By Nora Lindqvist · Updated · Affiliate links, explained in my disclosure
PANDA144 experience
Shanghai Tower: Observation Deck Admission Ticket
4.5 (555) · from $34.62
If you want one observation deck in Shanghai, I’d book the Shanghai Tower: its deck is at 562 m according to Wikipedia, and its standard ticket costs $34.62, rated 4.53 from 555 reviews. The alternative is the Oriental Pearl Tower at 351 m, from $36.49, with a glass skywalk. I found no free deck ticket. I’d go about an hour before sunset, and December and August were the clearest months in 2025.
| Tour | From | Rating | Length | Free cancellation | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Tower: Observation Deck Admission Ticket | $34.62 | ★ 4.5 (555) | 24-hour ticket | Yes | Check availability |
| Shanghai Tower Observation Deck Entry Ticket | $38.32 | ★ 4.7 (135) | 2 - 2.5 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| Oriental Pearl Tower: Entry Ticket & Transfer Options | $39 | ★ 4.7 (14) | 24-hour ticket | Yes | Check availability |
| Oriental Pearl Tower Entry & Glass Skywalk | $50 | ★ 4.6 (9) | 24-hour ticket | Yes | Check availability |
Two paid decks sell tickets online in Pudong, and both are in Lujiazui, on the east bank of the Huangpu River: the Shanghai Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower. A third, the Shanghai World Financial Center, shows on Google Maps as an observatory, but I found no ticket for it, so I list it only for the map. The deck heights come from Wikipedia’s list of public observation decks, and prices are the cheapest ticket on GetYourGuide. Each deck name opens its own ticket page.
| Deck | Deck height | Open-air? | Price from | Top ticket rating | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Tower | 562 m | Indoor, floor-to-ceiling glass | $34.62 | 4.53 from 555 | Tickets |
| Oriental Pearl Tower | 351 m | Partly: a 90 m outdoor corridor per the listings | $36.49 | 4.74 from 14 | Tickets |
| Shanghai World Financial Center | Not in my data | Not in my data | No ticket found | Google Maps 4.6 from 25 | Tickets |
The choice between the Shanghai observation decks is height against character. The Shanghai Tower is much higher and its reviews are far deeper, while the Pearl is the one with a glass floor and some fresh air. The three towers sit within about a kilometre of each other, which makes Lujiazui an easy place to compare them from the ground first.
The Shanghai Tower is the one I’d book first, because it has the highest observation deck in Shanghai and the most reviewed tickets. Wikipedia calls it the tallest building in China, at 632 m and 128 floors. The listings describe an elevator ride of about 55 seconds to the 118th floor, and on a clear day the horizon from 562 m is about 84.6 km, per the horizon formula.
PANDA144 experience
My pick: My default: the cheapest Shanghai Tower ticket at $34.62, and the most reviewed, with the 118th and 119th floors.
from
$34.62
If your priority is a quieter visit, the Architecture Masterclass listing at $38.32 is rated 4.71 from 135 reviews, and one reviewer wrote that they went in the morning with excellent visibility and minimal crowds. It is the one I’d pick for a morning slot. The full list of options is on my Shanghai Tower tickets page, with all eight compared.
Panda Quest
My pick: A guided-style entry at $38.32 with the strongest rating of the deep-review tickets, 4.71 from 135 reviews.
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$38.32
The Oriental Pearl Tower is my pick among Shanghai observation decks when you want the shape of the skyline in the frame. It is the pink-sphered TV tower that Wikipedia describes as built from 1991 to 1994, and from its spheres you look across at the Shanghai Tower and out to the Bund. The listings describe a 263 m main deck, a 259 m glass skywalk, a 90 m outdoor corridor and the Space Capsule at 351 m on the 3-sphere option.
kequyou
My pick: The best rated Pearl ticket, $39, 4.74 from 14 reviews, with 2-sphere or 3-sphere options and optional transfers.
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$39
The review base here is thin, with no listing above 21 reviews, so I treat the ratings as a hint and not as proof. For a plain self-guided entry with the glass skywalk, the $50 listing is rated 4.6 from 9 reviews. My Oriental Pearl Tower tickets page goes through every option and where the listings contradict themselves.
CHINA FACE
My pick: Plain self-guided entry at $50 with the 259 m glass skywalk; no transfer, no guide.
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$50
The Shanghai World Financial Center is the third tower of the group, and it is 0.16 km (0.1 miles) from the Shanghai Tower. Google Maps lists the Shanghai World Financial Center Observatory at 4.6 from 25 reviews. I found no GetYourGuide ticket for it, so I have no price, height or inclusion that I can cite, and I would not guess. If you want to know whether it is open, the official site is the place to look, and my Shanghai World Financial Center tickets page will carry the ticket details if they appear.
You can see the Shanghai skyline without a ticket, though never from above. The Bund is the classic place, rated 4.7 from 7,814 reviews on Google Maps and 0.87 km from the Oriental Pearl Tower and 1.61 km from the Shanghai Tower, with the Pudong towers across the river. Huangpu Park is 0.87 km from the Pearl, and Chen Yi Square 0.88 km. Waitan Observatory is rated 4.0 from 23 reviews, and I have no price for it, so I will not quote one.
Tourist attraction
4.7 · 7,814 Google reviews
Zhongshan Rd (E-1), Waitan, Huangpu, Shanghai, China, 200002
Open in Google MapsTourist attraction
4.6
500 Zhongshan Rd (E-1), Waitan, Huangpu, Shanghai, China, 200002
Open in Google MapsTourist attraction
4.6 · 617 Google reviews
6FQR+H6R, Zhongshan Rd (E-1), Waitan, 虹口区 Shanghai, China, 200002
Open in Google Maps
Tourist attraction
4.7 · 568 Google reviews
8 Zhongshan Rd (E-2), Waitan, Huangpu, Shanghai, China, 200120
Open in Google MapsObservatory
4.0 · 23 Google reviews
China, Shanghai, Huangpu, Zhongshan Rd (E-2), 1号甲
Open in Google MapsThe Bund is the view that includes the towers, which is the one thing neither paid Shanghai observation deck can show you. I’d walk it at dusk and then go up one of the decks the next day, so you have seen Pudong from both sides.
The weather is the same for all the Shanghai decks, so I use the Shanghai Tower’s year of data. Per Open-Meteo, the clearest months in 2025 were December at 41 percent average cloud cover and August at 42 percent, followed by January at 44 percent. June was the cloudiest at 76 percent with 18 rainy days, then May at 69 percent. Sunset runs from 16:52 in December to 18:59 in June and July.
| Month | Sunset (Shanghai time) | Cloud cover | Sunshine a day | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Janclearest | 17:13 | 44% | 8.2 h | 3 |
| Feb | 17:41 | 58% | 6.4 h | 6 |
| Mar | 18:01 | 61% | 7 h | 11 |
| Apr | 18:22 | 62% | 9.4 h | 4 |
| May | 18:42 | 69% | 8.6 h | 11 |
| Jun | 18:59 | 76% | 6.1 h | 18 |
| Jul | 18:59 | 61% | 10.8 h | 17 |
| Augclearest | 18:37 | 42% | 11 h | 11 |
| Sep | 17:59 | 59% | 8.9 h | 21 |
| Oct | 17:22 | 56% | 7.7 h | 7 |
| Nov | 16:55 | 47% | 7.2 h | 5 |
| Decclearest | 16:52 | 41% | 7.9 h | 2 |
Sunset planner
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book this entry time (50 min before sunset)
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sunset, Shanghai time
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typical cloud cover that week
Sunset and cloud cover for the same dates in 2025 at the deck (Open-Meteo historical weather (ERA5), 2025); sunset moves by about a minute between years.
Cloud cover is not haze, and my data has no air quality column, so I check the forecast and visibility the day before. My rule is to arrive 45 to 60 minutes before sunset. Google Maps lists the Shanghai Tower as open from 8:30 AM to 9:30 PM every day, so even a June evening leaves time for the lights. Google Maps shows no hours for the Pearl and its listings disagree, so check your voucher.
The higher the observation deck in Shanghai, the further the horizon in theory. The calculator uses the Shanghai Tower deck height of 562 m. From the Pearl’s 351 m the formula gives about 66.9 km, against 84.6 km from the Tower. On most days you are limited by cloud and haze before geometry, so the month matters more than the extra metres.
Calculator
562 m · 1844 ft
km
to the horizon ( miles)
km
with typical atmospheric refraction
Geometric horizon d ≈ 3.57 × √h (km, h in metres); refraction adds about 8%. Haze and clouds usually limit the real view first. Formula: Distance to the horizon.
Yes, and the distance is tiny. From the coordinates in my data, the Shanghai Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower are 0.88 km (0.55 miles) apart in a straight line. The Bund is 0.87 km (0.54 miles) from the Pearl, so a walk along the river fits between them. I’d book the Shanghai Tower for the late afternoon and the Pearl for the evening, or the other way around if the forecast is better later.
I would not squeeze both Shanghai observation decks into one hour. The Architecture Masterclass listing quotes 2 to 2.5 hours, and the Pearl listings mention long lines, so I’d leave at least three hours between slots. Two tickets cost $71.11 at the cheapest prices ($34.62 plus $36.49), so for most visitors I would choose one and spend the rest of the day on the Bund.
The cheapest Shanghai Tower ticket is $34.62 and the cheapest Pearl ticket is $36.49, so the price gap is small and the height gap is large. The Shanghai Tower ticket buys the 562 m deck. The Pearl ticket buys several levels, the skywalk and the museum, with the 3-sphere upgrade changing the total. Above those I’d be careful: the Tower at $60 with the SKY632 upgrade has a single review, and the Pearl experience at $69.95 has 21 reviews and a 4.14 rating.
Calculator
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from per person, before any child or group discount
Prices are the lowest per-person prices on GetYourGuide when I last checked; the final price depends on the date, time slot and age.
I’ve kept this to one line per visitor, so you can find yourself quickly.
If you can only afford one of the Shanghai observation decks, I’d book the Shanghai Tower. If you can afford two, add the Oriental Pearl Tower at sunset, since its skywalk and its view of the Tower are different enough to justify a second ticket.
For a first visit I'd book the Shanghai Tower: its deck is at 562 m according to Wikipedia, the highest in the city, and the standard ticket is $34.62, rated 4.53 from 555 reviews. The Oriental Pearl Tower is my second choice for its glass skywalk and its view of the Shanghai Tower itself.
On GetYourGuide the cheapest Shanghai Tower ticket is $34.62, and other listings run from $38 to $60. The $60 listing adds the SKY632 upgrade to the 126th floor. These are starting prices in US dollars, so confirm the total for your date and option on the booking page before you pay.
I'd go up the Shanghai Tower if you want the highest view, at 562 m against 351 m. I'd choose the Oriental Pearl Tower for the 259 m glass skywalk and a skyline that includes the Shanghai Tower. Google Maps rates both 4.6, and they are only 0.88 km (0.55 miles) apart.
I found no closure notice, and Google Maps lists the Shanghai World Financial Center Observatory at 4.6 from only 25 reviews. I also found no ticket for it on GetYourGuide, so I do not compare prices here. Check the official site for opening dates before you plan around it.
Google Maps lists an observatory there, 0.16 km (0.1 miles) from the Shanghai Tower, but I found no GetYourGuide ticket for it, so I cannot give a price. For a deck you can book online today, I would use the Shanghai Tower or the Oriental Pearl Tower.
On Google Maps in my data, the Bund is rated 4.7 from 7,814 reviews, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower 4.6 from 7,610 and the Shanghai Tower 4.6 from 3,264. The Bund is a ground-level walk along the river, while the two towers are the paid decks that look down on Pudong.