Which observation deck?
Shanghai has three everyday paid observation decks a few minutes' walk from each other in Lujiazui — Shanghai Tower, Jin Mao and the Oriental Pearl — plus the former SWFC observatory, which is now an event venue that sells tickets only when an exhibition runs there. Most visitors should buy one. This page is the decision: height, price, queue, what you actually see, and who each one is for. Operating facts are checked against official sources; where we could not confirm a figure, we say so.
The short answer
Shanghai Tower.
Jin Mao — its selling point is the indoor atrium; or skip the decks altogether and walk Binjiang Avenue or take the 2-yuan ferry.
Jin Mao next door — lower, shorter line, better atrium; SWFC only if a ticketed show is on.
Jin Mao's Skywalk (separate ticket); check wind closures.
Oriental Pearl's glass floor wins; go at opening.
The numbersTallest first
Swipe sideways; the first column stays put
| Compare | Shanghai Tower · Top of Shanghai546m118F | Shanghai World Financial Center · Sky Walk474m94F / 97F / 100FNo longer as it was | Oriental Pearl Tower351m263 m main sightseeing level / 259 m glass-floor corridor / 351 m space capsule (three-sphere ticket) | Jin Mao Tower · 88F340m88F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 180 yuan adult, 90 child, 120 senior/student (May 2026) | Per event (99 yuan for the summer 2026 show); no standard tariff exists | Two-sphere ticket 199 yuan; three-sphere tier 299-399 | About 88 yuan online (May 2026 city route), 120 at the window (Sept 2025 list price) — the online-versus-walk-up split is our inference; Skywalk sold separately |
| Hours | 8:30-21:30 (city route, May 2026); last entry 21:30 | No public observatory any more: floors 94-100 are the owner's 'Sky Arena' event venue; open only during ticketed exhibitions (summer 2026 show ran 10:00-22:00) | Roughly 8:00-21:30; ticket tied to an ID | 8:30-21:30 (city route, May 2026) or 8:00-22:00 (tourism board); open daily |
| Queue | Elevator queues at sunset; a clear weekday morning is calm | Not applicable for most of the year — check whether anything is on before you walk over | Weekend and holiday elevator queues regularly pass an hour | The shortest of the four |
| Weather | Haze-dependent; refunds only for forced closures such as typhoons, not for poor visibility | Same haze dependence; no official refund rule found | Least affected by haze because it is lowest | Haze matters less at 340 m; the Skywalk closes in wind and rain |
Deck by deck
Shanghai Tower · Top of Shanghai
546 m · 118FPick this one unless you have a reason not to. The highest: the whole delta on a clear day, the other two towers below you, the Bund a model at your feet. For The default choice if you only pay for one.
Open the place →Shanghai World Financial Center · Sky Walk
474 m · 94F / 97F / 100FNot one of the three any more; a bonus if a show is on. The glass-floored 100F corridor: looking down through the 'bottle opener' at the Tower next door. For Only someone who wants the 100F glass corridor and finds a show running.
Open the place →Oriental Pearl Tower
351 m · 263 m main sightseeing level / 259 m glass-floor corridor / 351 m space capsule (three-sphere ticket)Photograph it from the riverside instead unless the glass floor is the point. Three levels: the 259 m glass-floor corridor is the queue magnet, the 263 m main level is the standard view, the 351 m capsule (three-sphere ticket) is the actual height; from outside it is the tower in every skyline photo. For Families with children and anyone who wants the postcard tower itself.
Open the place →Jin Mao Tower · 88F
340 m · 88FFor the atrium and the ledge; the cheapest online, and the one to pick on a hazy day. The lowest of the three towers but the best building: the 1999 pagoda-skyscraper's atrium drops 30 floors beneath the deck. For Architecture people, and anyone who wants the outdoor ledge walk.
Open the place →