Why Shanghai rewards walking
Shanghai looks vertical from a taxi window, all Pudong towers and flyovers, and it is easy to leave the city believing that is the whole story. Then one humid October morning I turned off Nanjing Road onto a side street near Zhejiang Road and found a man frying shengjianbao (生煎包) in a pan the size of a manhole cover, steam climbing between laundry lines, and I understood the city better in ten minutes than I had in a week of skyscraper viewing. Shanghai hides its best parts at street level, and the only way to see them is on foot.
This guide covers four walking routes I have used repeatedly, each with a different flavor: the colonial waterfront, the plane-tree streets of the former French Concession, the old walled city, and one for after dark. Distances are short. You will be surprised how much fits into a single day if you start at 8 a.m. and keep a flexible attitude about lunch.
Route 1: The Bund to People’s Square
Start at the northern end of the Bund, at Waibaidu Bridge. The current steel bridge dates to 1908 and it was the first all-steel bridge in China. Walk south along Zhongshan East 1st Road with the river on your right. The 52 buildings facing the water are the reason the Bund exists: built between the 1860s and the 1930s as banks, clubs, and trading houses, they run through Gothic, Baroque, and neoclassical styles in the space of a mile. The most photographed is probably the Peace Hotel, the green-roofed Sassoon building of 1929, still a hotel and still playing jazz in its basement bar most evenings.
At the southern end, Chen Yi Square opens up toward the Pudong skyline across the river. This is the postcard shot, and it is worth standing in the crowd for it once. Then walk west onto Nanjing Road. The pedestrian section starts at Henan Road and runs to Xizang Road, about 1.2 km. Yes, it is touristy. Yes, the duck-shaped ice cream stands are silly. It is also genuinely the busiest shopping street in China, and people-watching here is free entertainment.
Turn north at Zhejiang Road and walk three blocks for lunch. Lai Lai, a small shop near Tianjin Road, makes xiaolongbao (小笼包) with thin skin and a soup center that arrives dangerously hot. One basket of pork plus a bowl of soy milk is a proper Shanghai breakfast, about 25 RMB. Afterward, walk north to Fuzhou Road, the old book street, and finish at People’s Park. The park sits on the site of the old Shanghai Race Club, and if you look carefully at the ground you can spot the racetrack curve in the layout of the surrounding streets.
The whole loop is about 5 km. If you want a museum stop in the middle, the Shanghai Museum on People’s Square is world class and free, though you should reserve a slot ahead online.
Route 2: The former French Concession
This is the walk I give to friends who say they do not like Shanghai. The plane trees were planted a century ago and their branches meet over the street, which makes the whole area feel like a different season even in August. Start at the Jiangsu Road metro station and walk south to Wukang Road.
Wukang Mansion, the Normandie Apartments, was finished in 1924 and designed by the Hungarian architect László Hudec, who also gave the city the Park Hotel. The building is a flatiron wedge, eight stories, and the balconies fill up with photographers most weekends. It is not a museum. You cannot go inside unless you know a resident. Looking at it from the corner of Huaihai Road is the experience.
From Wukang Road, walk west on Anfu Road. This two-block stretch is where Shanghai’s coffee culture is densest: independent roasters, bakeries selling egg tarts still warm, and record shops with listening stations. Then continue south to Xiangyang Road, a quieter street with old grocers and xiaolongbao shops that have not changed much since the 1980s. Turn east onto Fuxing Road and walk to Xiangyang Park, where the old men play cards under the trees most afternoons.
Keep going east and you hit Sinan Road, with its yellow-walled villas and the Sun Yat-sen residence at number 7, open to visitors for free with a passport. Zhou Enlai’s former residence is a few blocks north at 73 Sinan Road. These houses are the reason this area was called the Avenue des Souvenirs of China in the 1920s, and standing in their courtyards, it is not hard to see why bankers and gangsters both wanted addresses here.
This route is about 4 km with stops, and it is the one where you should budget unstructured time. The good cafés are the ones where you sit down for an hour and watch the street. For more on what to drink once you sit, our guide to Shanghai coffee culture covers the local roasters worth seeking out.
Route 3: The old city
Shanghai was a walled county town before the foreigners arrived, and the walls are gone but the street pattern is not. Start at the Yuyuan Garden metro area and go into the garden itself early, ideally by 9 a.m., before the tour groups. The garden was begun in 1559 by the Pan family as a retirement retreat and covers about two hectares, which sounds small until you find out how many rockeries, ponds, and pavilions they packed into it. Nine Lions Study, the dragon wall, the Exquisite Jade Rock that took decades to move from Songjiang: these are the set pieces.
The bazaar around the garden is a tourist trap in the obvious ways and a genuine old-city neighborhood in the less obvious ones. Walk north out of the bazaar into the lanes east of the garden, where families eat breakfast outside on plastic stools. This is where you try shengjianbao (生煎包) again if the first attempt did not land, or paigu niangao, the fried pork cutlet with rice cakes that locals argue about endlessly.
Continue north to the City God Temple, a working Taoist temple complex that dates in its current form to the Ming dynasty and has been rebuilt repeatedly since. The market around it sells the same souvenirs as every temple market in China, but the temple itself still draws worshippers, which is the part worth watching.
From there, walk west through the old lanes to Tianzifang, the former factory district off Taikang Road that artists colonized in the late 1990s and that is now a maze of craft shops and cafes in converted lane houses. It has cleaned up considerably since the 2000s, and some people find that disappointing. I still like it before 11 a.m., when the residents hang laundry above the shopfronts and the whole place feels like a neighborhood that happens to sell ceramics.
If you have energy left, the Power Station of Art on Minsheng Harbor is a short taxi ride west: a state contemporary art museum in a converted power station, free since it opened in 2012, and usually good for an hour. For evening plans, Xintiandi preserves a block of shikumen lane houses and fills them with restaurants; the old stones are real even if the crowd is not.
Route 4: Hongkou after dark
Few visitors go to Hongkou, north of the Bund, and that is the point. Start at Duolun Road, a short street of 1920s and 30s residences where writers like Lu Xun and Mao Dun once lived. Then walk east to 1933 Old Millfun, a 1933 slaughterhouse building of gloomy concrete arcades and animal ramps that has been converted into shops and offices. It is genuinely strange architecture, and at night the floodlights make it stranger. Finish with hot pot along Haining Road, where the queues are locals only.
This loop is about 3 km and pairs well with a Bund at sunset walk on the same day, since the two areas are connected by a straight shot north along Sichuan Road.
Comparing the routes
| Route | Distance | Best time | Main draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bund to People’s Square | ~5 km | Early morning, or sunset | Colonial architecture, skyline views |
| Former French Concession | ~4 km | Late afternoon | Plane trees, cafes, 1920s villas |
| Old city | ~4 km | Before 10 a.m. | Yuyuan Garden, old lanes, temples |
| Hongkou after dark | ~3 km | Evening | 1933 building, local hot pot |
Quick facts
- Shanghai is flat and metro-linked, so walking routes rarely exceed 5 km
- Metro fare is about 3 to 5 RMB per trip regardless of distance
- Waibaidu Bridge dates to 1908; the Bund’s bank buildings to the 1860s to 1930s
- Yuyuan Garden was begun in 1559 and covers about two hectares
- Wukang Mansion was completed in 1924, designed by László Hudec
- Best walking seasons: March to June and October to early December
- Carry a bottle of water; convenience stores are every 200 meters
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to join a walking tour?
No. Shanghai’s streets are safe and well signed, and the metro covers every start point on these routes. A tour makes sense only if you want the historical context narrated, which some operators do well and others do badly.
When is the best time of year to walk Shanghai?
April, May, October, and early November. Summer is humid enough that you will want to be indoors by midday, and January is damp cold. The plane-tree streets are at their best in late October when the leaves turn.
How do I handle crossing big roads safely?
Use the signalized crossings even when locals jaywalk, and watch for e-bikes, which do not stop for pedestrians. Pedestrian overpasses are common along Nanjing Road and often faster than waiting for the light.
Is the Bund worth the crowds at night?
Once, yes. The lights on both banks come on around 7 p.m. in summer and 6 p.m. in winter. If you want the same view with fewer people, walk the route at 7 a.m. instead and watch the tai chi groups.
Can I do all four routes in one weekend?
Yes, if you split them across two days. Route 1 and Route 4 fit one long day, and Route 2 plus Route 3 fit another. Trying to combine Route 2 and Route 3 in one day means rushing, and rushing defeats the point.
What should I wear for these walks?
Shoes you can walk 5 km in, and layers for the metro, which is heavily air conditioned in summer and heated in winter. An umbrella beats a rain jacket in the rainy season from June to early July.
If you want these walks stitched into a longer route through eastern China, we can help you plan a custom food-and-travel itinerary through the contact page. A good pairing is a day in the old city followed by a trip out to a water town, and our Shanghai food guide lists the sit-down meals worth building an evening around.
Written by the ChinaTravelFood editorial team.
