The Shanghai Tower's 118th floor is the highest public deck on Earth at about 180 RMB, but it cannot show you the tower itself.
The Shanghai Tower's 118th floor is the highest public observation deck on Earth, about ¥180 (USD 27), and on a clear evening the view is enormous. But here is the catch nobody tells you: from inside the tallest tower you cannot see the tallest tower. If what you want is that postcard skyline with the three giants stacked together, the SWFC skywalk at 100F or Jin Mao at 88F frame it better and cost less, and a Bund rooftop bar gives you the same picture with you in it for the price of one cocktail.
Good to know
- Good for: a first visit, visitors you want to impress, a clear-day splurge, or a cheaper calm look from Jin Mao.
- What you'll pay: roughly ¥120 to ¥180 (USD 18 to 27) per deck, more for combos; a rooftop-bar view costs the price of a drink.
- Make the most of it: go about an hour before sunset on a clear day, book the day before on the deck's own 公众号 or Trip.com, and check the air first, haze flattens the whole thing.
The four Shanghai observation decks, ranked
Four supertall decks sit within a ten-minute walk of each other in Lujiazui, Pudong, plus the Oriental Pearl across the little canal. They are not interchangeable: the highest is not the standout photo, and the cheapest is often the calmest. Here is the honest shape of it before you pick, with 2026 ticket bands converted at about 6.7 RMB to USD.
| Deck | Height | Ticket, late 2026 | What makes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Tower (上海中心) 118F | 632m tower, 546m deck | ¥180 (USD 27), damper combo ¥268 (USD 40) | The highest deck on Earth, the widest view |
| SWFC (环球金融中心) 100F | 492m tower, 474m deck | ¥120 to ¥180 (USD 18 to 27) | The glass skywalk, and it frames the other icons |
| Jin Mao Tower (金茂大厦) 88F | 421m tower, 340m deck | ¥120 (USD 18), half-price some daytime slots | Cheapest, calmest, classic art-deco spire |
| Oriental Pearl (东方明珠) | 468m tower | ¥160 to ¥220 (USD 24 to 33) by combo | Glass floor plus a genuinely good city-history museum |
Prices move with the combo you choose and the odd promotion, so treat these as the range, not a quote, and confirm on the operator's own channel before you go.
Shanghai Tower, 118F: the highest view there is
The Shanghai Tower is the second-tallest building in the world at 632 metres, and its 118th-floor deck at 546 metres is the highest public observation deck anywhere, a fact worth the trip once and one of the Shanghai world records you can actually visit. The lift is its own event: it climbs at about 20 metres a second, one of the fastest on the planet, and your ears pop before the doors open on a floor-to-ceiling view that runs to the horizon. On a clear evening you see the whole city curl around the Huangpu. The honest weakness is the one in the name. You are standing inside the icon, so the icon is missing from your photo, and the thick curved glass throws reflections after dark that a phone camera fights. Go for the altitude and the sheer scale, not for the classic three-towers shot.
From inside the tallest tower, the tallest tower is the one thing you cannot photograph, which is why the standout skyline shot is rarely from the highest deck.
SWFC, 100F: the glass skywalk that frames the icons
The Shanghai World Financial Center, the one locals call the bottle opener, tops out at 492 metres, and its 100th-floor skywalk is the one most people end up loving. You walk a glass-floored corridor with the city glowing straight down beneath your feet, and because you are standing just east of the Shanghai Tower and Jin Mao, you look across at them rather than out of them. That is the frame that reads as Shanghai. Tickets run about ¥120 to ¥180 (USD 18 to 27) depending on which floors you add. If you only have the appetite and the budget for one deck and you want the recognisable skyline in your camera, this is the pick.
Jin Mao and the Oriental Pearl: the cheaper classics
Jin Mao Tower is the elegant art-deco spire between the other two, and its 88th-floor deck at 340 metres is the quiet-value option, usually about ¥120 (USD 18) and sometimes half that in daytime slots. It is calmer, it looks up into the Shanghai Tower beautifully, and its atrium, a dizzying inner well ringed by hotel balconies, is a sight on its own. The Oriental Pearl Tower across the canal is the dated-but-beloved choice: combo tickets run about ¥160 to ¥220 (USD 24 to 33), the top glass floor is a thrill for kids, and the Shanghai History Museum in its base is genuinely one of the better small museums in town. For first-timers and families it earns the ticket; for a pure view, the glass towers win.
The honest alternative: a rooftop, or the free Bund
Here is the move the ticket counters will not suggest. A drink at a Bund-side rooftop bar costs about the same as a deck ticket, around ¥100 to ¥180 (USD 15 to 27) for a cocktail, and you get the entire Pudong skyline lit up across the water with you in the frame, a seat, and no queue through a turnstile. Our guide to Shanghai rooftop bars worth the price sorts the ones that earn it. And the view costs nothing at all from the Bund promenade itself or from the quieter sunset spots we mapped. A deck is for the altitude and the novelty; the skyline itself is free.
Which one is for you
If you want to say you stood on the highest deck on Earth, book the Shanghai Tower 118F on a clear evening. If you want the classic skyline in your photos for one ticket, choose the SWFC 100F skywalk. If you want the calmest look for the least money, take Jin Mao 88F. If you have children or it is your first week in the city, the Oriental Pearl plus its history museum is the most fun. And if you would rather sit with a drink in the picture than queue to look out of it, skip the decks and take a rooftop or the free Bund.
Which Shanghai observation deck has the standout view?
For the classic skyline photo, the SWFC 100th-floor skywalk is the standout, because it looks across at the Shanghai Tower and Jin Mao rather than out from inside them. For sheer altitude the Shanghai Tower 118F is unmatched at 546 metres. The highest deck and the standout photo are not the same deck, which surprises most first-time visitors.
How much does the Shanghai Tower observation deck cost in 2026?
A standard Shanghai Tower 118F ticket is about ¥180 (USD 27), covering the B1 exhibition hall and the 118th-floor deck. A combo that adds the tuned-mass-damper viewing floor runs about ¥268 (USD 40). Booking a day ahead on the tower's own 公众号 or on Trip.com is usually the same price or a little cheaper than the on-site counter.
When is the right time to go up a Shanghai tower?
Arrive about an hour before sunset on a clear day, so you catch the city in daylight, the sunset, and the lights coming on in one visit. Check the air quality first, because haze flattens the view more than cloud does. Weekends and holidays queue hard, so a weekday evening is calmer.
Is the Oriental Pearl Tower worth it?
For a pure view, the glass towers across the canal beat it. The Oriental Pearl earns its ticket for families and first-timers, thanks to the glass-floor thrill and a small Shanghai city-history museum in its base, one of the better small museums in the city. If you are travelling with children, it is the most fun of the four.
Sources · 资料来源
- Shanghai Tower (上海中心大厦) official observatory, “The Top of Shanghai” 118F deck, height and ticket information. shanghaitower.com
- Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism (上海市文化和旅游局), Lujiazui landmark attraction listings and official ticket notices. english.shanghai.gov.cn
- Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Shanghai Tower 632m and SWFC 492m height records. skyscrapercenter.com
As the Dao De Jing has it, 千里之行，始于足下, a journey of a thousand miles begins beneath your feet. The tallest view in the world still starts with one lift ride and a clear evening.
Words, maps and research by the Choice Shanghai team. Please credit us and tag our 公众号 if you share.
