Shanghai after dark: the Bund, the river, rooftop bars, jazz, acrobats and where the city eats late
A visitor's guide to Shanghai's evenings: when the Bund lights come on and go off, the Huangpu river cruise versus the ferry, rooftop bars and the view from the Shanghai Tower, the Peace Hotel's jazz band and the newer clubs, the acrobatics show that children love, late-night food, Xintiandi and the lanes, and how to get home after the metro stops.
Shanghai is a city built for the evening: the skyline exists to be looked at from across a river at night, the lanes of the French Concession fill at seven, and a good day here ends at eleven with a bowl of noodles. Most visitors see the Bund at night and go to bed. This guide is the rest of it, from the first drink at dusk to the last DiDi home.
The Bund and the lights
The Pudong skyline and the Bund’s own facades are lit from dusk until about 10 pm (later on weekends and holidays), when the big displays switch off; plan to be on the promenade between 7 and 9.30. Two angles: from the Bund promenade looking across at Lujiazui, which everyone does, and from the Pudong riverside looking back at the lit colonial facades, which fewer do and which is the better photograph. The ferry between them is a two-minute ride for a few cents and the cheapest night cruise in the world.
Crowds on the Bund at 8 pm on a Saturday are thick; weekdays are easier, and after 9.30 the promenade empties while the lights still burn for half an hour.
The river cruise
Huangpu cruises leave from the Shiliupu pier at the south end of the Bund every evening, 45 to 60 minutes up to the Yangpu Bridge and back, past both skylines lit. The boats range from plain to gaudy; the upper open deck is the place to stand. It is the one tourist thing in Shanghai that is exactly as good as it sounds. Book through a guide or the pier office; the ferry is the free alternative if you only want the crossing.
From above
- The Shanghai Tower observation deck on the 118th floor (the fastest lifts in the world, booked online with a passport) is open into the evening; the city lights from 550 metres on a clear night are the view of the trip, and the queue is shorter after 7 pm.
- Rooftop and high bars on the Bund: the terraces on the old bank buildings (several of the heritage hotels and restaurants have them) and the bars at the top of the Pudong hotels (the 90th-floor cocktail bars in the tallest towers) cost a Melbourne cocktail price and buy you the skyline for an hour. Dress is smart casual; children are fine early.
Jazz and music
Shanghai’s jazz lineage runs from the 1930s dance halls to today. The Peace Hotel Old Jazz Band, the band of elderly musicians that has played the hotel’s bar for decades, is a cover-charge institution and genuinely charming for an hour. JZ Club and Heyday in the French Concession are serious live jazz rooms with resident and touring players and a proper bar; Blue Note Shanghai brings international acts. Book tables on weekends. Classical music is at the Shanghai Symphony Hall and the Grand Theatre; Chinese opera at the Yifu Theatre; check what is on, as a guide will.
The acrobats
The ERA acrobatics show at Shanghai Circus World (metro line 1 to the station of the same name) is the city’s long-running spectacular: motorcycles in a steel globe, contortion, the old circus arts with new staging, two hours, every evening. It is the one show we recommend to families without reservation; children from five and grandparents enjoy it equally. Book ahead for weekends.
Eating late
- The French Concession lanes stay open until 10 or 11 for dinner and later for bars; Anfu Road, Yongkang Road’s successors and the streets around Fumin Road are where the city eats after eight.
- Xintiandi, the restored shikumen quarter south of the Concession, is polished, international and good for a first night; Found 158 below Julu Road is the late-night bar basin for the under-forties.
- Late noodles: the city’s noodle houses and congee shops in Hongkou, Jing’an and along the lanes run past midnight; the 24-hour dumpling counters and the shengjian stalls at dawn are the bookends of a Shanghai night. The food guide has the dishes.
- Night markets in the old sense have mostly been regulated away; the Yu Garden bazaar lit up until 9.30, and the food streets around Shouning Road’s successors, are the closest.
Lanterns and the old town
Yu Garden at night, from mid-January to the Lantern Festival, is strung with lanterns and worth a dedicated evening; the rest of the year the bazaar is lit and pretty until 9.30, after which the old town goes to sleep. The Chinese New Year guide covers the lantern weeks.
Getting home
The metro stops between 10.30 pm and midnight depending on the line; after that it is DiDi or a taxi, both plentiful and cheap, both covered in the getting around guide. Keep the hotel’s address in Chinese on your phone. The city is safe at night for walking in all the areas above, as the safety guide says; the one thing to decline is the tea-house invitation from a friendly stranger on the Bund.
Three evenings
| Evening | Plan |
|---|---|
| First | The Bund at dusk from the Pudong side, ferry across, dinner in the French Concession, the Old Jazz Band for an hour |
| Second | Shanghai Tower at 7 pm, cocktails on a Bund terrace, late noodles in a lane |
| Third | The river cruise at 7.30, then ERA for the family or JZ Club for the adults, dumplings on the way home |
On our day guide bookings an evening can be the booking: a 6 pm to 10 pm guide who knows which terrace has a table, which jazz room is on form that night, and where the dumplings are at 11. The Shanghai essentials tour includes the river cruise and leaves the other evenings to you, with the list above in the welcome pack.
