Skip to main content
Visa-free transit 240h ✓CNY 7.15 ≈ $1HSR network 45,000 km
Visa CheckerContact
  1. Home
  2. Shanghai
  3. People's Square
People's Square

People's Square人民广场

People's Square sits at the heart of Shanghai and is the city's civic and cultural landmark. Around it cluster the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Grand Theatre and Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, plus Raffles City and People's Park — the best single place to feel the pulse of the city.

Shanghai · Visitor Guide2026-10-18
People's Square
People's Square
People's Square
People's Square

Quick Answer

Is People's Square worth visiting?

Shanghai's central square of about 140,000 sqm, free and open, ringed by the Shanghai Museum, the Grand Theatre and metro lines 1, 2 and 8.

Quick facts

TicketFree admission
Hours Open all day; museum 9:00-17:00
Recommended duration2-4 hours
Best time to visitAll year
How to get thereMetro Line 1, 2 or 8 to People's Square station
English signageYes
Wheelchair accessibleYes
LocationCity center of Shanghai
AreaAbout 140,000 sqm
MuseumShanghai Museum (free)
TheatreShanghai Grand Theatre
Underground mallDimei Shopping Center
ParkPeople's Park

What to expect

People's Square occupies part of the old Shanghai racecourse and was remade as a civic square after 1949. Today its tree shade and fountains and sculptures make it a favorite everyday retreat for Shanghainese, while beneath it sprawls a vast underground commercial complex including the Dimei Shopping Center.

On the north side stands the Shanghai Museum, one of the city's most celebrated museums, with ancient bronzes, ceramics and paintings at its core. Entry is free but reservation is required. The Shanghai Grand Theatre on the west side stages high-calibre performances year round.

People's Park at the square's southeast corner is a rare patch of green in the city center. Its marriage corner, where parents gather each weekend to matchmake for their children, has become a city spectacle in its own right. Raffles City and the surrounding malls cover any shopping needs.

How to get there

Metro Line 1, 2 or 8 to People's Square station — different exits serve different corners of the square

Best photo spots

  • The Shanghai Museum exterior
  • The People's Square fountains
  • The Urban Planning Exhibition Hall
  • The marriage corner in People's Park

Tips

  • Reserve the Shanghai Museum ahead of time
  • The underground mall is a maze — easy to get lost in
  • There is a reasonably priced restaurant inside the museum
  • Public toilets under the square are clean

Scams to avoid

  • Beware unlicensed tour guides
  • Decline counterfeit ticket offers

Frequently asked questions

Does the Shanghai Museum require a reservation?

Yes — book ahead through the museum's official WeChat account.

How far is People's Square from the Bund?

About a 15-minute walk.

Is the People's Park marriage corner real?

Yes — it is busiest on weekend afternoons.

Read next

Other things to do in Shanghai

Jing'an Temple

Shanghai's oldest and most famous temple, Jing'an Temple, founded in 247 in the Three Kingdoms era; the 50 yuan ticket includes three incense sticks, open 7:30-17:00.

Century Park

Century Park is Pudong's largest green space at 140 hectares — sweeping lawns, flower seasons and open-air music festivals; entry CNY 20.

City God Temple (Chenghuang Temple)

The spiritual heart of old Shanghai, anchoring the Yuyuan Garden bazaar and its sprawling small-commodities market. Temple entry CNY 10.

Sweet Love Road (Tian'ai Road)

Sweet Love Road (Tian'ai Road) is Shanghai's most romantic street — a 300 m tunnel of plane trees and a favorite photo stop.

French Concession

Shanghai's leafy plane-tree quarter, the French Concession of 1849-1943; free to wander, shops about 10:00-20:00, by Jiaotong University or Shanghai Library metro stations.

Jade Buddha Temple

Famous Shanghai Buddhist temple of 1918 with two Burmese jade Buddhas, seated 1.9 m and reclining 4.6 m; entry 30 yuan, 8:00-17:00, 10 minutes' walk from Jiangning Road station.

Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street

China's busiest shopping street in Shanghai, about 1.2 km long with over 100 years of history and roughly 1 million visitors a day; free, malls 10:00-22:00.

Oriental Pearl Tower

The Oriental Pearl Tower is Shanghai's 468 m landmark, with a revolving restaurant and one of the city's best vantage points over the night skyline.

Qibao Ancient Town

Thousand-year-old water town of Song-dynasty origin about 20 km from downtown Shanghai; free entry with a 30-yuan combo ticket, a 15-minute walk from Qibao metro station.

Shanghai Disneyland

The first Disney park on mainland China, open since June 2016 in Pudong, with the tallest Disney castle anywhere (~60 m) and rides you can't get elsewhere like TRON and the redesigned Pirates.

Shanghai Museum

China's top museum of ancient art, about 1.02 million objects in its 1995 People's Square home; free with reservation, 9:00-17:00, closed Mondays, star piece the Da Ke Ding bronze.

Shanghai Tower

Shanghai Tower is China's tallest building at 632 m — second tallest in the world, designed as a dragon-like spiraling form.

The Bund

Shanghai's signature waterfront: 52 historic buildings in every style — the 'Exhibition of World Architecture' — with the best night views in the city.

Shanghai World Financial Center

One of the three Lujiazui skyscrapers, nicknamed 'the bottle opener' for its trapezoid aperture, with an observation deck up on the 100th floor.

Xintiandi

Shikumen renovation district opened in 2001, now a Shanghai fashion landmark; free entry, shops about 10:00 to 02:00, a 5-minute walk from South Huangpi Road station on Metro Lines 1 and 10.

Yu Garden (Yuyuan Garden)

A classical Ming garden in Shanghai first built in 1559 and counted among Jiangnan's four great gardens, covering about 2 hectares; tickets 30-40 yuan, open 8:30-17:30.

Zhujiajiao Ancient Water Town

Zhujiajiao is Shanghai's best-preserved water town, 1,700 years old, with 36 stone bridges and intact Ming-Qing architecture. Free entry (combo ticket CNY 40), 8:30-17:00.

Museums in Shanghai

M50 Art District

A converted 1930s wool-spinning mill on Moganshan Road now hosting 130+ artist studios and galleries; plan 2–3 hours for a real walk-through, not a quick photo stop.

China Art Museum

Modern and contemporary Chinese art in the striking former China Pavilion from Expo 2010. Free entry. Home of the animated digital "Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

China Maritime Museum

Maritime Silk Road, Zheng He's treasure ships, and a full-size Ming Dynasty junk replica inside a sail-shaped building near Dishui Lake. China's national maritime museum. ¥50.

HOW Art Museum

A private contemporary art museum in Pudong with about 3,000 sqm of exhibition space, walkable in 90 minutes if you skip the gift-shop vortex.

Long Museum (Pudong)

Two million RMB and eight years of collecting went into this private art museum in the Pudong riverfront — set aside about 2 hours and arrive before noon.

Long Museum West Bund

Shanghai's largest private art museum, built in a former coal warehouse on the West Bund — 33,000 sqm of modern and contemporary Chinese art including Wang Jianwei.

Power Station of Art

China's first state-run contemporary art museum, set inside a converted 1897 British-built coal-fired power plant on the Huangpu River — admission is free and 2-3 hours covers the main halls.

Rockbund Art Museum

Contemporary art in a striking 1933 Art Deco building on the Bund. ¥50. Rotating exhibitions by Chinese and international artists. The building rivals the art.

Shanghai History Museum

Shanghai's journey from fishing village to 1930s "Paris of the East" — told through artifacts, photographs, and immersive street scenes. Below the Oriental Pearl Tower. Free.

Shanghai Museum

China's best museum for ancient Chinese art — 5 floors of bronzes, jades, ceramics, calligraphy, paintings, coins and Ming-Qing furniture. Free, on People's Square.

Shanghai Natural History Museum

A world-class natural history museum inside Shanghai's famous "Plant-Bulb" building on People's Square — 10 million specimens, evolution galleries.

Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre

Private collection of Mao-era propaganda posters in a basement gallery. ¥20. One of Shanghai's most distinctive small museums. A window into 20th-century Chinese political art.

Shanghai Propaganda Posters

Note: this slug is an alternate reference for the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre, the ¥20 basement museum of 5,000+ Mao-era posters — see that entry for tickets and hours.

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

A family-oriented science museum with robot musicians, a walk-through animal world, and Shanghai's best hands-on physics exhibits — budget a full afternoon (4–5 hours). ¥60 adults, ¥30 students.

Shanghai Urban Planning Museum

A 5-floor museum inside Shanghai's municipal government building showing the city's past, present, and future urban planning — the highlight is a 1:500 scale model of Shanghai in 2035. ¥50.

Sources