Shanghai Day Tour: World Financial Center, Bund & Yu Garden

Walk the Bund's waterfront, ride transparent glass walkways 100 floors up, and step through a Ming garden built in 1559.

A private Shanghai day tour with a live guide covering the World Financial Center observation decks, the Bund, Yu Garden, and Shanghai Museum over 7 to 8 hours. You travel by public transportation and the guide speaks English, Spanish, French, German or Mandarin. The tour includes coffee or tea and stops at four major attractions that span the city's modern skyline, colonial waterfront, classical gardens, and ancient art collections.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Shanghai's top sights

• Visit Shanghai World Financial Center observation decks
• Walk along Shanghai Binjiang Avenue and drink coffee
• Travel through Bund Sightseeing Tunnel
• Wander and see buildings at the Bund
• Explore Shanghai Old Street
• Tour Yu Garden's classical Chinese garden areas
• Shop along Nanjing Road
• Visit Shanghai Museum at People’s Square
• See scenic spots around People’s Square

The Experience

The day starts at Shanghai World Financial Center in Pudong, where you ride the elevator to observation decks on the 94th, 97th, and 100th floors. The 100th floor is the highest observatory in the world, and its transparent glass-walled walkways let you stand above the city with nothing between you and the view. From there, your guide takes you to Shanghai Binjiang Avenue on the east bank of the Huangpu River—a newer waterfront promenade where you can stop for coffee and look across at the original Bund while listening to the river traffic.

The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel carries you under the Huangpu River in 3 to 5 minutes on driverless carriages with wide windows and light effects, then you emerge to walk the Bund itself. This is where Shanghai's colonial past meets its modern present: 26 buildings of different architectural styles line the waterfront, including the Peace Hotel, Shanghai Customs House, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. Your guide points out how the city layered centuries of history into a single street.

Next is Yu Garden in Shanghai Old Town, a classical Chinese garden first built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty. It's small but complete—pavilions, halls, rockeries, ponds and cloisters arranged across six distinct areas, each with its own character. You wander the old alleys around it to see the traditional shops and architecture that shaped Shanghai's commercial life. The final stop is Shanghai Museum at People's Square, where eleven galleries cover ancient bronzes, ceramics, paintings, calligraphy, jade, coins and Ming furniture. The building itself symbolizes an ancient Chinese idea: the round dome represents heaven, the square base represents earth.

What’s included

• Professional tour guide in your choice of language.
• coffee or tea at one of the stops.
• all public transportation between attractions including the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel.
• entry to Shanghai World Financial Center observation decks, Yu Garden, and Shanghai Museum.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomeNot for heart conditions

Operated by MoreFunAsia

Is this one for you?This is a shared group tour with a guide leading the route and timing, so you don't navigate the city yourself or arrange transport between stops—book it if you want the major sights covered in one day without building the itinerary yourself. If you prefer to move at your own pace or skip a stop, a self-guided option would suit you better.

Top questions

What does the Shanghai World Financial Center observation deck actually look like?

The 100th floor is the highest observatory in the world and features transparent glass-walled walkways so you stand directly above the city with unobstructed views in all directions. The 94th and 97th floors offer different vantage points of Shanghai's skyline and surrounding areas.

How do you get across the Huangpu River to the Bund?

The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel carries you under the river in driverless carriages with wide windows and visual effects, taking 3 to 5 minutes. It's the first visitor tunnel under the Huangpu River in China and connects Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone to the Bund's waterfront.

What period was Yu Garden built in and what does it contain?

Yu Garden was first built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty as a comfort for an aging minister. It contains pavilions, halls, rockeries, ponds and cloisters arranged across six areas, each with its own architectural style, all designed within a compact space.

What can you see at Shanghai Museum?

Shanghai Museum holds eleven galleries covering ancient Chinese art: bronze, ceramics, paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, jade, coins, Ming and Qing furniture, seals, and minority nationalities' art. The building's design—a round dome on a square base—symbolizes the ancient Chinese cosmology of round heaven and square earth.

What languages does the guide speak?

The guide is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese, so you can book in your preferred language.

What's included in the tour price?

The tour includes a professional live guide, coffee or tea during the day, and all public transportation between stops. Pickup from your hotel is also included.