6 Best Pudong Hotels with Bund Views

by Ricky Stratty

Book the room named for the view. A Pudong address alone doesn’t buy it, because the same hotel sells rooms that face the river and rooms that face the city. Check the room name before you click. Lujiazui station sits one Metro stop from East Nanjing Road, which ends at the Bund.

Quick answer: Book Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai. Even its top Bund King category, the Horizon Premier Bund King Room, costs less on peak nights than the cheapest Bund-named room at The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, Park Hyatt Shanghai and J Hotel, Shanghai Tower.

Pudong Hotels With Rooms Facing the Bund

Bund buildings seen through the window of a Deluxe Bund King Room at Pudong Shangri-La

Bund Views from Both Towers

1. Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Location: 11-minute walk to the Oriental Pearl Tower
Guest Reviews: Excellent breakfast and great views from the room.
Best Room: Deluxe Bund King Room

From USD $230 – $325 per night

Dusk view of the Oriental Pearl Tower from a Park Hyatt Shanghai room

Infinity Pool on Floor 85

2. Park Hyatt Shanghai

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Location: 18-minute walk to the Oriental Pearl Tower
Guest Reviews: Wonderful breakfast and friendly, helpful staff.
Best Room: King Room with Bund River View

From USD $490 – $515 per night

Bund skyline view at dusk from a room at The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong

Rooftop Bar Facing the Pearl Tower

3. The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Location: 9-minute walk to the Oriental Pearl Tower
Guest Reviews: Beautiful rooms and delicious food.
Best Room: Shanghai Bund View Room

From USD $475 – $540 per night

City view through the windows of a Grand Suite Bund View at J Hotel Shanghai Tower

Highest Restaurant in a Building

4. J Hotel, Shanghai Tower

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Location: 15-minute walk to the Oriental Pearl Tower
Guest Reviews: Amazing views from high up and a fantastic breakfast.
Best Room: Grand Suite Bund View

From USD $1,095 per night

Dusk river view through the windows of a Grand Hyatt Shanghai king room

Inside Jin Mao Tower

5. Grand Hyatt Shanghai

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Location: 15-minute walk to the Oriental Pearl Tower
Guest Reviews: Fantastic river views and very clean rooms.
Best Room: King Room with River View

From USD $255 – $310 per night

River view and Bund skyline at dusk from a Mandarin Oriental Pudong room

On the Huangpu Riverbank

6. Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Location: 13-minute walk to the Oriental Pearl Tower
Guest Reviews: Incredible views and a quiet part of Pudong.
Best Room: Mandarin River View Room King

From USD $370 – $475 per night

Book the Room Named for the View

Room names are the first clue to what a window faces.

  • Read the Name Before the Rate: Rooms with Bund in the name face the Bund, and rooms called City View or City Light View face the city. Read the room name on the rate table before picking a price.
  • River View Rooms Face the Huangpu: A River View room faces the Huangpu, and the Bund is across it. Where a hotel sells both River View and Bund View rooms, the Bund name pins down the direction.
  • Club and Lounge Rooms Follow the Same Pattern: Club and lounge rooms carry view words too, as in Club Bund View. The view part of the name still decides, whatever else the room includes.

Pick the name that matches the view you want before you pay.

Walking the Pudong Riverside at Dusk

The Pudong promenade runs opposite the Bund.

  • Dusk Gives the Best View: Views of the Bund from the Pudong bank are at their best at dusk and after dark. The promenade runs along the east bank of the Huangpu.
  • Evenings Bring Local Families: Families stroll the promenade in the evening. Cafes along it look over the water.
  • Ferries Leave Near the Pearl Tower: The Dongchang Road ferry pier sits near the Oriental Pearl Tower. The promenade and the river crossing start in the same area.

Walk the promenade at dusk, then cross on the Dongfu ferry after dark.

Seeing the Bund From the Water

The river adds a third view, from between the two banks.

  • Foot Passengers Ride the Public Ferries: More than a dozen public ferry lines link Pudong and Puxi. Two of them leave from the Dongchang Road pier.
  • Pick the Line by the Light You Want: The Dongfu line, from Dongchang Road to Fuxing Road, gives night views of the lights on both banks. The Dongjin line, from Dongchang Road to East Jinling Road, carries foot passengers only and shows the Lujiazui skyline by day.
  • River Cruises Run Day and Night: Cruises sail past the Bund and Lujiazui by day and by night. Boarding piers sit on both banks, so check the pier printed on the ticket.

Ride the Dongfu ferry after dark, because the lights on both banks are the point.

One Metro Stop Under the River

Lujiazui station sits on the Pudong bank, one stop from the Bund side.

  • Lujiazui Is One Stop From Nanjing Road: Line 2 runs under the Huangpu from Lujiazui to Nanjing Road (E.) station in a single stop. Lujiazui station is near the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center.
  • Century Avenue Joins Three More Lines: Two stops east of Lujiazui, Century Avenue joins Line 2 to Lines 4, 6 and 9. Dongchang Road station comes in between.

Take Line 2 to cross, and use the ferry when you want the view from the water.

Nanjing Road to the Bund on Foot

East Nanjing Road runs straight to the river.

  • Nanjing Road Ends at the Bund: Nanjing Road (E.) station sits at the corner of East Nanjing Road and Middle Henan Road. Walk east from there and the street ends at the central Bund, beside the Peace Hotel.
  • Cars Stay Off the Last Stretch: East Nanjing Road is a pedestrian street. The part from Middle Henan Road to the Bund is closed to cars.

Start at Nanjing Road (E.) station and walk east to the Peace Hotel and the river.

Airport Rides to Lujiazui

Line 2 reaches both airports and Lujiazui.

  • Pudong Airport Is the East End: Line 2 runs from Pudong Airport Terminals 1 and 2 through Guanglan Road to Lujiazui. The Pudong end is the eastern end of the line.
  • Hongqiao Is Also on Line 2: Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 station sits on Line 2, so the same line reaches Lujiazui from there. Hongqiao Railway Station, beside the airport, is on Lines 2, 10 and 17.
  • Maglev Riders Change at Longyang Road: The Maglev stops at Longyang Road, which is also a Line 2 station. Change there for the ride on to Lujiazui.

Ride Line 2 from either airport straight to Lujiazui.

FAQs

1. What can you see across the river from a Pudong hotel?

The Bund holds 52 historic buildings in styles from Romanesque Revival to Art Deco. The Customs House clock, made in imitation of Big Ben, and the Peace Hotel are among them. The row stretches about 1.6 kilometers along the western bank, and its buildings face east toward the water and the Lujiazui towers.

2. Why is it called the Bund?

Hindustani gave English the word, meaning a dyke or embankment. In the Chinese treaty ports it described an embanked quay along the shore. The Chinese name, Waitan, means outer bank and has a different origin. The Shanghai Bund keeps the name for its waterfront on the western bank of the Huangpu.

3. What is the Pudong riverside promenade called?

Riverside Avenue, known in Chinese as Binjiang Avenue, runs along the east bank of the Huangpu River opposite the Bund. Lonely Planet places the best views at dusk and after dark. Lujiazui station and the Oriental Pearl Tower both sit close to the stretch, which makes it easy to reach on foot from nearby hotels.

4. What is the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel?

It is a 647-meter tunnel under the Huangpu riverbed, with the Bund end on Zhongshan East 1st Road and the Pudong end under the Oriental Pearl Tower. Unmanned carriages pulled by a cable carry riders through a sound and light show. The ride takes three to five minutes from end to end.

5. Should you stay in Pudong or on the Bund?

Stay in Pudong to see the Bund from the room. A Bund hotel faces across the water to the Pearl Tower and the Lujiazui towers, with the old buildings behind its windows. Pick the bank by the skyline you want to see from bed, since each bank holds the view the other lacks.

6. Which side of the river is Pudong?

Pudong is the east bank of the Huangpu River, and Puxi is the west bank. The Bund lines the Puxi shore along Zhongshan East 1st Road, and the Lujiazui towers rise on the Pudong side across from it. Rooms in Pudong that face west look over the river at the Bund. Line 2 and the public ferries both cross between the two banks.

7. Which Metro lines stop at Lujiazui?

Lujiazui station is an interchange of Lines 2 and 14. Line 2 is the line that crosses under the Huangpu to Nanjing Road (E.) station on the Bund side. Line 14 arrived at the same station later, which gives Pudong hotels near the Oriental Pearl Tower a second line to board.

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