What They Say
“A baffling audio-visual ride under the Huangpu
The Bund Tourist Tunnel is one of Shanghai's top five tourist attractions and it's also one of its strangest. Bizarre, trippy audio-visual effects play as you travel in an automated car 'into the core of the Earth' under the Huangpu river.”-- Time Out
What We Say
We didn't set out that day intending to take the Bund Tourist Tunnel, the plan was to visit the Bund and take some photos, get some lunch in one of the shopping malls near Oriental Pearl Tower and then on to Century Park in the afternoon. By the time we had finished on the Bund, our 7-yr old daughter was quite tired and didn't want to make the 10 or so minute walk back to Nanjing East Rd station to get the metro across the river to Pudong. We knew there was a tunnel actually on the Bund to take people to the Pudong side, but the signage wasn't the best and we had to ask a local for directions. Eventually we found the ticket office in a small underground arcade beneath the Bund.
A one-way ticket costs RMB 45, a return RMB 55, so it's quite expensive compared to a metro journey for the same distance which is only RMB 3 one-way. There are offers to combine a journey on the Bund Tourist Tunnel with a trip up the Oriental Pearl Tower or the Aquarium, which may make it more worthwhile to make a day of it.
We bought our single tickets and took the escalator down to the concourse. It appears that a lot of money had been spent on the decor and the pods that are on a conveyor belt continuously going round. The pods do not stop but slow down enough for passengers to get on and off at the platform. There were very few people there on that day and we got on a pod straightway. Each pod can hold quite a few people, but there are only four seats, one in each corner. On this occasion we shared a pod with only another couple, so our daughter had one of the front corner seats and had a great view of the tunnel ahead as the pod glided forward.
The journey itself is about 5 minutes long and the money spent on the platform and the pods doesn't seem to have stretched to the 'son et lumiere' show that is shown for the journey. The video below gives you a flavour of the journey and the arrival at the Pudong side platform.
On the Pudong side there are some merchandising stalls on the concourse and that's about it. The Pudong entrance is about a 5 minute walk from the Lujiazui metro station (not far from the Oriental Pearl Tower) but it is down a side road and again not that easy to find.
Our daughter liked the colours and patterns made by the light show, enjoyed travelling in a 'car' that has no driver, and she was fascinated by the fact that we were traveling under the river she just saw on the Bund not long ago. "Wouldn't it be lovely if the pod actually went through the water and we can see all the fish in the river!". We had one disappointed child later on that day when we returned by metro. At the time of writing this post we asked her whether she'd like to go again for our next Shanghai trip and the answer is a definite yes.
Our advice is don't treat this as a serious attraction of its own right, simply see it as a different and unusual way of crossing the river between the Bund and Pudong. You will have pumping music, psychedelic blinking lights, occasional blow-up people and eccentric commentaries that accompany the short journey - it’s showy, it’s tacky, but it’s good for a giggle. Plus the kids would enjoy it.
| Attraction Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Attraction: | Bund Tourist Tunnel (外滩观光隧道) | |
| Address: | 300 Zhongshan East No 1 Rd, Huangpu District (Bund side) 中山东一路外滩300号 (浦西) | |
| Getting there: | nearest metro station is "Nanjing East Rd" (南京东路),  Line 2 & 9 | |
| Opening hours: | daily 8am - 10pm | |
| Admission: | RMB 45 one way, RMB 55 return | |
| Website: | ||
| More information: |
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| Map: | View Shanghai 4 Kids in a larger map | |
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