Using an eSIM in Shanghai

What Shanghai is like on a phone

Shanghai mixes business travellers and holidaymakers more thoroughly than anywhere else in the country. The eastern bank is finance and towers; the western bank is plane trees, walkable streets and small shops. The metro is broad and deep, so you spend more time underground than you expect. As in the rest of the country, a travel eSIM roams onto a local network here, and some overseas apps and sites may not be reachable unless you have made your own arrangements in advance.

À l'atterrissage

Long-haul flights mostly land at Pudong (PVG), well out from the centre, connected by metro, by the magnetic-levitation line, or by taxi. Hongqiao (SHA) is closer in and shares a building with a high-speed rail station. Turn the eSIM on in the cabin so registration finishes before the border desk. On the metro in, the signal runs continuously through the tunnels — but keep the hotel address saved in Chinese in case you switch to a taxi.

Où la couverture change

Both banks are well served and the metro works in the stations and on board. Where you notice a difference is in the mezzanines and stacked basements of the big office towers, where lifts and deep lobbies go briefly quiet. On the observation floors of the tall buildings it works but wobbles, as the handset keeps switching between masts. The historic waterfront slows in the early-evening hour when every visitor arrives at once, while the leafy old streets stay normal even under heavy tree cover.

What a day here costs in data

A day here runs about 1–1.5GB, more if you are working, because mail and attachments never stop. Anyone riding several metro lines keeps the map open longer than usual, since the big interchanges have many exits and the wrong one costs several minutes of walking. If you need video calls with the office at home, test the channel on the first evening and allow for long calls, which consume more than a whole day of sightseeing.

Districts travellers ask about

• Lujiazui — The eastern finance cluster of towers linked by elevated walkways; the walkways are strong, while high-speed lifts and the deepest basement levels go briefly quiet.
• The Bund waterfront — The western promenade where everyone gathers at dusk to watch the lights opposite; speeds visibly sag in that hour, so shoot now and upload once you are back at the hotel.
• The former concession streets — Tree-lined streets of cafés and old houses, good for a long walk and connected the whole way; a comfortable district to sit down and clear an hour of work mid-day.
• Jing'an — Mid-city blocks where an old temple sits among offices and malls; strong across the district, with the station-linked basements slowing a little at going-home hour.

Day trips out of the city

• Hangzhou — Under an hour by high-speed train, with short tunnel stumbles on board; the lakeside is well served while the tea terraces on the hills behind it thin out. Check the return trains before you start climbing.
• Suzhou — Gardens and canals, comfortable as a day trip; inside the walled gardens with their covered walkways the line softens but holds. Some gardens want tickets booked ahead and the conditions shift with the season, so check the official notices.
• Zhujiajiao water town — An old canal town west of the city, reached by a long metro line or a bus; in the tight lanes along the water the line goes patchy, so save the boat landing and your meeting point before you walk in.