Guides · China
Getting around Shanghai
How to move around Shanghai on a 3-day walking trip: metro, tickets and the notes that matter.
Checked September 2026 against official sources
Shanghai
Transit and walking
Follow the official link before you buy. Full walking days: Shanghai itinerary.
Getting around
- Since June 28, 2025 the whole Shanghai Metro network accepts tap-to-ride with contactless UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JCB cards and e-CNY hard wallets. Passengers must enable their card's small-amount password-free payment feature; cards with Type-B chips or without the ODA function are excluded.Source: Shanghai Municipal Government · checked Sep 2026
Questions
Quick answers
Do I need a reservation for anything?
Since September 2025 individual visitors walk into the Shanghai Museum at People's Square with an ID and no booking, except in national holidays and school breaks. The Shanghai Tower observatory and the river cruise sell real-name tickets, so carry your passport; the cruise can be bought at the wharf windows or in the Huangpu River Cruise WeChat mini-program.
How do I pay for the metro?
Since June 2025 the whole Shanghai Metro takes contactless Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB and UnionPay cards tapped at the gate, as long as the card's small-amount no-PIN payment is switched on; Alipay and WeChat ride codes linked to a foreign card work too. Taxis are cheap and take cards or Alipay.
How much walking is this itinerary?
About 4 km in a straight line between sights on day one, under 1 km plus the ferry or metro on day two, and about 2 km plus two short rides on day three; the Bund, Nanjing Road and Wukang Road are all flat, pedestrian walks.
The days these rules belong to
3 days in Shanghai
Shanghai rewards walking more than any other Chinese city, so the plan is built on three long walks with the metro in between. Day one starts on the Bund before the crowds, follows Nanjing Road to People's Square and the Shanghai Museum, and comes back to the river for a night cruise from Shiliupu. Day two is the old walled town, Yu Garden and the City God Temple in the morning, then the ferry or metro across to Pudong for the 118th-floor observatory of the Shanghai Tower and the riverside view back at the Bund. Day three is the former French Concession from Xintiandi to Tianzifang and Wukang Road, ending at the Jing'an Temple. Yu Garden and the Shanghai Museum keep Monday closures, so put day two on any other day.
