Top 10 Shanghai Tourist Spots for Solo Travelers

As one of the important landscapes in Shanghai, the Bund is situated on the western bank of Huangpu River. Stretching around 1.5 kilometers (0.9 mile), it has 52 buildings of various styles on it, which is known as ‘Western Style Building Clusters’. The world-famous Citibank, HSBC, other Chinese banks, Shanghai Stock Exchange are all located here, making the Bund one of the busiest and most prosperous areas in the city. In addition, the Bund is also the best place to appreciate the skyscrapers of Lujiazui Area on the opposite. 

 Reasons to go: The Bund is definitely one of muse-sees in Shanghai. Besides, there are always tourists and local people that you can easily find someone to take a photo for you.

With a height of 468 meters (1,536 feet), Oriental Pearl Tower is one of the most eye-catching skyscrapers in Lujiazui and one of popular Shanghai tourist spots. You can take fully transparent sightseeing elevator to the Space Capsule at the height of 351 meters (1,152 feet) to have a panorama of the Bund and Huangpu River. It is also an amazing experience to appreciate the night view while tasting food in the Revolving Restaurant located 267 meters (876 feet) high. Besides, there is a Transparent Sky Walking project 259 meters (850 feet) high for you to test your braveness. 

 Reasons to go: Although many skyscrapers have been built in Shanghai in recent years, Oriental Pearl Tower with unique appearance is still an iconic landmark there. Besides, there is Shanghai History Museum at its pedestal, where you can learn the history of the city.

Shanghai Museum has 11 galleries and 3 exhibition halls in total to show more than 120,000 collections, really a large-scale ancient Chinese art museum. The main types of collections are bronze wares, ceramics, calligraphies, ancient sculptures and Chinese paintings. Except regular exhibitions, the museum also has several special exhibitions to show various foreign cultural relics, art works and calligraphies. 

 Reasons to go: The advantage of travelling alone is that you have sufficient free time to appreciate the exhibitions carefully and have deeper understanding of Chinese ancient civilization and history. It will be OK for you to visit your most interested exhibition halls directly. Therefore, Shanghai Museum is one of popular Shanghai tourist spots that suitable for solo travelers.

Compared with prosperous commercial area, Sinan Road has difference styles and characteristics, which makes it one of popular tourist spot in Shanghai China. It used to be a road in the Former French Concession lined with tall sycamore trees on both sides. There are more than 20 garden-style celebrities’ villas here, including Former Residence of Zhou Enlai, the former Chinese premier and Former Residence of Sun Yat-sen, the pioneer of Chinese modern democratic revolutionaries. If you feel tired, you can easily find a cafe or dessert shop to spend some time leisurely and enjoy the romantic atmosphere of the city.  

 Reasons to go: Sinan Road is regarded as one of the most romantic and artsy roads in Shanghai. You can well spend your time taking photos of these old villas, visiting celebrities’ former residences and learning more history of old Shanghai.

Having the history of over 450 years, Yu Garden was originally built as a private garden in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). After years’ of renovation and expansion, it is now the best Chinese classical garden in Shanghai, showing the artistic style of garden architecture in Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911)with skilled layout of pavilions, corridors, ponds, rockeries, etc. Here you can also see many rare ancient trees. There is an ancient ginkgo tree in front of Wanhua Chamber more than 430 years old with the height of 26 meters (85 feet), standing like a guard. 

 Reasons to go: A solo trip to Yu Garden ensures you enough time to observe the skillful design of the classical garden at a leisurely pace.

There is a saying that you have never been to Shanghai if you didn’t go to Old City God Temple Snack Street. Being one of the most popular tourist spot in Shanghai China, it provides many varieties of local foods, such as Crab-Yellow Pastry, Nanxiang Steamed Stuffed Bun, Fried Stuffed Bun and Chop Rice Cake. Nanxiang Small Steamed Buns, Songyue Vegetarian Restaurant and Nice Green Bo Restaurant are recommended restaurants that win high popularity among tourists. Besides, the buildings here are all in traditional Chinese style, giving you the feeling of traveling back to ancient China.   

 Reasons to go: It is listed as one of the top Shanghai tourist spots for solo travelers because delicious foods can always make people feel happiness and forget loneliness. Also, most snacks here are offered at a small portion. You can taste several kinds of foods at a time instead of worrying about overeating.

For Shanghai solo travel, Jade Buddha Temple is absolutely a great destination. It is a rare tranquil place in the bustling urban area of Shanghai, where you can enjoy a quiet trip away from noises. With the history of over 120 years, it enshrines two Jade Buddha statues, hence the name. However, there are always crowds burning incense and worshipping the Jade Buddhas on the 1st and 15th days of the first lunar month or some traditional Buddhism festivals. It is advised to avoid going there during these days if you want to visit it quietly. 

 Reasons to go: Visiting Jade Buddha Temple can help you stay away from fast pace of life and noisy environment for a while. You can immerse yourself in this peaceful environment and find the inner peace.

First founded in Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127), Qibao Ancient Town is about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) away from Shanghai downtown area. The main attractions include Qibao Old Street, Qibao Pawnshop, and Cricket Cottage. Qibao Old Street is also a food street full of delicious local snacks, like Glutinous Rice Cake, Dried Bean Curd Wrapped in Lotus Leaves, Smoked Toads and Sugar Coated Haws on Sticks. Although Qibao Ancient Town doesn’t occupy a large area, it is still a popular place for solo trip to Shanghai due to its complete facilities for sightseeing, catering and relaxing.

 Reasons to go: Among all ancient towns surrounding Shanghai, Qibao enjoys the most convenient transportation that can be reached by metro easily for solo travelers. In addition, it has all typical features of South China Water Towns. In general, you can spend half a day or one day touring around in no hurry. 

Referring to welcomed Shanghai tourist spots for solo travelers, China Art Museum should be on the list. It was the China Pavilion of World Expo 2010 previously, and now it has become an international modern art museum housing more than 8,000 pieces of fine art works. Among the best of these collections is the media version of “Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival”, one of the most famous Chinese paintings. In addition, there are many exhibition halls for tourists to know about shadow puppet art and modern art.

 Reasons to go: During the Shanghai solo travel to China Art Museum, you can spend half a day appreciating the artworks in a quiet environment and at your own pace free from disturbs of others. 

Nanjing Road is one of the top 10 famous pedestrian streets in China and a paradise for shopping. At this Shanghai scenic spot, solo travelers will never feel bored. Stretching about 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles), there are numerous large department stores offering a wide variety of goods. Here you can also easily find creative urban sculptures with abundant artistic and fashionable features. Besides, several popular local snack stores on Nanjing Road shouldn’t be missed, such as Shanghai First Food Hall and Shen Da Cheng. At night, it is highly recommended to take the Dangdang sightseeing tram to appreciate the night scenery under neon lights. 

 Reasons to go: All kinds of products, souvenirs and local foods in this prosperous area will help you forget loneliness.