Guides · China
Shanghai tickets
Ticket and booking rules for Shanghai: timed entries, closing days and official links, checked September 2026.
Checked September 2026 against official sources
Shanghai
Bookings and opening rules
Follow the official link before you buy. Full walking days: Shanghai itinerary.
Tickets and opening days
- From September 1, 2025 the Shanghai Museum on People's Square no longer requires reservations for individual visitors: enter through the south gate with valid identification, 9:00–17:00 with last entry at 16:00; closed on Mondays except national holidays. Advance booking still applies in national holidays, summer and winter school breaks and for popular special exhibitions.Source: Shanghai Municipal Government · checked Sep 2026
- The People's Square building is showing the exhibition On Top of the World Tree: Ancient Civilizations of the Americas through November 2027 and hosts no other exhibitions during that time; overseas visitors who want a timed ticket can book through the museum's WeChat mini-program or trip.com.Source: Shanghai Museum · checked Sep 2026
- Yuyuan Garden (No. 168 Fuyou Road) is listed as open daily 9:00–17:00 in peak season and 9:00–16:30 in the off season.Source: Meet in Shanghai, the official Shanghai travel site · checked Sep 2026
- Huangpu River cruises leave most often from Shiliupu Tourist Quay at 481 Zhongshan Road East 2, close to the Bund and Yuyuan Garden, with other departures from the North Bund cruise terminal, Qinhuangdao Road and Jinling Road East quays. Tickets are sold in the Shanghai Huangpu River Cruise WeChat mini-program, the cruise companies' WeChat accounts, the SH MaaS app, third-party platforms and the ticket windows.Source: Meet in Shanghai, the official Shanghai travel site · checked Sep 2026
On the day
What to watch at each stop
Huangpu River night cruise from Shiliupu
- Shiliupu wharf, 481 Zhongshan East 2nd Road; tickets at the windows or the WeChat mini-program; passport
Shanghai Tower
- Real-name ticket, passport needed; go in the late afternoon and stay for the lights
Questions
Quick answers
Which days should I plan around?
The Shanghai Museum is closed on Mondays. Yu Garden's official listing gives 9:00–17:00 in high season, and visitor guides consistently report a Monday closure, so keep day two off a Monday as well. The Bund, the towers, the cruise and the temples are open every day.
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.
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.
