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Find a travel buddy I'm going hereWhat went wrong in Shanghai
- “The friction is almost entirely digital and financial, and it hits before you've even had a coffee. The Great Firewall blocks Google…” RuinMyTrip research
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Shanghai will amaze you and then immediately confiscate your Google account
By RuinMyTrip Editorial
Shanghai is one of the easiest arguments for visiting China you'll find anywhere, and also one of the clearest examples of why you need to prepare before you land rather than after. The skyline across the Huangpu River from the Bund, with the Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower rising out of the Lujiazui financial district in Pudong, is genuinely one of the great modern city views on earth, and it costs nothing …
What nearly ruins it: The friction is almost entirely digital and financial, and it hits before you've even had a coffee. The Great Firewall blocks Google, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube…
Read the full editorial review
Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
Practical tips
Editorial- Install and pay for a VPN before you fly, since VPN provider websites and app stores are themselves blocked once you're inside China's Great Firewall, which shuts out Google, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and X.
- Set up Alipay's Tourpass feature, introduced in November 2019, before landing if you don't want to open a Chinese bank account, it lets you preload the app with a yuan equivalent of your own currency.
- If you'd rather use WeChat Pay, budget time for the extra identity verification foreigners must complete with a photo ID and a selfie, and remember a linked foreign Visa, Mastercard, or JCB card can pay vendors but can't top up your WeChat balance.
- Check the current visa free list before booking: China added Uzbekistan, five South American countries, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Sweden to visa free arrangements at various points in 2025, but US passport holders are still excluded and need a visa.
- Buy a Shanghai Public Transportation Card for a 20 yuan deposit if you're staying more than a day or two, it works on the metro, buses, and taxis and saves you from single ticket machines every ride.
- Take the Maglev once for the experience, 50 yuan one way or 40 yuan with proof of a same day flight, but plan for a metro transfer at Longyang Road station since it doesn't run all the way downtown.
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