Lujiazui & Pudong Riverside
The 1990s financial district across the river: Shanghai Tower, the Oriental Pearl, and the Binjiang riverside walk, plus the Shanghai Museum East in the Huamu culture cluster.
Skyline lovers: observation decks, the riverside promenade looking back at the Bund, and Shanghai's flagship new museums a short metro ride away.
Outside the towers and the riverfront, street life is sparse and blocks are pedestrian-unfriendly in scale. Observation decks are pricey and entirely weather-dependent — skip on hazy days.
Places here
Oriental Pearl TV Tower
LandmarkThe 1994 pink-sphere TV tower that started the Pudong skyline. More retro icon than best view — its glass-floor sphere and the space-age silhouette are the draw; queues are the price.
Shanghai Museum East
MuseumThe flagship new home of one of China's best museums: bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy and jades presented at world-class standard, and it's free. Not in Lujiazui proper — it sits by Century Park, a short Line 2 ride east — but it's the strongest indoor half-day in Pudong.
Shanghai Tower (Top of Shanghai Observatory)
ViewpointChina's tallest building. The 118th-floor observatory is the highest of Lujiazui's three decks and the one worth paying for: a 55-second elevator to a 360° view where the Oriental Pearl and Jinmao sit below you.