🇨🇳 Shanghai, China — Cruise Port Guide
China's biggest city and its most theatrical — colonial banking houses along the Bund facing a wall of Pudong skyscrapers across the river, with classical gardens and lane markets in between.
Updated September 2026
Quick facts
Getting ashore
When to visit Shanghai
Best in spring (March-May) and autumn (September-November); summers are hot, humid and wet, and winters are cold and grey.
Getting back to the ship on time
The hour each way from Wusongkou is the thing to plan around — traffic into the centre is heavy and unpredictable, so independent travellers should treat the published shuttle times as firm and not the last one.
All-aboard is ship's time — check it in the daily programme, and set your watch to it.
Things to do in Shanghai
The Bund
Riverside promenade of colonial-era banks facing the Pudong towers.
Yu Garden & old town
Ming-dynasty classical garden and the bazaar lanes around it.
Shanghai Tower observation
China's tallest building and the world's third-tallest; the view runs for miles on a clear day.
French Concession walk
Plane-tree streets, 1930s villas and small cafés.
Shanghai Museum
Bronzes, ceramics and calligraphy on People's Square.
Zhujiajiao water town
Canal town of stone bridges about an hour outside the city.
What to eat
- Xiaolongbao soup dumplings
- Shengjianbao pan-fried buns
- Hairy crab (autumn)
- Scallion oil noodles
- Red-braised pork
Weather by month
Best time to visit: Apr-May & Oct-Nov
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47° | 35° | 2.6" |
| Feb | 50° | 37° | 2.4" |
| Mar | 57° | 44° | 3.3" |
| Apr | 68° | 53° | 3.5" |
| May | 77° | 63° | 3.9" |
| Jun | 82° | 71° | 7.1" |
| Jul | 91° | 78° | 5.9" |
| Aug | 90° | 78° | 6.1" |
| Sep | 82° | 71° | 5.1" |
| Oct | 73° | 60° | 2.4" |
| Nov | 63° | 49° | 2.2" |
| Dec | 52° | 38° | 1.8" |
Local phrases
A little history
The Bund's row of 1920s banking houses was built when Shanghai was a treaty port carved into foreign concessions.
Yu Garden dates from the Ming dynasty, laid out in the 1550s.
The Shanghai Maglev hits 431 km/h on the run to Pudong airport — among the fastest trains in commercial service.
Shanghai's own dialect, Shanghainese, is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin.