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Photo by King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit Shanghai
China · East Asia
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Shanghai
Tap a month for its page
- JanJShanghai in January: ok
- FebFShanghai in February: ok
- MarMShanghai in March: good
- AprAShanghai in April: sweet spot
- MayMShanghai in May: sweet spot
- JunJShanghai in June: sweet spot
- JulJShanghai in July: ok, busy
- AugAShanghai in August: sweet spot
- SepSShanghai in September: good
- OctOShanghai in October: ok, busy
- NovNShanghai in November: sweet spot
- DecDShanghai in December: ok
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Plan this trip
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too.
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Flights from
Flights
Your city is a guess from your time zone. Choose your city
Where are you flying from? Choose your city for its flights and fares.
Book with the airline
Where to stay
Book direct
Luxury
Things to do
Car hire
Rent direct
Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
Mobile data (eSIM)
Your own plan's EU roaming may already cover this.
Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is the other common way to stay connected.
These are sites people in book with. Each opens in a new tab, on the site's own pages.
Things to do in Shanghai
- Shanghai Tower At 632 m (2,073 ft) high and 128 stories it is China's tallest building and the second…
- The Bund and the International Settlement The International Settlement was built North and West of the Old City…
- Disneyland Park Shanghai Disneyland is divided into six lands.
- Oriental Pearl TV Tower Featuring 11 garish pink balls…
- Shanghai World Financial Center Opened in 2008 and is Shanghai's second tallest building at 492 m.
- Sihang Warehouse Battle Memorial The Sihang Warehouse is a historic warehouse on the north bank of Suzhou Creek.
- Yuyuan Garden Beautiful traditional Chinese garden in the heart of Shanghai…
Tours and tickets in Shanghai
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Shanghai, Shanghai/Huangpu, Shanghai/Nanhui, Shanghai/Pudong, Shanghai/Zhabei), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
Month by month
No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10° | 6d | 74% | 6.1h | ok | 10C max, 6 rainy days |
| Feb | 11° | 8d | 76% | 5.9h | ok | 11C max, 8 rainy days |
| Mar | 16° | 9d | 76% | 6.9h | good | 16C max, 9 rainy days |
| Apr | 21° | 8d | 74% | 7.8h | sweet spot | 21C max, 8 rainy days |
| May | 26° | 8d | 75% | 8.3h | sweet spot | 26C max, 8 rainy days |
| Jun | 28° | 12d | 82% | 7.0h | sweet spot | 28C max, 12 rainy days |
| Jul | 33° | 11d | 80% | 9.3h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Aug | 33° | 8d | 78% | 10.1h | sweet spot | 33C max, 8 rainy days |
| Sep | 29° | 8d | 80% | 8.2h | good | 29C max, 8 rainy days |
| Oct | 23° | 5d | 76% | 7.4h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Nov | 18° | 7d | 75% | 6.6h | sweet spot | 18C max, 7 rainy days |
| Dec | 11° | 5d | 73% | 6.7h | ok | 11C max, 5 rainy days |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at the Bund, 32 km from the airport (PVG): ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Shanghai's March days now average 15.9°C, 3.5°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 11 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 7.8° | 8.3° | 12.4° | 17.9° | 22.9° | 26.1° | 30.5° | 30.0° | 25.9° | 21.6° | 16.3° | 10.6° |
| 2017–26 | 9.6° | 10.7° | 15.9° | 21.1° | 25.7° | 28.3° | 32.5° | 32.9° | 28.6° | 23.0° | 18.1° | 11.2° |
| Change | +1.8° | +2.4° | +3.5° | +3.2° | +2.8° | +2.2° | +2.0° | +2.9° | +2.7° | +1.4° | +1.8° | +0.6° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
How far Shanghai is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Taipei
- from Seoul
- from Hong Kong
- from Tokyo
- from Manila
- from Ho Chi Minh City
- from Bangkok
- from Kolkata
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Shanghai, flying or not.
Before you go
Type A and C and I plugs at 220 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the Renminbi. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories). US State Department: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution. Everything for China: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — Most payments are made by phone with Alipay or WeChat Pay: link a Visa, Mastercard or other foreign card to either app, then scan the shop's QR code. Many hotels and larger shops take foreign cards, but many places do not, so carry some yuan in case the apps fail you.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — Not expected in most restaurants and hotels, or in taxis; bars and cafeterias in hotels, and some other restaurants and bars, may add a 10-15% service charge.
Getting around Shanghai
Tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB or UnionPay card at any metro gate, in and out; the Maglev from Pudong airport takes them too. Or scan in with the Metro Daduhui app, which links a foreign card, Alipay or WeChat Pay.
- Apps — Rides: DiDi, Amap. Maps: Amap, Baidu Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WeChat. Google and WhatsApp are blocked in mainland China, as are Facebook, YouTube and X; WeChat, Alipay and DiDi all work in English.
Shanghai has an excellent public transport network with the one of the world's most extensive metro (subway and elevated train) systems as its backbone and buses that go more-or-less everywhere else. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Shanghai, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ferries from Shanghai
- 太海汽渡：太仓 -> 海门
- 杜吴线：吴泾渡口 -> 杜行渡口
- 杜吴线：杜行渡口 -> 吴泾渡口
- 海太汽渡：海门 -> 太仓
- 西闵线：西渡渡口 -> 闵行渡口
- 西闵线：闵行渡口 -> 西渡渡口
- 长横对江渡：横沙 -> 长兴
- 长横对江渡：长兴 -> 横沙
Crossings within 60 km, as mapped by OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Times are typical where the map records them.
Help
- Emergency — police 110 · ambulance 120 · fire 119. Traffic police are on 122.
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (27)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china/getting-help
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china/safety-and-security
- travel.gc.ca/destinations/china
- auswaertiges-amt.de/de/service/laender/china-node/chinasicherheit-200466
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-PaymentsInShanghai/20260920/f22b7e0f606c407e9da9d26b089eac48.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-PaymentMethods/20240313/6f4e58272f1a4cea9aec59c518915bdf.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-UsefulApps/20231214/3cac2d8cc7f847da92a72252bae06705.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20250627/d8f21f2e7d3b45a5b03757e35039b806.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20250614/a5c7bac93f024324ace770d3275d28b6.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-CIIE2025Service-Transport/20251017/c6c5ca124ee74e92a37244280c0983b9.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20240417/0444aa1c2f114f7eb66a0341b603bbbc.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20250711/8f2fcf3c6b624a56a6b2c0d8152ea2f2.html
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-FAQs-LivinginShanghai/20231214/6e73c9e64a174827beeb9b588af1255d.html
- english.beijing.gov.cn/latest/specials/essentialtipsfornewarrivals/transportation/202408/t20240830_3785706.html
- english.beijing.gov.cn/latest/news/202506/t20250616_4114250.html
- english.beijing.gov.cn/contactus/faqs/list/202602/t20260209_4502729.html
- english.beijing.gov.cn/livinginbeijing/transportation/beijingsubway/202409/t20240914_3891497.html
- english.beijing.gov.cn/consuminginbeijing/news/202410/t20241016_3921355.html
- english.visitbeijing.com.cn/article/47ONhboe35K
- apps.apple.com/us/app/didi-china-ride-hailing/id554499054
- apps.apple.com/us/app/amap-global/id461703208
- en.prnasia.com/releases/apac/tencent-announces-2026-second-quarter-results-543788.shtml
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WeChat
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/China
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
Shanghai in pictures
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King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Ermell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Denys Nevozhai dnevozhai, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
What Shanghai is like
Shanghai (上海; Zånhae in Shanghainese, Shànghǎi in Mandarin) is the most developed city in China, the country's main center for finance and fashion, and one of the world's most populous and important cities. Shanghai is a fascinating mix of East and West. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Where to go in Shanghai depends largely on available time and your interests. If you read Chinese well, the Meituan app, Amap, or Baidu search engine may also be helpful. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- The municipal government runs the Shanghai Cultural Information website which has good listings of current events… More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Shanghai is one of China's main travel hubs and arriving from pretty much anywhere is easy. Visitors from 54 countries who are transiting through Shanghai are permitted to visit without a visa for up to 240 hours. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- Shanghai, despite its size, is a very safe city, and violent crime is incredibly rare; it is generally not a problem for women to roam the streets alone at night. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying healthy
- Drinking the water is relatively safe when it has been boiled; however, tap water is also said to contain high amounts of heavy metals which are not removed by boiling. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Shanghai, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around Shanghai
Also in China
Nearby
- Taipei Taiwan · 688 km
- Seoul South Korea · 865 km
- Hong Kong Hong Kong · 1,244 km
- Macau Macau · 1,277 km
Kind of place
Shanghai is in China, East Asia. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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