Shanghai China Complete Guide 2026: The Bund, Pudong, Disneyland, Yu Garden & Zhujiajiao Water Town
Browse more guides: China travel | Asia destinations Shanghai China Complete Guide 2026: The Bund, Pudong, Disneyland, Yu Garden & Zhujiajiao Water Town TL;DR I spent fifteen days in Shanghai across two trips, and it kept rearranging my mental picture of what a Chinese megacity actually feels like. On one bank of the Huangpu River sits The Bund, a 1.5km waterfront lined with 52 colonial buildings from 1856 to 1937 done in Art Deco and Beaux Arts stone. Directly across the water rises Pudong, where Shanghai Tower at 632m (the world's 2nd-tallest building since 2015) stands beside Jin Mao Tower (421m, 1999), Shanghai World Financial Center (492m, 2008), and Oriental Pearl TV Tower (468m, 1994). The contrast is the entire pitch. Two practical updates make 2026 a much easier year for first-timers. First, China expanded its 30-day visa-free policy to 12 countries in 2024, and the 144-hour transit-free entry now covers 54 nationalities through Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao airpo...