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Summer in the City: Why Shanghai Might Be This Year’s Most Surprising Urban Escape
Paris? Checked. Tokyo? Been there. New York? Maybe next season. But this summer, Shanghai is quietly stealing the spotlight with a citywide celebration that’s as dazzling as its skyline and as immersive as its art scene.
25/07/2025
Running from July to October, the 2025 Shanghai Summer International Consumption Season is a four-month carnival of culture, fashion, sports, food and seriously smooth travel planning. What was once seen as just a mega-metropolis is now reshaping itself into one of the world’s most summer-ready city breaks.
From runway to riverside: the smoothest touchdown ever
Getting in is half the joy. China Eastern Airlines is dishing out over a million discounted tickets and free half-day tours for stopover passengers. Land at Pudong or Hongqiao and you’ll be swept into the city in style with DiDi ride-hailing discounts, English-language apps like HiChina and Amap, and taxi fleets ready with trilingual guides and card machines. Translation: no awkward app fumbling or WeChat panic required.
Seamless transportation after arrival
Sleep like a local, eat like a king
Shanghai’s hotel scene is showing off: Marriott leveraging its diverse portfolio of 19 brands and over 60 hotels in Shanghai, has launched a range of exclusive offers and promotions. Jin Jiang International launched a bilingual food guide called Shanghai Gourmet Passport across over 200 of its hotels — combining superior accommodation with local cuisine.Craving xiaolongbao or looking for that perfect vegan noodle spot? Dianping’s Must-Eat List, now in English and Korean, helps you locate exactly what your stomach is dreaming of.
Eat, stay, explore — with extra care
Festivals, fashion, floating museums — yes, all of it
Let’s talk itinerary. CCG Expo, ChinaJoy, and Bilibili World pack July and August with anime and gaming brilliance. The LEGO World Play Day lands in Shanghai alongside stops in London and Boston. For a more poetic pace, head to Van Cleef & Arpels’ “Poetry of Time” or the David Hockney immersive exhibition at West Bund Museum.
And then there’s the Star of Shanghai﹒MAP Orsay Cruise — think twilight boat ride + cultural time-travel between the Huangpu River and the Seine. Paris who?
Outdoor vibes, open-air joy
When the heat rises, head to The Stage, the city’s highest open-air observation deck, where skyline views meet exclusive cocktails 320 metres up. Or cool off at WB Central’s International Carnival, where Italian floats, Aperol tastings, and street art performances bring a dose of Mediterranean joy to Shanghai’s riverbanks.
Looking to get active? Lululemon’s Summer Sweat Games turns central Jing’an into an open-air fitness block party. Prefer street cred? The Li-Ning Bad Five Streetball finals deliver raw energy courtside at West Bund.
（An aerial view of The Stage, Shanghai’s stunning open-air observation deck. [Photo/The Stage]）
Pay like a local, get refunded like a pro
No local bank account? No problem. Visa created a “Visa Zone” for top tourist routes, introducing innovative solutions like ‘Tap to Ride’ for the metro and simplified QR payments for visitors. UnionPay enhancing the payment experience covering 12 major commercial districts 18 distinctive themed streets, the entire metro network, and over 100,000 merchants citywide.
The upgraded Shanghai Pass now skips real-name registration and includes multi-day transport + sightseeing options in one tap.
Tax refund anxiety? Alipay e-refunds and China Post pre-packed envelopes mean no stress at departure. You might even walk away with more than you spent.
Pocket-sized ease with a digital twist
Your new travel BFF? The Easy Go platform, which combines everything — from restaurant bookings to sightseeing routes, coupon codes to payment options — in one multilingual app. Think of it as your digital concierge, minus the awkward tipping moment.
Shanghai in the summer isn’t just a city stopover anymore — it’s a full-blown experience. It’s where East meets West, luxury meets street, and ancient legends sit next to neon-lit nights. And thanks to an infrastructure overhaul designed with global travelers in mind, it’s never been easier to explore it all.
Jet off to Shanghai. You just might stay longer than planned.
Alicia Miller
A former editor at The Sunday Times, Canadian-born, Hackney dwelling journalist Alicia Miller writes about luxury travel, food and drink
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