---
node: spot_shanghai_nanjing_road
type: spot
slug: nanjing_road
destination: dest_shanghai
title: "Nanjing Road"
lead: "Nanjing Road runs 5.5 kilometres from the Bund to Jing'an Temple and is China's best-known shopping street. The eastern kilometre is pedestrianised and among the busiest retail streets in the world."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_shanghai_nanjing_road.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20090705_Shanghai_Nanjing_Road_0602.jpg"
image_author: "Jakub Hałun"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 3.0"
---

## Overview

The road began as a track to a racecourse in 1851 and became the commercial spine of the International Settlement. Its department stores — Wing On, Sincere — introduced Chinese cities to the format in the 1910s and 1920s, and several buildings survive under new names. East of People's Square it is a tourist street; west of it, the shops turn to international brands and locals.

## Highlights

Walk east to west and end at People's Square, where the Shanghai Museum holds the best bronzes and ceramics collection in the country, free with booking. The sightseeing train along the pedestrian street is for tired legs, not sights. Come at night, when the neon that gives the street its reputation is lit.