Jing'an: Where Shanghai's Past Meets Its Gleaming Present
Step into Jing'an and you'll find yourself caught between two Shanghais. Ancient temples stand in the shadow of shopping malls. A modest wooden house where Mao once lived sits surrounded by luxury boutiques. West Nanjing Road pulses with the energy of one of Shanghai's premier shopping districts, while quieter parks nearby offer glimpses of daily life—older residents dancing, people hunched over Chinese chess. This district rewards those who look beyond the obvious: the tourists photographing the famous temple entrance often miss the sculpture park nearby, the excellent museums, and the genuine neighbourhood restaurants tucked into basement food courts and side streets.
The Temple and Its Surroundings
Jing'an Temple is the district's gravitational centre—a large Buddhist temple whose name translates as Temple of Peace and Tranquility, said to have been built in 247 CE. The temple itself, easily reached from the Jing'An Temple Metro Station (lines 2 and 7), draws visitors seeking quiet contemplation, though the bustle of the mall directly above its entrance offers a stark contrast to what those early builders might have imagined.
Beyond the temple proper, the district rewards wandering. Just a block north on the side street where the westernmost metro exit emerges, you'll find several restaurants and a less crowded experience than the main thoroughfare. The small house where Chairman Mao Tse Tung stayed during his early Communist Party days still stands—now a modest museum—positioned between the main Kerry Centre and the Shangri-la hotel. The jarring juxtaposition of this humble structure amid gleaming luxury is perhaps more revealing about Shanghai's transformation than any formal monument could be.
Museums and Unexpected Landmarks
The Shanghai Natural History Museum sits on Beijing West Road, close to its own metro station on Line 1. With specimens and exhibitions that span natural history, it offers a substantial half-day of exploration, and admission remains inexpensive. The museum is closed on Mondays except during China's Golden Week holidays.
For something more peculiar, seek out the EVA Unit-01 statue on Wanrong Road—a 25-metre-tall sculpture modelled after the iconic mecha from the Japanese anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. It holds the Guinness World Record as the world's largest anime sculpture and stands permanently free to visit.
Jing'an Park itself, with its lake and walking paths, offers a quieter respite. The Southeast corner is where you're likely to find people playing Chinese chess (xiangqi) or Go (weiqi)—games you can join if you know how to play. The park is also where you'll see the tai chi and dancing groups that are part of Shanghai's everyday rhythm.
Shopping and Commerce Along Nanjing Road
West Nanjing Road is Shanghai's premier shopping district. High-end name brands cluster here, though prices tend to run higher than you'd find elsewhere. The side streets and Beijing Road (running parallel to the north) offer broader selections—everything from electronics to everyday goods mixed in with the designer shops.
The major malls cluster near Jing'An Temple Metro Station. The Jingan Kerry Center sits directly above the station entrance and houses restaurants, clothes shops, a cinema, and an Ole' supermarket stocking Western goods at premium prices. The Jiu Guang Shopping Mall, launched in partnership with the Japanese Sogo chain, has a distinctly Japanese character and houses CoCo Ichibanya curry restaurant in its basement. Reel Shanghai is newer and upmarket, with a busy food court. Shanghai Centre, a three-tower complex with an eight-storey base, offers high-end shopping, multiple restaurants, and a pleasant ground-level coffee shop in the back left corner as you face the street.
Eating in Jing'an: From Bargains to Indonesian Romance
The district's food scene ranges from basement food courts to restaurants with actual views. The budget end is genuine: Saizeriya offers decent plates of pasta for less than ¥20 with all-you-can-drink soft drinks available at lunch. CoCo Ichibanya in the Jiuguang basement serves curry with a spice rating system from 1 (mild) to 5 (hot), with seasonal items rotating through the menu. Yang's Dumpling at 328 North Maoming Road in the Huangpuhui shopping mall, the original location since 1994, makes shengjianbao (fried dumplings) fresh to order—a Shanghai specialty worth seeking out even when there's a queue.
For something more substantial, Bali Laguana offers Indonesian food in a romantic setting overlooking a small pool near Huashan Road, particularly attractive at night. An excellent Indonesian restaurant sits about a block north of Nanjing Road on the side street where the westernmost exit from the Temple metro station comes out, though it carries higher prices than the mall food courts.
Mid-range options include Tonkatsu Qitiao in the Reel basement for Japanese pork cutlet, Lavazza for Italian coffee and pasta with outdoor seating useful for language exchange meetups, or Dos Locos in the Kerry Centre for oversized burritos and tacos.
What to Do Beyond Walking
The Shanghai Acrobatics Show runs nightly inside a hotel theater at 1376 West Nanjing Road (within the Ritz-Carlton building). The 90-minute show packs impressive circus acts in rapid succession—arrive on time because the good acts run from the start. Weekend tickets should be booked in advance. The Shanghai Exhibition Centre, built in the 1950s as the tallest building in Shanghai at 110 metres, still functions as a landmark and exhibition space, though its main interest is architectural.
When to Visit
Spring and autumn offer mild conditions for walking the district's streets and sitting in Jing'an Park. Summer brings heat and humidity that makes the underground malls and museums more appealing refuges. Winter is cool but not harsh, and the shoulder seasons draw fewer visitors to the temple entrance.
Jing'an isn't a place of obvious wonders, but rather one where patience and curiosity reveal genuine texture—a Buddhist temple that has survived centuries, markets full of ordinary Shanghai life, restaurants serving real food to real people alongside the designer boutiques. The district rewards those willing to walk its side streets and sit in its parks, finding the city as it actually is beneath the shopping mall veneer.