Off the beaten path · Shanghai · PVG
6 unusual places to discover Shanghai
Lanes full of studios, villas beneath plane trees, art in former spinning mills, a writers’ street and a water town… Six places away from the Bund’s crowds.
Shanghai as its residents know it
Already seen the Bund? This layover is a chance to discover another city: shikumen lanes, the former French Concession, art galleries and old water towns. All these places are free.
A good habit: choose one place. Tianzifang and the West Bund are the quickest from the airport; Qibao, at the end of line 9, requires a longer layover.
Plan my layover with LAYOVOThe time shown runs from the terminal exit to the destination, including waiting time. Maglev timetables come from the official Shanghai airports website; durations, taxis and prices are LAYOVO estimates to be verified.
01 · Lanes · wandering · 1 hr 5 min–1 hr 20 min from Pudong
Tianzifang, the maze of studios
- A quick look
- 25 minThe main lanes
- Take your time
- 1 hrGet lost in the lanes
- Price
- FreeFree access to the neighbourhood.
Behind Taikang Road, a neighbourhood of shikumen lanes escaped demolition thanks to its artists. The old houses now hold studios, designers, galleries and tiny cafés.
Getting lost is part of the pleasure: passages intersect, climb onto terraces and open into courtyards where residents’ washing still dries.
How to get there from Pudong
DiDiStraight to the door, no transfersEnter “Tianzifang” in the app · price shown upfront50 minOpen DiDiPublic transportMaglev CNY 50 + metro ≈ CNY 3 to 6
- 10 min
- 8 min → Longyang Road
- 4 min → Century Avenue
- 15 min–18 min → Dapuqiao
- 5 min
After 21 h 42, no more Maglev: metro line 2 also leaves from the terminal (≈ 1 h 15 to the centre).
DirectionsTaxi or DiDi≈ 160–200 CNY metered (≈ 45 km, official Shanghai fare schedule; total to be checked)
02 · Architecture · walk · 1 hr 15 min–1 hr 30 min from Pudong
Wukang Road, the former French Concession
- A quick look
- 20 minThe Wukang building
- Take your time
- 1 hr 15 minA walk and a coffee
- Price
- FreeFree access to the streets.
In the former French Concession, plane-tree-lined streets feature Art Deco villas, half-timbered houses and buildings from the 1930s.
At the very end of Wukang Road, the Normandie building, shaped like an ocean liner’s bow, is one of Shanghai’s most photographed buildings.
How to get there from Pudong
DiDiStraight to the door, no transfersEnter “The Wukang building” in the app · price shown upfront55 minOpen DiDiPublic transportMaglev CNY 50 + metro ≈ CNY 3 to 6
- 10 min
- 8 min → Longyang Road
- 12 min–15 min → East Nanjing Road
- 15 min → Shanghai Library
- 10 min
After 21 h 42, no more Maglev: metro line 2 also leaves from the terminal (≈ 1 h 15 to the centre).
DirectionsTaxi or DiDi≈ 180–220 CNY metered (official fare schedule; total to be checked)
03 · Art · street art · 1 hr 15 min–1 hr 30 min from Pudong
M50, contemporary art in former spinning mills
- A quick look
- 20 minThe painted walls on Moganshan Road
- Take your time
- 1 hrThe galleries and studios
- Price
- FreeMost galleries offer free entry.
Beside Suzhou Creek, former textile factories have become Shanghai’s artists’ district: around a hundred galleries and studios, often open to the public.
Along Moganshan Road, a large graffiti wall changes over the months.
How to get there from Pudong
DiDiStraight to the door, no transfersEnter “M50” in the app · price shown upfront55 minOpen DiDiPublic transportMaglev CNY 50 + metro ≈ CNY 3 to 6
- 10 min
- 8 min → Longyang Road
- 25 min–28 min → West Nanjing Road
- 5 min → Jiangning Road
- 15 min
After 21 h 42, no more Maglev: metro line 2 also leaves from the terminal (≈ 1 h 15 to the centre).
DirectionsTaxi or DiDi≈ 180–220 CNY metered (official fare schedule; total to be checked)
04 · Street · history · 1 hr 10 min–1 hr 25 min from Pudong
Duolun Road, in the writers’ footsteps
- A quick look
- 20 minThe street and its statues
- Take your time
- 1 hrA walk along the street
- Price
- FreeFree access to the street.
In Hongkou, this small curved pedestrian street was home to writers in the 1930s, including Lu Xun, the father of modern Chinese literature.
Brick houses, churches, bronze statues of writers, antique shops and cafés: a peaceful Shanghai, far from the Bund.
How to get there from Pudong
DiDiStraight to the door, no transfersEnter “Duolun Road” in the app · price shown upfront55 minOpen DiDiPublic transportMaglev CNY 50 + metro ≈ CNY 3 to 6
- 10 min
- 8 min → Longyang Road
- 12 min–15 min → East Nanjing Road
- 8 min → Hailun Road
- 15 min
After 21 h 42, no more Maglev: metro line 2 also leaves from the terminal (≈ 1 h 15 to the centre).
DirectionsTaxi or DiDi≈ 180–220 CNY metered (official fare schedule; total to be checked)
05 · Canals · snacks · 1 hr 30 min–1 hr 50 min from Pudong
Qibao, a water town at the end of the metro
- A quick look
- 25 minThe bridge and main canal
- Take your time
- 1 hr 15 minThe walk and snacks
- Price
- FreeFree access to the town; a few small museums charge admission.
You do not need to go far to see a “water town”: Qibao, at the end of line 9, retains its canals, arched stone bridges and black-roofed houses.
The lanes are above all a food walk: dumplings, skewers, sticky rice cakes and fermented tofu to try as you stroll.
How to get there from Pudong
DiDiStraight to the door, no transfersEnter “Qibao” in the app · price shown upfront1 hrOpen DiDiPublic transportMaglev CNY 50 + metro ≈ CNY 3 to 6
- 10 min
- 8 min → Longyang Road
- 4 min → Century Avenue
- 40 min–45 min → Qibao
- 5 min
After 21 h 42, no more Maglev: metro line 2 also leaves from the terminal (≈ 1 h 15 to the centre).
DirectionsTaxi or DiDi≈ 200–250 CNY metered (official fare schedule; total to be checked)
06 · Promenade · art · 1 hr 10 min–1 hr 25 min from Pudong
The West Bund, the museum riverbanks
- A quick look
- 25 minThe quays
- Take your time
- 1 hr 15 minThe promenade and a museum
- Price
- FreeFree promenade; museums charge admission (rates to be checked).
Upstream from the Bund, former industrial quays have become a long promenade along the Huangpu, with cycle paths, lawns and skate parks.
Warehouses and tanks have been transformed into art museums: the Long Museum, Yuz Museum and West Bund Museum, a partner of the Centre Pompidou.
How to get there from Pudong
DiDiStraight to the door, no transfersEnter “The West Bund” in the app · price shown upfront50 minOpen DiDiPublic transportMaglev CNY 50 + metro ≈ CNY 3 to 6
- 10 min
- 8 min → Longyang Road
- 25 min–30 min → Longhua Middle Road
- 15 min
After 21 h 42, no more Maglev: metro line 2 also leaves from the terminal (≈ 1 h 15 to the centre).
DirectionsTaxi or DiDi≈ 160–200 CNY metered (≈ 45 km, official Shanghai fare schedule; total to be checked)
