Nanjing Road, Shanghai

Is Nanjing Road worth visiting?

Yes — as a walk, not as a shopping trip. The brands are the same ones you'll find in any big Chinese mall. What makes it worth an hour is the route: century-old department-store buildings, neon after dark, old-school food halls, and an ending right on the Bund, facing the Pudong skyline. It's also simply the easiest way to get from People's Square to the river.

Nanjing Road comes in two halves. East Nanjing Road is the pedestrian street most people mean; West Nanjing Road carries traffic and runs past luxury malls towards Jing'an Temple. They meet at Xizang Road, on the corner of People's Park.

Things to do on Nanjing Road

• Spot the old department stores. Between 1917 and 1936 four Chinese-owned giants opened here — Sincere, Wing On, Sun Sun and The Sun. Wing On (1918), with its corner clock tower, trades again under its old Chinese name 永安; The Sun's building near the west end houses Shanghai No. 1 Department Store.
• Snack your way along. Guides place Shanghai No. 1 Food Store in the former Sun Sun building, and old bakeries sell mooncakes and local pastries. Eating as you go is half the point.
• Catch the neon. After sunset the vertical signboards light up — the street's signature shot. The middle stretch between Zhejiang Road and Henan Road has the most of it.
• Take a break at Century Square, a small plaza with a stage and seating halfway along.
• Walk the East Extension. Past Henan Road, shops give way to the stone façades of early 20th-century banks and offices, ending at Sassoon House (1929), now the Peace Hotel.
• Finish at the river. The street spills out onto the Bund, straight across from the towers of Lujiazui.

How long does it take to walk Nanjing Road?

About 20–30 minutes end to end if you don't stop, for roughly 1.6 km between Xizang Road and the Bund. Most people take 1–2 hours with window-shopping, photos and a snack; add another hour if you plan to shop properly or have dinner along the way.

Walk it west to east, from People's Square towards the river, and time it so you start about 90 minutes before sunset. You get the façades in daylight, the neon switching on halfway, and the Bund at the moment Pudong lights up. Weekday evenings are calmer; weekends and Chinese holidays such as Golden Week in early October get extremely crowded, so keep your phone in a front pocket.

Nanjing Road sightseeing tram

A slow open-sided tourist train — the ‘dangdang’ tram (铛铛车) — trundles along the pedestrian street between Xizang Road and Henan Road. It doesn't run on the East Extension to the Bund. Board at the west end near New World City or halfway along at Century Square.

Fares differ between guides: ¥5 (Travel China Guide) or ¥10 (Wanderin China) one way, with a start of 8:30 or 9:30 and a finish around 22:00. We found no official timetable, so treat these as unofficial. It's handy with small children or tired legs, but on foot you see more and you're barely slower.

Paying for things on Nanjing Road

China runs on QR payments. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you arrive and link your foreign Visa or Mastercard with your passport — that covers shops, food stalls and the tram. UnionPay cards and cash also work; shops must accept yuan notes but may be short of change, so carry small notes.

Worth buying: Shanghai pastries and mooncakes from the old food halls, silk and tea from shops with marked prices. Skip any ‘designer’ goods offered by touts who lead you off the street.

East vs West Nanjing Road

First time in Shanghai? Walk East Nanjing Road. Add the West end only if you're heading to Jing'an Temple anyway.

Shanghai after dark, compared

Shanghai places that shine after sunset, rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

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How to do it right

• Walk west to east, from People's Square to the river — the walk ends on the Pudong skyline instead of a traffic junction.
• Start in People's Park: at weekends it hosts the marriage market, and the pedestrian street begins at its corner.
• From the Bund you can step straight onto an evening Huangpu River cruise.
• Legs tired? East Nanjing Road and People's Square are one stop apart on Line 2.
• To cross to Lujiazui, Line 2 from East Nanjing Road is one stop under the river.
• Façades without crowds: early morning. Neon: after sunset.

Questions