Free Things to Do

Free Things to Do

From free booze to free music and art, Shanghai has a lot to offer if you're a bit short on cash or just plain cheap.

Free Art

M50. The galleries at Moganshan Lu are all free, so you can browse to your heart's content.[. Putuo District, North Shanghai

Studio Rouge. This little gallery near the Bund always has a good representation of the latest in Chinese art.[. Huangpu District, Bund and Nanjing Dong Lu

Bund Museum. Check out photos that show the history of the Bund in this quirky little building.[. Huangpu District, Bund and Nanjing Dong Lu

Wenmiao. On Sunday it only costs Y1 to get into the book market and have a look at the temple.[. Huangpu District, Old City

No one will charge you for popping your head into buildings such as the Bank of China, Peace Hotel, and former Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank buildings on the Bund.

Free Drinks

See Shanghai night owls at their wildest at ladies' nights all over town. Drinks for women are mostly free and unlimited (sorry, guys). The queen of them all is on Wednesday night at Zapata's on Hengshan Lu when dancing on the bar is almost compulsory and definitely seems like a good idea after a few free margaritas.

Free Shows

Free shows in Shanghai come and go. The best way to get information is to pick up a copy of one of the great (and also free) English-language magazines at bars, restaurants, shops, and cafés around Shanghai.

Shuffle Bar is a dark, bare bones kind of bar, but it's actually one of Shanghai's better music venues. You might have to pay a cover charge on some nights, but on others you can check out all kinds of music -- from blues to punk -- for absolutely nothing.

Tanghui has an open-mike night on Wednesday from 9 PM on where all kinds of music are welcome.

Free Quintessential Experiences

Set aside some time for random wandering. Shanghai is a great walking city because so many of its real treasures are un-touted: tiny alleyways barely visible on the map, garden squares, shop windows, sudden vistas of skyline or park. With comfortable shoes, walking might well become your favorite free activity here.

Slip into one of Shanghai's numerous parks or green spaces, such as Fuxing Park or Lu Xun Park, to check out the older generation enjoying their retirement.

¢Watch the gentle elegance of tai chi or the sweep of the brush as people practice their calligraphy on the sidewalk in water not ink.

Take your camera and head to the Bund to get your essential shots of that Pudong skyline with the over the top Oriental Pearl Tower sticking out there like a giant syringe. It's impressive during the day, but magical at night.

Get online at the increasing numbers of restaurants and cafés that offer free wireless, including many branches of Starbucks and Arch.

Get into the Chinese Festival spirit with various traditional activities such as seeing the bell ringing at Longhua Temple for New Year, enjoying the lights in the Yu Garden for Lantern Festival that occurs at the end of the Chinese New Year, or gazing at the huge harvest moon for Mid-Autumn Festival.