Nanjing Road

The Nanjing Road, in Shanghai

The Nanjing Road is one of the most famous shopping avenues of all China, that stretches over more than five kilometres from the Bund to the Jing'an temple. The Shanghai audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this mythical artery, a mixture of history, modernity and urban energy, part of which is today a great pedestrian street.

The mythical avenue of Shanghai commerce

Here is the Nanjing Road, one of the most famous avenues of all China. It stretches over more than five kilometres, from the Bund to the Jing'an temple, and embodies on its own the spirit of Shanghai: a fascinating mixture of history, modernity and urban energy. Created in the middle of the nineteenth century, in the era of the concessions, this artery was formerly called Park Lane. From the 1920s, it became the beating heart of modern commerce, with its tramways, its department stores and its luminous signs that already rivalled those of New York or Paris. In 1999, part of the street was transformed into a pedestrian zone, marking the beginning of its new life as an unmissable destination of shopping and promenade. The Nanjing Road is divided into two sections: here, in its pedestrian part, the street is entirely reserved for strollers, who crowd there by hundreds of thousands each day, amid the shops, the historic department stores and the giant screens. A small tourist train criss-crosses the roadway, adding to the animation. At night, when all the signs light up, the avenue transforms into a river of dazzling neon, one of the most famous images of Shanghai. Between commercial heritage and contemporary frenzy, the Nanjing Road is the great living axis of the town. A shopping avenue and a river of lights, the Nanjing Road is a fine stop of the discovery of Shanghai.

What to see

Here you discover one of the most famous avenues of China, that stretches over more than five kilometres from the Bund to the Jing'an temple, former Park Lane of the concessions become from the 1920s the heart of modern commerce; its pedestrian part, laid out in 1999, reserved for strollers and crossed by a small tourist train, covers itself at night with a river of dazzling neon. The Nanjing Road is the great living axis of Shanghai. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Nanjing Road lies in the Huangpu district, linking the People's Square and the Bund to the Jing'an temple, reachable on foot and by metro. Its central section is a pedestrian street freely accessible, lined with shops and department stores, particularly lively in the evening. You walk along it during a stroll in the centre.

Why visit the Nanjing Road in Shanghai?

Because it is one of the most famous shopping avenues of China, more than five kilometres long from the Bund to the Jing'an temple, heart of modern commerce from the 1920s; its pedestrian part, laid out in 1999, is lined with shops and department stores, crossed by a small tourist train, and covers itself at night with a river of dazzling neon.

Where is the Nanjing Road in Shanghai?

In the Huangpu district, linking the People's Square and the Bund to the Jing'an temple, in Shanghai, in China.