I’m going to be completely honest here because it isn’t a terribly offensive position.  Shanghai isn’t a great tourist city.  I mean, there’s some weird stuff to eat(As does everywhere in China) and it has a pretty sweet skyline but that was really about all I could find that was terribly unique.

Arguments could be made about some unique museums and exhibits but those aren’t reasons to visit the city on their own.  We did get to a very interesting North Korean restaurant(post coming) and I got to visit a friend I haven’t seen in awhile who, after having to think for some time, suggested we go check out the view from the top of the Shanghai Tower.

And so we did.

The Shanghai Tower is currently the 2nd tallest building in the world behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and conveniently has its own subway stop so it’s easy to get to during the cold, bitter, windy season that we were visiting during.  I’m now realizing that the weather may have impacted a lot of my thoughts on the city…

We suggest going around dusk to take in the view during the day and as the nighttime lights all come on.

As per the article title, the windows seemed covered by either people or standard window smudge and for my simple point and shoot camera getting some great city view shots were out of the picture.  On the plus side there is a bar up there to help cope with that disappointment.  Another fun fact this is located very close to the Taco Bell I made a mostly facetious review of.

This is an easy to plan stop that is perfect for a long layover or just on a day where you don’t want to plan much.  There’s a slew of shopping in the mall underneath the tower as well, we did stop for conveyor belt sushi which I am a slave too but it was about 3 times more expensive than anywhere else we had it in China and really no better in quality.

In this whole area you will be paying tourist prices added to central downtown prices, so be prepared for that.  Either way, it’s definitely a decent tourist stop especially if you are struggling to think of something to do.  Not amazing but you basically get exactly what you expect and what else can you ask for?

Here, more pictures…