Shanghai China Complete Guide 2026: The Bund, Pudong Supertalls, Yu Garden, Disneyland and Zhujiajiao Water Towns
Browse more guides: China travel | Asia destinations Shanghai China Complete Guide 2026: The Bund, Pudong Supertalls, Yu Garden, Disneyland and Zhujiajiao Water Towns TL;DR Shanghai is the rare city that lets you stand on a stone bridge built in 1571 in the morning, sip coffee in a 1920s art-deco apartment in the afternoon, ride the world's second-tallest tower's elevator at sunset, and watch a Disney castle light up at night, all without changing hotels. I spent two weeks here across two trips in 2025 and 2026, and the single biggest change since my first visit is how much easier the city has become for short-stay travelers. The 144-hour visa-free transit policy for 54 nationalities was already useful, but the 30-day visa-free expansion rolled out across 2024 for citizens of France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg and a few others turned Shanghai into a long-weekend destination for most of Europe. If you c...