Concession-era waterfront
Bund
Mile-long waterfront on the Huangpu in Shanghai: the Waibaidu Bridge, the green pyramid of the Peace Hotel, the Customs House clock tower, the lions of the former HSBC and the signal tower facing the Pudong skyline.
Shanghai, China
Shanghai Audio Guide
Walk Shanghai with 31 audio stops narrated by experts. From the Bund of the concessions to the shikumen alleys and the skyscrapers of Pudong, every place explains why the port opened by the treaties of the 19th century looks the way it does today.
- ~7h of audio
- 7 routes · 31 audio stops
- Offline mode
- English
Coming soon
- 7Landmarks
- 31Audios
- ~7hOf narration
Photo: Larry Qian, CC0
7 audio guides in Shanghai
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Ming classical garden
Yu Garden
Ming classical garden of 1559 in the old city of Shanghai: the Huxinting tea house and the Nine-Turn Bridge, the Great Rockery of yellow stone, the rebel headquarters of Dianchun Hall and the Yu Linglong rock.
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Television tower
Oriental Pearl Tower
468-metre television tower at the tip of Lujiazui: three slanted legs, eleven steel spheres, the glass walkway at 259 metres facing the Bund and the wax museum of old Shanghai.
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Synagogue and memorial
Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum
Ashkenazi synagogue of 1927 turned into a memorial to the nearly 20,000 Jewish refugees of Shanghai: the rebuilt ark, the baojia whistle, the wall of names and the plaque marking the old Hongkou ghetto.
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Shikumen alleys
Tianzifang
Maze of shikumen alleys and former neighbourhood factories beside Taikang Road, in Shanghai: Chen Yifei's studio, the sheds of lane 210 and the houses saved from demolition by their residents.
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Work of László Hudec
Wukang Mansion
Apartment block by László Hudec on a 30-degree wedge of the former French Concession in Shanghai: the most photographed prow in the city, the arcade, the three-band façade and the former garage at No. 435.
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Chan Buddhist monastery
Jade Buddha Temple
Active Chan monastery in Jing'an with two white-marble Burmese Buddhas that arrived in 1899, a hall that doubles as a gate and a Great Hall moved 30 metres in 2017.
Shanghai Audio Guide
What to see in Shanghai with the EarGuide audio guide
Shanghai is understood from the bank of the Huangpu. On the Bund, the mile-long waterfront where the foreign concessions lined up banks, a customs house and stone hotels, a customs clock has changed its tune with every political turn. Across the river, at the tip of Lujiazui, the Oriental Pearl Tower, 468 metres and eleven spheres raised between 1991 and 1994, was the first landmark of the new district of Pudong. To the south, in the old walled Chinese city, the Yu Garden preserves the private Ming garden begun in 1559 and the oldest tea house in the city. To the north, in Tilanqiao, an Ashkenazi synagogue of 1927 is today the memorial to Shanghai's nearly 20,000 Jewish refugees, in the heart of the restricted zone where the Japanese confined stateless people in 1943. In the former French Concession, Tianzifang saved its shikumen alleys from the wrecking ball when artists and residents rented out the ground floors, and the Wukang Mansion, which László Hudec fitted in 1924 into a 30-degree wedge, looks from the west like a ship cutting through the waves. And to the northwest, the Jade Buddha Temple keeps two white Burmese marble Buddhas that arrived in 1899.
With the EarGuide Shanghai audio guide, every place reveals its history through professional narration prepared by guides who know the city and the history of China inside out. Unlike a free walking tour or a conventional guided visit, you set the pace, the order and the stops. No groups, no timetables, no internet connection.
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No internet needed
Download the routes before you head out and explore without using data.
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Smart geolocation
The narration starts by itself when you reach the point of interest.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about the Shanghai audio guide
How much does the Shanghai audio guide cost?
The EarGuide app is free. The Shanghai audio guide includes 7 independent routes with about seven hours of professional narration spread across 7 sites and 31 audio stops, and it is found inside the app itself.
Do I need an internet connection to use the audio guide?
No. EarGuide works entirely offline. Download the routes over WiFi before you set out and you can use the audio guide with no connection and no data use throughout your walk around Shanghai. The map shows your GPS position in real time even without coverage.
What languages is the Shanghai audio guide available in?
The Shanghai audio guide is available in Spanish and English, with professional narration prepared by guides and experts in the history of Shanghai and of China.
How long does the full tour take?
The audio guide brings together 7 independent routes with about seven hours of narration in total, from 30 to 90 minutes per route. They are designed to be spread over two or three days: you can do them separately or string together the ones that lie close, such as the Bund and the Yu Garden, in a single walk.
Is the audio guide better than a free walking tour or a guided visit?
They are different experiences. The EarGuide audio guide lets you walk Shanghai without timetables or groups, pause and resume whenever you like, and replay any explanation as often as you need. It suits independent travellers, families and anyone who prefers to understand the city at their own pace, with no prior knowledge of China.
Which landmarks and points of interest does it include?
The Shanghai audio guide covers 7 main sites: the Bund, the Yu Garden, the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, Tianzifang, the Wukang Mansion and the Jade Buddha Temple, with stops that range from the Customs House and the former HSBC building on the Bund to the shikumen alleys of the former French Concession.
Can I do it all on foot?
In parts. The Bund and the Yu Garden are a little over a kilometre apart, and the Oriental Pearl Tower stands right opposite, across the Huangpu. Tianzifang and the Wukang Mansion, in the former French Concession, are about 3 km from each other. The Jewish Refugees Museum, to the north, and the Jade Buddha Temple, to the northwest, are more remote: it is best to get there by metro.
Can I use a purchase in the other EarGuide apps or on another phone?
Yes. Purchases belong to your EarGuide account, not to one app or one phone. A city unlocked in the EarGuide app is also unlocked in that city's own app, and the other way round, on both iPhone and Android. Just sign in with the same account on the other device. The store's “restore purchases” button only covers the app the purchase was made in, so signing in is what carries it across.
Download the Shanghai audio guide free
The Shanghai audio guide is inside the EarGuide app, free and ready to use offline. Carry it in your pocket and explore the city at your own pace.
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