After having had a stopover in Shanghai four times, flying with China Eastern, we decided that on our way back from our honeymoon in New Zealand and the Cook Islands, we would make the most of a longer stopover and spend a day in the city, finally taking the opportunity to visit Shanghai in one day.
Just over 24 hours, arriving in the morning and leaving the following day, gave us enough time to visit the most iconic sights of this Chinese city, whose Pudong Airport is one of the busiest hubs on the continent and where you might well find yourself having a stopover too when flying to Asia.
So here is an article with useful information and the itinerary I followed to visit Shanghai in one day, joining the other articles in my “Cities in One Day” series, where I make the most of the limited time available to visit the most iconic places in each city.
Do You Need a Visa to Visit Shanghai?
The first question that naturally comes to mind is, of course, the visa situation. At the time of our trip and while writing this article (May and September 2026 respectively), many countries’ citizens can now visit China for up to 30 days without applying for a visa.
Even before this visa exemption (which started at the end of 2023), it was still possible to visit Shanghai without applying for a visa by using the “transit visa-free” policy, which allowed travelers to leave the airport for a limited period of time (initially 72 hours, later extended to 144 hours), provided that the flight arrived from one country (for example Italy) and the onward flight was to another (for example Japan).
Before arriving, however, you need to fill in the online Arrival Card, on the official Chinese website and, once at the airport, register your fingerprints at the machines before joining the immigration queue.
Arriving at 7am, we were already outside the international arrivals area and ready to explore Shanghai in less than an hour!
Getting to Shanghai from Pudong Airport
The fastest way to reach central Shanghai from the airport is the Maglev, the magnetic levitation train that takes you from Terminal 2 to Longyang Road Station in just 8 minutes, reaching speeds of 300 km/h. Trains run every 20 minutes from 7am to 9:40pm.
From there, you can change to Metro Line 2, which takes you towards the city centre in around half an hour.
Actually, Line 2 starts directly at the airport and takes about an hour to reach central Shanghai, while costing almost one tenth of the Maglev (7 CNY compared to 50 CNY for the Maglev). This is the option we took on the way back, partly because we were completely exhausted and having a direct train without a change seemed like the more relaxing option.
Let’s say the Maglev is worth trying for the experience, or if you are really short on time, but otherwise the metro will save you quite a bit of money and is just as convenient. If, like us, you decide to try the Maglev for only one leg of the journey, I recommend going to the physical ticket counter and asking for the Maglev & Metro Pass, which for 55 CNY includes one Maglev journey and a one-day metro pass. Note that you won’t find this pass at the ticket machines or in the advertisements, where other less convenient passes are promoted instead, but simply ask at the Maglev ticket counter and they will confirm that it is still available.
What to See in Shanghai in One Day
With just one day, you really only have enough time to see the main sights, and there isn’t enough time to reach one of the many water towns scattered around the city or visit Shanghai Disneyland, as you could with a few more days.
Arriving early in the morning, we followed a logical west-to-east itinerary that optimizes travel time, ending at the Bund to admire it at sunset and then once the city lights came on, before taking the metro back to the airport, where we stayed overnight at the Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Airport, which is directly connected to both the station and the airport terminals.
Keep in mind that in China, Google, Instagram, WhatsApp and most Western social media platforms are blocked, so you need a VPN such as Surfshark to get around the restrictions.
Having an internet connection is essential because payments are almost entirely digital, using apps such as Alipay and WeChat Pay. I used the Airalo e-Sim, which has a built-in VPN and provides fast internet for using Chinese apps, while also allowing you to bypass the restrictions and use all Western websites and apps. As always, I had a great experience with it.
People’s Park and the Marriage Market (weekends only)
If you visit Shanghai on a Saturday or Sunday morning, don’t miss the chance to visit People’s Park, a large city park where locals gather to play Chinese chess, walk around and socialize, and where one of the most curious social phenomena in all of China takes place on weekend mornings: the marriage market.
Parents of single sons and daughters gather along the park’s paths with umbrellas or transparent plastic sheets, under which they hang handwritten signs advertising their son or daughter — age, height, profession, salary, property ownership, zodiac sign — in search of the perfect partner for their beloved offspring.
The people directly concerned are generally not there. Instead, it is the parents who exchange contact details and negotiate to arrange “suitable” marriages for them.
Definitely a very peculiar part of modern Chinese culture that I would have absolutely loved to see, but unfortunately my Shanghai stopover was on a Tuesday….
French Concession and Tianzifang
Take the metro to the French Concession, the neighbourhood that tells the story of Shanghai’s cosmopolitan past more than anywhere else, and one that I really, really loved!
Wandering along its tree-lined avenues, among European-style buildings and early-20th-century Art Nouveau villas, cafés, independent bookshops and plenty of everyday local life is a lovely way to experience this part of the city.
Tianzifang is incredible! A maze of shikumen, the traditional houses with stone gates, where artisan workshops, ateliers, souvenir shops and tea stores follow one another, interrupted only by photo spots and adorable Instagrammable corners.
I absolutely loved this place. I think it was my favourite part of Shanghai, with all its chaos and colours.
Narrow little alleyways where it is incredibly easy to get lost lead to tiny treasures, such as a handmade qipao shop where the tailor will adjust your chosen dress and make it fit you perfectly in about an hour… too bad I had decided I wasn’t going to go shopping in Shanghai this time, planning to come back in the future.
But 100% next time I’m going straight there and buying one!
Xintiandi
Continue walking and you will reach Xintiandi, a sophisticated and trendy area where restored shikumen houses have been converted into restaurants and boutiques. The atmosphere is the exact opposite of Tianzifang: polished, expensive and international.
Let’s say that if visiting Tianzifang has left you overstimulated, this is the perfect place to catch your breath, perhaps stopping at one of the many little restaurants with outdoor seating where you can fully immerse yourself in this mix of China and Europe.
Shanghai Old Town and Yuyuan Garden
Back on the metro, the next stop is Shanghai’s Old Town, home to the beautiful — and very crowded — Yuyuan Garden, a classic 16th-century Chinese garden. This is definitely the busiest and most touristic area, especially with groups of Chinese tourists, and the one that feels the “most Chinese” in the sense of the image we tend to have of Chinese architecture.
In reality, almost everything has been reconstructed and the atmosphere is a long way from the peaceful Chinese garden with pagodas and upturned roofs you might imagine. It is more like a China-themed amusement park, with souvenir shops everywhere and prices that are definitely higher than elsewhere (especially the tea house opposite the garden… absolutely ridiculous!).
But if, like me, you have never been to China before, the visual impact is definitely incredible. It really feels like walking through “old Shanghai”, and you can’t skip this stop.
This area is also full of street food stalls, and I recommend trying the xiaolong bao, steamed dumplings filled with broth, which are really delicious here.
If you want to come back here in the evening, keep in mind that the atmosphere becomes even more magical, with lanterns and lights illuminating the buildings!
From Nanjing Road to the Bund
One final walk to round off the day: from the Old Town, head towards Nanjing Road, perhaps the busiest street in Shanghai, lined with boutiques, elegant hotels and Art Nouveau buildings from the 1920s and 1930s that were once home to banks and consulates from all over the world, all the way to the Bund.
The Bund is the riverside promenade separating historic colonial Shanghai from the forest of skyscrapers in Pudong. Across the river, one of the most iconic skylines on the planet: the Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower and the World Financial Center with its distinctive bottle-opener shape.
Sunset is the perfect time to arrive here, seeing the skyline in daylight and then watching it transform as darkness falls and the lights come on. If you have more time, take a scenic cruise on the river, to enjoy the unique view of this iconic skyline.
A perfect way to end a day in Shanghai, before taking Metro Line 2 back to the airport.
To be honest, I didn’t have particularly high expectations of Shanghai and had never really felt the need to visit it, imagining it as just another Asian metropolis.
Instead, I found a city full of personality, extremely pleasant to explore on foot through its neighbourhoods, and one that I hope to return to again, to visit the water towns surrounding it, the Pudong area and all the other little gems I missed with only one day available…. Who knows, maybe on another stopover….
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