Shanghai has made an effort to develop the city tourism mainly featuring "city scenery", "city culture", and "city commerce". The municipal government has gradually mapped out three tourism itineraries. The itinerary for city tours, business, and shopping is organized around the People's Square and both sides of the Huang Pu River. The itinerary for cultural tours around the city is organized in the public entertainment places and communities. The itinerary for recreation and holiday in the outer suburbs is organized around Mount She, Dian Shan Lake, the deepwater port and the Chong Ming Island.

The architecture of Shanghai has its own characters. The Bund, the Stone-gate buildings, the different kinds of Shanghai style constructions, the modern installations which make an assemblage of different styles of architecture, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign are worth visiting.