China · Shanghai Shi · Shanghai
Puxi, Shanghai — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Puxi is the historic core of Shanghai west of the Huangpu River, facing the towers of Pudong across the water.
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Where to stay in Puxi
Where the beds are, and what that means for the visit.
Puxi holds most of Shanghai's hotels. It is the residential and commercial heart of the city, the side of the Huangpu River where visitors have long chosen to stay rather than in the newer financial towers of Pudong across the water. Base yourself here for the shikumen lanes and the older streetscape.
The Art Deco stock runs deep.
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About Puxi
What are the main landmarks in Puxi?
Puxi's character is written in its buildings. The shikumen houses blend Chinese courtyard forms with European design flair, and the district carries one of the world's richest collections of Art Deco. Western styles line the streets.
Concessions controlled by Western powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries left neighbourhoods across Puxi built in a mix of European manners, a legacy that still shapes the walk down almost any older lane.
What is the history of Puxi?
Puxi is the historic center of Shanghai. Its shape owes much to the concessions controlled by Western powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when European builders raised the shikumen houses and the Art Deco fronts that still define its lanes. The old city grew here first.
Even as Pudong rose across the Huangpu River and Lujiazui filled with towers, Puxi held its place as the cultural, residential and commercial center of Shanghai.
Where is Puxi?
Puxi lies on the west bank of the Huangpu River, distinguished from Pudong on the far shore and remaining the residential and commercial center of Shanghai.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Puxi?
Puxi: old-Shanghai streetscape stays.
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More areas in Shanghai
Updated October 2026