Shanghai Night-View Hotels: West Bank or Pudong?
After reading this, you can decide which side of the river, and which area, to book for a night-view stay in Shanghai.
I've been to Shanghai twice, and the night view was truly beautiful.
Both times my schedule was awkward, so I looked up every hotel to do it properly next time.
What I learned along the way is that the view from your window changes completely depending on which side of the river you stay.
What you see depends on the side of the river
The Huangpu River runs through the middle of Shanghai.
West of the river is the old city, and east is the newly built Pudong.
The riverside on the west bank is the Bund.
Old European-style buildings stand in a row there.
Across the river in Lujiazui, Pudong, the Oriental Pearl Tower and tall skyscrapers are clustered together.
So if you stay on the west bank, your window looks out on Pudong's forest of towers and the Oriental Pearl Tower.
If you stay in Pudong, your window looks out on the row of old buildings along the Bund.
Both are night views, but the scene in your photos is different.
If you want to see the pink-ball tower that sits in the middle of every Shanghai night photo from your room, choose the west bank.
If you want to look down on the row of Bund buildings from high up, choose Pudong.
West bank, first — East Nanjing Road and People's Square
If it's your first time in Shanghai, the area around East Nanjing Road Station is convenient.
You can walk East Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street by day, see the Bund at night, and walk back to your hotel.
Many hotels in this area don't have river views from the rooms.
Still, some hotels show the Oriental Pearl Tower if you get a high floor.
At Radisson Collection Hyland Shanghai, with luck you sometimes get a room that faces the Oriental Pearl Tower.
Grand Central Hotel Shanghai has spacious rooms, which makes it easy to go with your parents.
A side-by-side look at the two hotels is in Radisson Hyland vs. Grand Central.
A more detailed piece on why to stay in this area is First trip to Shanghai? Stay near East Nanjing Road Station.
The People's Square side is a little west of East Nanjing Road.
Shanghai Marriott Marquis City Centre is about a 7-minute walk to People's Square Station.
From this hotel's Bund-view rooms, you can see the Oriental Pearl Tower and the three tall towers of Lujiazui straight ahead.
That means even in an area away from the river, the night view comes in from a high-floor room.
West bank, second — right on the Bund
Many hotels right on the Bund have rooms that look out on the river and Pudong.
The Fairmont Peace Hotel, the green-roofed building you see from the Bund, is in this row.
On our site, Puyan Hotel Shanghai The Bund has Suzhou Creek and the Oriental Pearl Tower outside the window.
It's about a 5-minute walk to East Nanjing Road Station, so daytime sightseeing is easy too.
The hotel has a separate kids' room, so I wrote about it in Night views with kids at Puyan Hotel.
If you want a simple stay near the Bund, there's also JI Hotel Shanghai The Bund Sichuan Zhong Road.
It's 3 to 4 hundred meters from the Bund, so you reach the riverside quickly.
From the rooms with a good view, you can see the Oriental Pearl Tower in the distance.
Some rooms come with a terrace, so you can step outside for fresh air.
On the other hand, the bathroom is small, so you have to step aside when opening and closing the door.
West bank, third — North Bund
Go north along the river from the Bund and you reach the North Bund.
From here, the Oriental Pearl Tower faces you head-on across the river.
For seeing the Oriental Pearl Tower, I prefer the North Bund.
W Shanghai – The Bund and Hyatt On The Bund are on this side.
Hyatt On The Bund is about an 8-minute walk to the Bund.
East Nanjing Road Station is far, though, so you'll use taxis or other stations.
Hyatt On The Bund has two towers, and each tower faces a different direction.
I wrote about that in Hyatt On The Bund: why to ask for the West Tower.
Pudong — Lujiazui and the riverside
If you stay in Lujiazui, the Oriental Pearl Tower is right next to you.
You end up looking up at the tower from your room.
Grand Hyatt Shanghai is inside the Jin Mao Tower.
The rooms are on very high floors, so from a river-view room you look down across the river at the row of Bund buildings.
There's also an indoor pool with a view, so at night you can look down on the city from the water.
The river-view rooms are covered in Grand Hyatt river-view rooms.
At The Eton Hotel Shanghai on Pudong Avenue, you can see the Huangpu River and the Lujiazui towers while lying in bed.
Across the street you can take Metro Lines 4 and 14, so getting around is easy too.
This hotel is covered in detail in The Eton Hotel: the room where you see the Huangpu from bed.
If you stay in Pudong, it's hard to walk to the Bund or East Nanjing Road.
Ways to cross the river are collected in How to cross the river from the Bund to Lujiazui.
The downside of each area
If you choose by the good points alone, you'll be surprised when you arrive.
Around East Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, there are crowds until late at night.
It's a busy district, good for being out late, but many hotels in this area have small rooms.
Right on the Bund and in the North Bund, many hotels use old buildings.
Hyatt On The Bund is also an older 5-star hotel, so the rooms aren't very new.
That said, they're kept clean, so it's comfortable to stay.
Pudong has great high-floor views, but it's hard to walk the riverside at night and then walk back to your hotel.
After seeing the Bund night view, you have to cross the river again.
Whichever side you pick, you give something up.
Decide which comes first, the walking route or the window view, and the area decides itself.
Side by side on the same terms
Comparing the three areas by walking distance, window view, and getting back late at night:
- East Nanjing Road and People's Square: you walk to the Bund, and the streets are bright even when you return late. Rooms with a river view are rare.
- Right on the Bund and the North Bund: the river is outside your window. You walk to the riverside, but metro stations are a bit far.
- Lujiazui: you see the tower and the row of Bund buildings from high up. Every trip to the west bank means taking the metro or a taxi.
Choosing by how many nights you stay
For 1 night, book just one area.
Moving your bags twice makes a short trip even shorter.
In that case the west bank, where you can walk to the Bund, is convenient.
With 2 nights, you have a choice to make.
You could spend one night near East Nanjing Road or the Bund and walk the riverside, then spend the other night high up in Lujiazui looking down on the Bund from your room.
You get to see the same night view once from each side of the river.
For 3 nights or more, basing yourself on the walkable west bank is less tiring.
Cross the river for about a day to visit the Lujiazui riverside.
Choosing by your itinerary
Choose this way and you'll waste less time.
- If it's your first time in Shanghai and you'll walk a lot by day, stay near East Nanjing Road Station. You can walk to the Bund and back.
- If you want to see the Oriental Pearl Tower head-on from your room, choose the North Bund. Keep in mind that the stations are far.
- If you want the tower up close and the Bund below you, choose a high floor in Lujiazui. Go sightseeing on the west bank by taxi or metro.
- If you're traveling with parents or kids, look at room size and walking distance first. I covered this separately in Shanghai with parents and kids.
If you can't decide whether to see the Oriental Pearl Tower from the North Bund or Lujiazui, read Oriental Pearl Tower head-on from the North Bund, up close from Lujiazui first.
What to check before booking a night-view room
Once you've chosen an area, look at the room names.
Even in the same hotel, the room name decides whether you see the Oriental Pearl Tower or not.
What Pearl Tower View, River View, and City View mean is in Rooms with an Oriental Pearl Tower view: words to look for in room names.
If the room has no set view, you can add a line in the special requests.
How to write it is in Does writing "high floor, Oriental Pearl Tower view" in your booking request work?.
The floor where the river opens up differs by hotel, so I covered it separately in Which floors see the Bund and the Oriental Pearl Tower.
Whether to enjoy the view from the bed, the bathtub, or the pool, choose in Where to watch the night view inside your room.
Other questions
Which side is easier if you arrive late?
Check-in times differ by hotel.
Grand Central and Radisson Hyland start check-in at 14h.
Hyatt On The Bund and Grand Hyatt start at 15h, and Puyan Hotel and Marriott Marquis at 16h.
If you arrive late at night, the route from the airport matters more than the check-in time.
Near East Nanjing Road Station or People's Square Station, where Metro Line 2 stops, it's easier to pull big luggage.
Where's good if you're traveling solo?
If you're alone, look at the walk back at night before room size.
Around East Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, it's a busy district, so it's good for walking around late.
Grand Hyatt also has good soundproofing, so it's great for resting well on a solo stay.
Will I miss out without a night-view room?
Even if you can't see the river from your room, you can see the whole night view once you step out to the Bund riverside.
Saving what you'd spend on a view room and going out to the riverside several times is another option.
After you arrive
The Shanghai Municipal Government says Metro Line 2 from Pudong Airport takes about an hour to People's Square Station.
How to get from the airport to your hotel is in From Pudong Airport to a Bund hotel.
For the walk from an East Nanjing Road hotel to the Bund, see Walking from East Nanjing Road to the Bund.
When the lights come on is in When do the Bund lights turn on?.
On cloudy or rainy days, the Oriental Pearl Tower looks hazy.
What to do on those days is collected in Night views on cloudy or rainy days.
Prices change by date, so check them for your own dates.
I took a phone photo of the Oriental Pearl Tower across the river from the Bund, and anyone's photo turns out well.
Whichever area you choose, go out to the riverside at least once at night.
