Sometimes the best tour guide is a pair of running shoes. Before 6 a.m. on a September Saturday, I stepped out for a 21.34 km half-marathon loop through central Shanghai and let the city unfold in silence.
I started near Zhongshan Park and slipped onto the Suzhou Creek path. The city was still yawning awake: museum facades mirrored in the water, Jing’an’s skyline stretching its shadows. Around the 6 km mark the Oriental Pearl Tower appeared, its pink spheres glowing softly through the haze like lanterns waiting for dusk.
The route carried me along the Bund, where art deco facades square off against Pudong’s glass towers across the Huangpu. Running there at sunrise feels like reading a history book while someone sketches in a new chapter beside you.
By 15 km I rolled into Xuhui Riverside (徐汇滨江), a redeveloped promenade that always feels a step removed from the city’s noise. The boardwalk widened, a river breeze swept in, and that was enough to launch the final push north.
- Distance: 21.34 km
- Time: 1:50:05
- Average Pace: 5'10"/km
- Calories Burned: 1,272 kcal
- Fastest Split: 4'33"/km
When I returned to the start, Shanghai had shifted gears: buses groaning, office workers clutching coffee, the weekend already in motion. I had my kilometers banked, my endorphins stacked, and a quiet tour of the city finished before breakfast.
Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.