When Do the Bund Lights Turn On?

I've been to Shanghai twice too, and the night view was truly beautiful.

But the lights aren't on all day.

There's a time they turn on and a time they turn off, and on holidays those times change.

If you don't want to head out late and come back after seeing a dark riverside, it's best to know the times before you go.

Lighting hours from holiday notices

When a holiday comes, the Shanghai Municipal Government announces Huangpu River lighting hours separately.

The 2025 Labor Day holiday notice says the core areas of the Bund, North Bund, and Lujiazui are lit from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The same notice says the switch-off time was extended by an hour.

This time, not only high-rise buildings but also big bridges like the Nanpu Bridge were lit.

The Inner Ring Elevated Road, North-South Elevated Road, and Yan'an Elevated Road were also lit at the same hours.

The 2024 National Day holiday notice also said the lights were on from 6 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. or 11 p.m., an hour longer than usual.

Both notices say it's an hour longer than usual, so you can assume the lights usually go off about an hour earlier.

The usual switch-on time isn't given separately in the notices.

So if you go on a weekday, I recommend being at the riverside before sunset and arriving before 9 p.m. at the latest.

You can take your time seeing everything lit up, and get your photos before they switch off.

The Suzhou Creek side goes off a little earlier

The Suzhou Creek riverside, which meets the Huangpu River north of the Bund, is also lit.

The Labor Day notice says the Suzhou Creek riverside and major commercial district lights are on from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

That's 30 minutes earlier than the Bund core area.

If you want to walk toward the North Bund and also see the Suzhou Creek riverside lights, stop there first.

The walk north from the Bund is in Walking from an East Nanjing Road hotel to the Bund.

If you want to see the Suzhou Creek side from your room, look at riverside hotels.

At Puyan Hotel Shanghai The Bund, you can see Suzhou Creek and the Oriental Pearl Tower together outside the window.

Some rooms have a curved floor-to-ceiling window that shows the riverside at night.

On holidays, videos play on the buildings too

On holidays, it's not just the lights.

The Labor Day notice says videos are projected on the walls of Huangpu riverside buildings from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

It says the videos play every 30 minutes, on the hour and at 30 minutes past.

The National Day notice also says videos are projected every 30 minutes on the walls of big riverside buildings.

The National Day notice also mentions lights that flow down like waterfalls on both banks of the Huangpu River.

The buildings that show videos are named in the Labor Day notice.

Aurora Plaza, Citigroup Tower, Shanghai Tower, and the Museum of Art Pudong are on the Lujiazui side.

Sinar Mas Plaza (White Magnolia Plaza), the International Port Building, and the Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal building also showed videos.

These buildings are on the North Bund side of the river.

Standing on the Bund, you see the videos on the Lujiazui buildings across the river; standing in Lujiazui, you see the videos on the North Bund buildings.

If you go during a holiday, stand on the riverside on the hour or at 30 minutes past and you can catch the videos too.

Some days have no light show

Not every special day has a show.

The notice for 12/31/2024 says there would be no Huangpu River light show or multimedia show that night.

The lights themselves were on in the core areas of the Bund, North Bund, and Lujiazui from 6 p.m. until 0:15 the next day.

The Spring Festival notice says there's no Huangpu riverside light show on Lunar New Year's Eve.

It also says the countdown events at the Bund, North Bund, and Lujiazui would not be held that day.

If you're going on New Year's night or Lunar New Year's Eve expecting a show, be sure to check that year's notice first.

A new notice comes out for every holiday.

The times written here are also from past notices, so they may differ for the next holiday.

What's different during holidays

During holidays, the lights stay on longer and there are videos, so there's a lot to see.

But a lot of people come out to the riverside too.

It may be hard to get a front-row spot on the riverside, so go early or consider watching from your room.

During holidays, taking the metro is often better.

The Eton Hotel Shanghai has Metro Lines 4 and 14 across the street, which is good for avoiding National Day traffic jams.

Plan your evening like this

On a weekday evening, this order works well.

Leave your hotel about an hour before sunset.
Get a spot on the Bund riverside around sunset.
When the sky gets dark and all the lights are on, take photos.
If you want to cross by boat, the Dongfu Line ends at 9 p.m., so ride before then.
Stand on the riverside again before 9 p.m. at the latest for your last look at the night view.

On holidays, it's not too late to go out after dinner.

That's because the lights stay on until 10:30 p.m. or 11 p.m.

Where to watch

The Shanghai official tourism site says the Bund riverside is open all day.

If you stand on the riverside when the lights come on, you see the Lujiazui high-rises and the Oriental Pearl Tower across the river all at once.

For seeing the Oriental Pearl Tower, I prefer the North Bund side.

The tower faces you head-on, so it fits wide in your photos.

On the other hand, standing on the Lujiazui side, you see the lights of the old Bund buildings across the river.

From the river-view rooms at Grand Hyatt Shanghai, the old Bund buildings stretch out across the river.

The upper-floor view is so good that photos turn out well even if you snap them carelessly.

If you want to watch from a boat, there's the Dongfu Line ferry.

The Shanghai Municipal Government recommends this ferry for seeing the lights on both banks, and says it runs until 9 p.m.

Where to board is in How to cross the river from the Bund to Lujiazui.

Watching from your room means less worry about time

Instead of going out to the riverside, you can watch the night view from your room window.

You can watch from your room from the moment the lights come on until they go off.

At Hyatt On The Bund, you can see the three Lujiazui towers at a glance from high-floor rooms.

Sometimes they call ahead and assign a high-floor room with a view.

At The Eton Hotel Shanghai, you can see the three towers and even the boats on the Huangpu River while lying in bed.

At Shanghai Marriott Marquis City Centre, the Bund-view rooms look straight out at the Oriental Pearl Tower and the three towers.

At Radisson Collection Hyland Shanghai, with luck you sometimes get a room facing the Oriental Pearl Tower.

To watch from your room, check the room name first when booking.

What matters is whether the room says Pearl Tower View or River View.

How to read them is in Rooms with an Oriental Pearl Tower view: words to look for in room names.

Across the river at Regent Shanghai Pudong, the Oriental Pearl Tower is right in front of the window of the 41st-floor indoor pool.

It looks prettiest just before sunset and after half past 7 in the evening, when the lights come on.

In short

On weekdays, go out before sunset and get to the riverside before 9 p.m. at the latest.
During holidays, the lights stay on about an hour longer, so you can go out after dinner.
During holidays, building videos play on the hour and at 30 minutes past.
On Lunar New Year's Eve or 12/31, there may be no show, so check that year's notice.
If you're worried about cloudy weather, also see Night views on cloudy or rainy days.