Overview
As Shanghai is a well-known and the largest city in China, maybe you wonder about what is the best way to visit Shanghai on your own? Try the convenient and comfortable sightseeing buses service to visit Shanghai is one of the best ways and it will be your unique tour experience! Shanghai City Sightseeing Bus offers visitors to the city a convenient hop on, hop off service that covers all the famous stops. There are two options for the Shanghai Hop on Hop off tours, 24-hour ticket and 48-hour ticket. The sightseeing buses will run to the different part of Shanghai city with over 30 designated stops. The buses are also well-equipped with GPS & Free Audio guides, you can get the earphone to listen your audio guide to explain the culture & history of the places that you visited. Please don't worry if you can understand or not, the audio introductions are available in eight language: Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, German and French. It's a great way for those individual travellers and travel in your own pace.

There are two companies operate the hop on hop off sightseeing bus in Shanghai, one is "City Sightseeing Bus" which a tourist double-decker sightseeing bus under the mangement of Spring Airlines; Another one is "Shanghai Bus Tour", it was the first double-decker bus of the Shanghai Tourism Company. The price and bus route are different, the detailed information as below for your reference:

City Sightseeing Hop-on Hop-off Bus Route

Line 1 or Puxi Line (Red)
Schedule: 09:00am – 20:30pm (May-Oct.); 09:00am – 18:00pm(Nov.-Apr.)
Frequency: 15mins
Duration: 80-90mins

Route: Urban Planning Exhibition Hall?Nanjing Road (West)?Madame Tussauds?Nanjing Road?Century Square?Nanjing Road (East)?The Bund(Waibaidu Bridge)?The Bund(Customs House)?East Jinling Road Ferry Dock?Huangpu River Cruise Terminal?Old Street(Renmin Road)?Old City God Temple & Yuyuan Garden?Former Provisional Government Site of the Republic of Korea?Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China?Xintiandi?Middle Huaihai Road?Shanghai Museum & Concert Hall?Urban Planning Exhibition Hall

Top Attractions Along the Line1
1) Urban Planning Exhibition Hall
The Exhibition Hall is located in the downtown of Shanghai city and it is the largest urban planning exhibition hall in China. It displays the long-term development, the overall municipal layout at present, and the following urban planning of Shanghai. The extra entrance fee is CNY30/per person.

2) Nanjing Road
It's a ideal place for those who want to do shopping in Shanghai. In the daytime, you'll admire the graceful architecture of the surrounding buildings. At night, you'll marvel at the illuminated logos and brand names that line the avenue. It's open for free.

3) The Bund
As the one of the most famous landmarks in Shanghai, all visitors to Shanghai should take a stroll along the Bund area. On one side of the Huangpu river there are European style buildings. Look across the river at the massive morden buildings. No need entrance fee to visit the Bund and open all the day.

4) Old City God Temple
The temple enjoys a high status in Shanghai, with an old saying: A Shanghai Tour can't without a visit Old City God Temple. City God Temple was built to protect the safety of the people in the city. And the numbers of shopping centers and snack streets are opened nearby. The extra entrance fee for the temple is CNY10/per person.

5) Yuyuan Garden
It is one of China’s best-preserved classical gardens and the most famous garden is Shanghai, it has a long history over 400 years. And it's known for the beautiful scenery, elegant layout, and delightful pavilions etc. The extra entrance fee is CNY40/per person(peak season); CNY30/per person(low season).

6) Xintiandi
Xin Tian Di is a good place for you to discover the city's premier gathering place to relax and take a look at the historical surroundings and local culture. Xintiandi Style is a platform for local and international designers. No tickets needed for this place.

Line 2 or Pudong Line (Green)
Schedule: 09:00 – 19:30(May-Oct.); 09:00am – 17:30pm(Nov.-Apr.)
Frequency: 30-40mins
Duration: 50-60mins

Route:Shanghai Museum & Concert Hall?Urban Planning Exhibition Hall?Oriental Pearl Tower & Ocean Aquarium?Dongchang Road Ferry Dock & World Expo Ferry?Jinmao Tower & World Financial Center?Shanghai Museum & Concert Hall

Top Attractions Along the Line2
1) Shanghai Museum
It is one of the famous museums in China, a comprehensive museum with the collection of cultural items including ancient Chinese bronze, ceramics, painting and calligraphy. Free open for public but closed on Monday.

2) Oriental Pearl Tower
It is one of the world’s highest transmission towers. It is a broadcasting & sightseeing tower in Shanghai, the tower stands right by the bank of Huangpu River. The tower has been the landmark and icon of Shanghai since its completion in 1994. Extra entrance fee is from CNY180/per person.

3) World Finacial Center:
Shanghai World Financial Center is an incredible feat of modern architecture and a mixed-use skyscraper in Shanghai. It is located on the Pudong Area and know as one of the tallest buildings in the world. If you want to visit inside and go the top floor of Shanghai WFC, you need to pay CNY180 to get to the 100 floor.

Line 3 or World Expo Line (Yellow)
Schedule: 09:00am– 16:00pm daily
Frequency: every 30mins per bus
Duration: 60-70 mins

Route: The Bund(Waibaidu Bridge)?The Bund(Customs House)?East Jinling Road Ferry Dock?Huangpu River Cruise Terminal?Old Street(Renmin Road)?Old City God Temple & Yuyuan Garden?China Art Museum?Expo Cultural Center?Saudi Arabia Pavilion?South Cool Docks on the South Bund?North Cool Docks on the South Bund?East Fuxing Road Ferry Dock?Old Meteorological Signal Tower?The Bund(Waibaidu Bridge)

Top Attractions Along the Line3
1) The Bund
As the one of the most famous landmarks in Shanghai, all visitors to Shanghai should take a stroll along the Bund area. On one side of the Huangpu river there are European style buildings. Look across the river at the massive morden buildings. No need entrance fee to visit the Bund and open all the day.

2) Huangpu River Cruise Terminal
If you want to take the Huangpu River cruise, you should get off Huangpu River Cruise Terminal Station for the cruise tour. You can continue to take sightseeing bus again once you finish your cruise.

3) Yuyuan Garden
It is one of China’s best-preserved classical gardens and the most famous garden is Shanghai, it has a long history over 400 years. And it's known for the beautiful scenery, elegant layout, and delightful pavilions etc. The extra entrance fee is CNY40/per person(peak season); CNY30/per person(low season).

4) China Art Musuem
A vast art museum, housed in the former Chinese Expo pavilion over in Pudong. Works on display span modern and contemporary periods, and there's also a steady rotation of temporary exhibitions, including lots from abroad. Good to know: it's free to get in, but you need to reserve a ticket online in advance.

Line 5 or Hongkou Line (Purple)
Schedule: 09:00 – 18:00 daily
Frequency: every 30mins per bus
Duration: 60-70mins

Route:The Bund(Waibaidu Bridge)?The Bund (Customs House)?East Jinling Road Ferry Dock?Old Meteorological Signal Tower?Broadway Mansions?International Cruise Passenger Terminal?Binjiang Greenland on the North Bund?Gongping Road Ferry Dock?Jewish Refugees Museum?Xiahai Temple?Suzhou Creek Cruise Dock?Postal Museum?The Bund(Waibaidu Bridge)

Highlights
If you are interested in the history of Jewish in Shanghai, you should definitely take city sightseeing bus Line 5 to visit the Hongkou District, such as Jewish Refugees Museum, it has taken a significant role in educating local and international visitors about the unique story of Jewish refugees in Shanghai.

Price for the City Sightseeing Buses
24-Hour Bus Ticket: CNY30/per person (Unlimited rides and transfers between line 1 & 2)
48-Hour Bus Ticket: CNY50/per person (Unlimited rides and transfers among line 1, 2, 3 & 5)
Free for children under 1.2meters,

Where & How to purchase the Tickets
As for the ticket for the City Sightseeing Bus, there are several ways for you to buy the tickets. 1)There are some ticket booths near the bus station, it's very easy to get the tikcets from there. 2) If you can't find the booths, you can also get the ticket from the bus driver directly; 3) You can book it online in advance if you can use the online payment.


"Shanghai Bus Tour" Sightseeing Bus Route

This bus is very easy to figure out, which divided into three colors: red line, blue line and green line. You can find the light color on the front of Bus. The Blue Line Bund can take you to  Pudong Oriental Pearl Tower; Red Line Bund to People Square & Xintiandi; Green Line to People square, Huaihai Road and Jing'an Temple. They start and end at different station but some stops are the same in those route, you can choose the suitable one. More details as below:

Red Line (Puxi Area)
Schedule: 09:00am– 17:00pm (day line); Night line:17:00 – 19:00(Mon.-Thur.) & 17:00pm – 20:00pm(Fri.-Sun.)
Route: New World Center on Nanjing Road?People’s Square?China Art Museum? Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street ?The Bund?Shiliupu Huangpu River Cruise Terminal? Yuyuan Garden ? Xintiandi

Blue Line (Pudong Area)
Schedule: 09:30am-17:30pm daily
Route: The Bund?Oriental Pearl Tower ?World Financial Center & Jin Mao Tower ?The Cool Docks ? Shiliupu Huangpu River Cruise Terminal

Green Line (Old part of Shanghai)
Schedule: 09:15am – 16:45am, every half an hour
Route: New World Center on Nanjing Road ?Shanghai Museum ? Huaihai Road ? Jing’an Temple ? Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel ? Jade Buddha Temple ? Wujiang Road ? China Art Museum

Price for "Shanghai Bus Tour" Sightseeing Buses
24-hour bus ticket: CNY100, you can take all of the buses operated by the "Shanghai Bus Tour" company, unlimited transfers.
Red Line Night Tour Bus Ticket: CNY50    
48-hour bus ticket: CNY200, you can take all of the buses operated by the "Shanghai Bus Tour" company, unlimited transfers.

Book the Hop-on Hop-off pass to take City sightseeing buses is one of popular activities for visitors who travel in Shanghai city. You can choose one of the tours above list that you interested. It covers the most famous part of Shanghai, it provide a great opportunity to make a memorable Shanghai tour. You'll never regret to take the Shanghai Hop-on hop-off bus tours.