What to see
Is it worth going up the Oriental Pearl Tower?
Whether it is worth going up depends entirely on what you want from it: if you want the city view, the tower is the weakest way to get one, because from up there you cannot see the tower itself and the best view of it is from the far bank; if you want to stand on a glass floor once, take children up somewhere high, or be inside the building on every postcard, it holds up. The one thing to check before buying is whether the air is clear that day, because on a hazy day the time and the money buy a band of fog.
Last updated3 min read
The Oriental Pearl Tower is the city’s most photographed building. Most people who buy a ticket want to see Shanghai from it, which is what it does worst.
The straight answer: the view weak, the glass floor strong
Whether going up is worth it depends entirely on what you want. If the aim is the city view, the tower is one of the poorest returns in Shanghai; if the aim is to stand on glass and look down, take children up somewhere high, or be inside the building printed on every postcard, it works at once. What it sells is not a view but an experience and a piece of the city’s identity. Check the weather before you pay; it matters more than any guide.
What it gives you
The observation deck is the weakest: glass reflects the room, the building sets your position, and you see the Pudong that lacks the tower. The glass floor is the strongest: streets, traffic and the river under your feet, a sensation found nowhere else, though it rules out anyone afraid of heights and rewards anyone willing to queue. The revolving restaurant sells a seat, shelter and a meal with the view turning past the window, suiting people who want to sit rather than people who want only the view. The museum at the base explains how the building and Pudong grew, is small, and most useful while waiting or in rain. The last item is being inside the building: the city’s calling card, where standing inside differs from looking at it, emotional rather than visual.
The real problem, and the three choices
The tower is the thing you look at, not the thing you look from. Once up, it is absent from the view, and the city’s best photograph is the one that contains it; the best place to see the tower is the far bank, where you take it in whole for nothing. The choice is between categories: a tower deck gives height and proof you have been up, at the price of glass, crowds and queuing; a rooftop bar gives the same height, more immediacy and a seat, at the price of a bill; the free riverside gives the lights, the reflections and the building itself, at the price of no view from above. The taller observation decks across the river sell the overview, this tower sells the identity, and both share one flaw: neither shows you the building you stand in.
Queuing, weather, who should go
A ticket does not get you in. Security, the ticket check, the wait for a lift and a split by level string the visit out of queues, longer on public holidays and slower than people expect, so do not wedge it between two sights. Weather is the one thing to check: on a clear day the river, the bank opposite and the skyline layer away and the street under the glass floor is sharp; in haze everything flattens into grey and the time and money buy fog. Go if you are with children, if you want the glass floor, or if you have never been up a tower; skip it if you came for the view, if time is short, or if you dislike queues or heights. The free alternative is the far bank embankment: the tower, both banks and the lights, no queuing. Opening arrangements vary with season and events, so confirm the day’s details before you go. The honest version: go for the glass floor and the building; skip it if what you wanted was the view.