Shanghai switches on at 7 pm. That is when the Bund facades and the Pudong towers light up, and the river promenade fills with people who were in offices and museums an hour earlier. The lights stay on until 10 pm on weekdays and 11 pm on weekends, and the bars, clubs and theaters run much later. Anyone who has only seen Shanghai by day has missed the half the city is proudest of.

This guide covers five ways to spend the evening. Rooftop bars above the river. Clubs in the former French Concession. The ERA acrobatic show and the jazz rooms. A night cruise on the Huangpu. Late food. Prices are in Chinese yuan (RMB); 100 RMB is roughly $14. Shanghai is expensive by Chinese standards. A cocktail with a view costs what it would in London. The free options, the promenade and the lit-up skyline, matter more anyway.

Rooftop Bars Above the River

Shanghai has two skylines facing each other across the Huangpu, and the choice of bar is really a choice of which one to look at. From the Pudong side the view is the Bund’s 1920s stone facades, low and floodlit. From the Bund side it is the three supertall towers of Lujiazui and the Oriental Pearl. Most of the high bars sit inside hotels, which means a dress code, a reservation on weekends and cocktails from about 100 RMB.

Bars with the Best Views

Flair, on the 58th floor of The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, has the terrace everyone photographs. The Oriental Pearl Tower is close enough to fill the frame, with the river and the Bund behind it. Cocktails run 150 to 200 RMB and the outdoor seats need a booking a few days ahead. Arrive around 6 pm to watch the towers light up one by one; by 8 pm the terrace is full.

On the opposite bank, Bar Rouge on the seventh floor of Bund 18 has been running since 2004 and is as much a party as a bar. DJs play from 10 pm. The terrace looks straight across at Lujiazui. The smart-casual door policy turns away shorts and sneakers. Entry is free early in the evening and 100 to 200 RMB with a drink later on weekends. Three other rooftops worth the elevator ride:

• Vue Bar, Hyatt on the Bund. Floors 32 and 33 at the north end of the Bund, where the river bends, so both skylines are in view at once. There is an outdoor jacuzzi on the terrace, which is a gimmick but a popular one in July. Cover of about 100 RMB includes a drink.
• Cloud 9, Grand Hyatt in the Jin Mao Tower. On the 87th floor, with the Shanghai Tower rising next door and the Bund far below. Quieter and more formal than the others; good for one expensive drink rather than a long night.
• Sir Elly’s Terrace, The Peninsula. Fourteenth floor at the north end of the Bund, with the Pudong towers framed by the Peninsula’s art deco lines. Drinks from about 120 RMB, no cover.

Booking and Dress Code

Weekend tables at the hotel bars go a week ahead; weekday walk-ins before 7 pm usually work. Dress codes are enforced at the door at Bar Rouge and Flair, and a collared shirt and closed shoes are enough. A cocktail averages 100 to 120 RMB, a glass of wine 80 to 100, and a beer 60 to 80. Tipping is not expected anywhere in China, and a service charge of 10 to 15 percent is already on the bill at the hotel bars. Cards from abroad work at all of them, which is not true of the smaller places later in this guide.

Clubs and Dance Floors

Shanghai’s club scene is the biggest in mainland China and turns over fast: a venue that was the place to be two years ago may be a hotpot restaurant now. Two things stay constant. The big commercial clubs with laser rigs and bottle service cluster around the Bund and Jing’an, and the underground rooms for house and techno sit in the former French Concession, mostly in basements on Fuxing Road and its side streets. Nothing starts before 11 pm and the floors are still full at 3 am.

Where the Music Is

These venues have held on for several years and are the usual starting points. The city’s listings on WeChat or SmartShanghai are still worth checking the week of the visit.

• TAXX. The large commercial club near Jing’an Temple: EDM and hip-hop, a stage-sized LED wall, bottle tables for groups. Cover of 100 to 200 RMB on weekends, usually with a drink. This is the one to pick for a big, loud night.
• Celia. A basement house and techno room in the French Concession with a serious sound system and a crowd that comes for the DJ, not the scene. Cover 80 to 100 RMB.
• Elevator. A small club on Fuxing Road with weekly nights of house, disco and techno from local and visiting DJs. Close quarters, cheap drinks by Shanghai standards, and no dress code to speak of.
• 44KW. Techno and electro in a basement near the Bund, with a bigger floor than Elevator and later closing. Covers vary by night.
• ALL Club. The experimental end: live electronic acts, queer nights and visiting artists from Tokyo and Berlin, in a space on Xikang Road. Check the schedule, since it is closed on several weeknights.

Covers, Tables and Timing

Covers run 80 to 200 RMB and usually include one drink. Inside, beer costs 60 to 80 RMB and cocktails 100 and up. The commercial clubs make their money on tables. A minimum spend of 2,000 to 5,000 RMB buys a booth and a bottle. For a group of six that works out close to what the same people would pay at the bar, with a place to sit. Peak hours are 11 pm to 3 am, and the Jing’an clubs run until 5 or 6 on Saturdays.

Two practical notes. Most door staff accept cash and Alipay but not foreign cards, so arrive with 500 RMB in notes or a working Alipay account. And the underground venues post their lineups on WeChat only. Asking the hotel concierge or a local acquaintance to look up the night’s program is often the only way to know who is playing.

Shows and Live Music

For an evening that does not revolve around drinking, Shanghai has one acrobatic show of international standard, a jazz tradition going back to the 1930s, and an opera house with a full season. All three start between 7 and 8 pm. All three finish early enough to continue to a bar afterwards.

ERA at Shanghai Circus World

ERA: Intersection of Time has played at Shanghai Circus World since 2005 and is the one show in the city that justifies its ticket. It is Chinese acrobatics staged like a Cirque du Soleil production. Contortion, hoop diving, a dozen performers on a single bicycle, aerial silk. The finale puts eight motorcycles inside a steel sphere. The show runs 90 minutes without an interval, starts at 7:30 pm nightly, and suits children from about five upwards.

Tickets cost 180 to 580 RMB by seat; the 280 and 380 RMB tiers are the sweet spot, since the top tier sits too close to see the aerial acts. The venue is at Shanghai Circus World station on Metro Line 1, 25 minutes from People’s Square. Weekend and holiday performances sell out, so ERA show tickets are worth booking a few days ahead, with or without hotel pickup.

Jazz, Opera and Theater

Jazz arrived in Shanghai in the 1920s and never fully left. The Old Jazz Band at the Fairmont Peace Hotel on the Bund plays standards nightly from 7 pm in the hotel’s original bar. The musicians are mostly in their seventies and eighties. A cover of around 200 RMB buys a seat in a room that has barely changed since 1929. JZ Club in the French Concession is the serious venue, with local and touring players and a 100 to 150 RMB cover. House of Blues & Jazz, in a 1920s building a block from the Bund, is the louder, more casual option with a house band and no cover on weeknights.

For the stage:

• Shanghai Grand Theatre. On People’s Square, with opera, ballet and touring orchestras in a 1,800-seat hall. Tickets 180 to 1,000 RMB; the program is posted months ahead in English.
• Yifu Theatre. Traditional Chinese opera, including the Kunqu and Peking styles, on Fuzhou Road near People’s Square. Surtitles in English for most performances, tickets from 80 RMB.
• Shanghai Puppet Theatre. Rod and shadow puppetry on Nanjing Road West, mostly matinees and early evenings, suited to families. Tickets 80 to 180 RMB.

River Cruises and Late Food

The cheapest way to see both skylines at once is the river. A Huangpu night cruise leaves from the Shiliupu pier at the south end of the Bund, heads north past the colonial facades on one side and Lujiazui on the other, turns at the Yangpu Bridge and comes back. The Bund promenade itself is free and just as good for the view, but the boat puts both banks in the same frame, which no rooftop can.

Choosing a Cruise

Boats run from about 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm, every 30 minutes at peak. The options:

• Standard sightseeing boat. Fifty minutes on an open upper deck, 120 to 150 RMB. Tickets at the pier or online; the 7:30 and 8 pm departures are the fullest.
• Dinner cruise. Ninety minutes to two hours with a buffet, from 300 to 400 RMB. The food is average and the point is the window seat, so book a table on the river side.
• Private or themed boats. Smaller launches with live music or a set menu, from 600 RMB per person, booked through the hotel or a tour operator.

Timing matters more than boat type. The 7 pm sailing catches the end of the sunset and the lights coming on; after 10 pm on weekdays most of the facades go dark. Packages such as Shanghai by Night with Bund Lights and Huangpu River Cruise combine the boat with a guided walk on the Bund and a ride up one of the towers, which solves the ticket queues for the whole evening.

Eating After 10 pm

Shanghai’s food scene runs from 10 RMB dumplings to three-star tasting menus, and a good share of it stays open past midnight. An evening food tour through the old lanes is the quickest way to learn what to order; after that, the late-night map looks like this:

• Yunnan Road South. A short food street behind People’s Square with skewers, pan-fried shengjian buns, Xinjiang lamb and noodle shops, most open until 2 am. A full meal costs 40 to 80 RMB.
• Xintiandi. Restored shikumen houses turned into restaurants and bars, Chinese and Western, with kitchens open until 11 pm or midnight. Expect 200 to 400 RMB a head.
• Former French Concession. Wukang Road, Anfu Road and the lanes around them: wine bars, small plates, Japanese izakayas and the city’s best late cafes, under plane trees. Mid-priced and the most pleasant place to end a night on foot.

Xiaolongbao, the soup dumplings the city is known for, are a breakfast and lunch food; the famous shops close by early evening. Late at night the local order is shengjian, the crisp-bottomed fried cousin, or a bowl of scallion oil noodles for 15 RMB.

Practical Notes for the Night

Shanghai is one of the safest large cities anywhere, and walking back from a bar at 2 am through the French Concession is normal. The practical problems are different: last trains, payment apps, and taxi drivers who do not read English.

Getting Home

• Metro. Last trains leave the central stations between 10:30 and 11:30 pm depending on the line; Lines 1, 2 and 10 run until about 12:30 am on Fridays and Saturdays. Fares are 3 to 9 RMB, paid with Alipay’s transit code.
• Taxis and Didi. After the metro, Didi is the ride-hailing app and has an English interface that accepts foreign Visa and Mastercard. A ride across the center costs 30 to 60 RMB, with a 30 percent surcharge after 11 pm. Street taxis are fine too but drivers rarely read English, so keep the hotel address in Chinese characters on the phone.
• Payment. Alipay and WeChat Pay both accept foreign cards since 2023 and work at every food stall and club door. Set one up before the trip, and carry 300 to 500 RMB in cash for the places where the QR scan fails.
• Common sense. The one recurring scam targets solo visitors on Nanjing Road: an invitation to a “tea ceremony” or a bar that ends with a bill of several thousand RMB. Decline, and the risk for the rest of the night is close to zero.

Budget and Where to Sleep

A night out runs anywhere from 50 RMB for noodles and a walk on the Bund to 1,500 RMB for a rooftop cocktail, the ERA show, a dinner cruise and a club. A realistic middle, with a couple of drinks and one paid event, is 300 to 800 RMB per person. Flights are the larger cost. From Europe or North America, flights to Shanghai are cheapest in March, April and November. The 240-hour visa-free transit covers most short visits from Western countries.

For a trip built around evenings, the hotel should be within a 15-minute walk of the Bund or inside the French Concession. Then the last part of the night does not depend on finding a taxi. On the Pudong side, Pudong Shangri-La Shanghai faces the Bund across the river. Its river-view rooms make the skyline the first and last thing seen each day. Rates start around 1,500 RMB. On the Puxi side, Radisson Collection Hyland Shanghai sits on Nanjing Road a ten-minute walk from the Bund, with four-star rooms from about 700 RMB and the metro at the door.

ERA and the dinner cruises sell out on weekends and Chinese holidays, so those two are worth booking two or three days ahead. Bars and clubs do not need advance planning beyond a weekend table at Flair or Bar Rouge. Opening hours and covers shift often; a quick check on the venue’s WeChat account on the day avoids a wasted taxi.

One Evening, Start to Finish

A first night that fits everything in. A drink at Sir Elly’s Terrace at 6 pm as the towers light up. The 7 pm cruise from Shiliupu. Shengjian on Yunnan Road at 9. The Old Jazz Band at the Peace Hotel at 10. A taxi to Elevator or TAXX around midnight. Total cost with one club cover and modest drinking is about 700 RMB. A second night belongs to ERA at 7:30 and a slow walk through the French Concession afterwards, for 400 RMB or less.

The lights on the Bund go off at 10 pm sharp on weekdays. Anyone still on the promenade at that moment sees a kilometer of facades go dark in a few seconds, and the Pudong towers across the water a minute later. It is the quietest thing that happens in Shanghai all night, and worth timing the evening around once.