Shanghai Travel Safety Guide — China

Safety Score: 8.9/10 · Value: 7/10 · Beauty: 7.8/10

Shanghai is China's glittering showcase city, a 25-million-person metropolis where the colonial Bund faces off against the futuristic skyscrapers of Pudong across the Huangpu River. Slick, fast and surprisingly easy to navigate, it's the most cosmopolitan introduction to mainland China. The contrasts define it: 1920s art-deco facades and plane-tree-lined lanes in the former French Concession, neon megamalls on Nanjing Road, serene classical gardens at Yuyuan, and the world's second-tallest building in Pudong. The metro is vast, cheap and English-signed, gliding you between centuries in minutes. Shanghai's food runs from soup dumplings (xiaolongbao) and street breakfasts to some of Asia's best fine dining. Note that China's internet is heavily firewalled, set up a VPN and the right payment apps before you arrive, as cash is nearly obsolete. Spring and autumn are mild and pleasant; summers are hot and humid, winters damp and chilly.

Tripvey Score — estimated from travel advisories and publicly available data. Not official safety advice.