Bund Sightseeing Tunnel

The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel is one of Shanghai's more surreal attractions, a short pedestrian tunnel beneath the Huangpu River that carries visitors in small automated cars through a tunnel filled with flashing lights and psychedelic effects. Opened in 2000, it links the historic Bund waterfront with the futuristic skyscrapers of Pudong on the opposite bank.

The ride is deliberately kitschy. Passengers board glass-sided capsules that glide slowly through the tunnel while a sequence of colored lights, projections and a recorded narration evoke abstract themes with names like "meteor shower" and "molten heaven." The experience is brief, a few minutes end to end, and unlike any conventional river crossing.

Its appeal is novelty and convenience. The tunnel connects two of the city's most famous districts, allowing visitors to move between the colonial-era architecture of the Bund and the modern towers of Pudong without returning to street level, while enjoying a lighthearted, if unabashedly gaudy, spectacle along the way.

Opinions divide sharply. Some travelers find the effects charmingly retro and fun, while others consider the ride overpriced for its length; either way, it has become a well-known curiosity of the waterfront and a favorite with families and children.

For visitors, the tunnel is easy to sample. Entrances sit near the northern end of the Bund promenade and beside the Oriental Pearl Tower in Pudong, both reachable on foot and by subway. Most people ride it once as a novelty, often combining it with the riverside views and the landmark towers on either bank. It works best as a light, quirky interlude in a day spent exploring the two shores of the Huangpu, rather than as a destination in its own right, and the effects are most striking after dark.