30–22:00, last entry near 21:30.
Is the Shanghai Tower worth it?
Yes, once, on a clear day, timed for sunset. On a hazy summer afternoon it is ¥180 for a white wall. Check visibility the morning of before you commit.
Where can I see the Shanghai skyline for free?
The Bund promenade, the Pudong riverside walkway, the Lujiazui elevated ring, Lujiazui Central Green, West Bund, Suzhou Creek and the Lupu Bridge footpath. Add the ¥2 public ferry, which is as close to free as makes no difference.
Is the SWFC observatory open?
No. The Shanghai World Financial Center’s 100th-floor observatory, with the famous glass-floored walkway at 474 m, has been closed for renovation since 2023 and no reopening date has been confirmed.
Is Bar Rouge still open?
No. Bar Rouge has closed; the seventh floor at Bund 18 is now a club called KEV. Flair, VUE, Cloud 9 and Sir Elly’s are the rooftops to go to instead.
Can you still climb Lupu Bridge?
No. The arch climb — a lift to the base and 367 steps up the span — has been closed to sightseers since 2016. The deck-level footpath is still open and still free.
How tall is the Shanghai Tower observation deck?
The main deck on floor 118 sits at about 546 m, with a second level at floor 119 near 552 m. The building itself tops out at 632 m. The commonly quoted “562 m” conflates the two.
Which is better, Shanghai Tower or Jin Mao?
Shanghai Tower for altitude and the 360-degree sweep; Jin Mao for atmosphere, shorter queues and the Grand Hyatt atrium. At 340.6 m the Jin Mao deck is barely more than half the Shanghai Tower’s height, so if you are only going up once, go up the tall one.
What time does the Bund light up?
Roughly 18:30 in spring, 19:00 in summer, 18:00 in autumn and 17:30 in winter, running until about 22:30 and extended to 23:00 at weekends. Arrive 45 minutes before for golden hour, the switch-on and blue hour together.
When is the air clearest for skyline views?
Late October through November, and cold dry days in winter. Summer humidity softens the horizon even when air quality readings are good. The day after heavy rain is reliably excellent.
Do I need to book observation decks in advance?
For the Shanghai Tower, yes — pre-booked entry queues run 5–10 minutes against 30 or more for walk-ups, and peak days are worse. Jin Mao and the Oriental Pearl are usually fine on the day outside holidays.
Plan Your View Day
Combine with our pillar guides on things to do in Shanghai, Shanghai Tower observation deck, and best rooftop bars. For background, see Shanghai skyline on Wikipedia, the Shanghai World Financial Center and Lupu Bridge.
