What to see
The Bund
Shanghai's riverside promenade, with 1920s bank facades on one side and the Lujiazui skyline across the water.
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- District
- 黄浦区 / Huangpu District
- Nearest metro
- East Nanjing Road station (Metro Lines 2 and 10), then walk west to the river
- Hours
- The promenade is a public walkway open at all hours; one-way crowd control or partial closures of the viewing platform are possible at holiday peaks
- Indicative price
- The promenade is free; the sightseeing tunnel and river cruises are ticketed separately, at prices posted on site
The Bund is a riverside promenade on the west bank of the Huangpu River, running roughly 1.5 km from the Waibaidu Bridge over Suzhou Creek south to Yan’an East Road. There is no gate and no ticket: you are on it as soon as you step up onto the embankment. Behind you stands a row of banks, trading houses and consulates built in the 1920s and 1930s, in a mix of revival styles. Across the water are the towers of Lujiazui. Half of the Bund is the old buildings and half is the new skyline, and the two face opposite ways, which is why plenty of visitors only ever see one of them.
What to do on a first visit
Dusk is the only slot that really works. Get onto the promenade about half an hour before sunset, look at the facades while the low light lasts, then turn around when the towers opposite switch on. The walkway is raised, which gives you the view but also means the buildings behind are best seen from the edge of the platform, or from across Zhongshan East 1st Road, where you have to look up. Walking the promenade end to end takes about 40 minutes; allow 1.5 to 2 hours if you are carrying on to Nanjing East Road. For a different angle, take the river ferry across rather than a sightseeing boat: it costs less and is more direct than the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, which is priced high and plays as entertainment. Most of the historic buildings are still working banks and offices and cannot be entered; a few ground-floor exhibition spaces and the Bund Origin area are the exceptions.
Two practical caveats
First, visibility. In haze or humid weather the Lujiazui towers flatten into a grey band, so keep a spare evening free rather than betting everything on one night. Second, crowds. On weekend evenings and public holidays the promenade runs one-way traffic control and parts of the viewing platform can close, so follow on-site instructions. At midday in summer there is almost no shade and the walk is hot and sticky; early morning is the quietest time. Floodlighting hours shift with the season and holiday arrangements, so check the day’s schedule. People along the river will offer photographs and boat trips; agree the price before you accept.
Practical notes
- Dusk is the best window: the facades in the last light, then the Pudong skyline once it lights up
- Allow about 40 minutes for the promenade, or 1.5 to 2 hours if you continue onto Nanjing East Road
- Avoid weekend evenings and public holidays, when the promenade runs one-way crowd control
- Almost no shade at midday in summer; early morning is quietest, and haze can hide Pudong entirely
- Most of the historic buildings are working banks and offices and cannot be entered
Photographs
