The Shanghai Ocean Aquarium sits at the foot of the Lujiazui towers, a few minutes from the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Huangpu riverfront. It opened in 2002 and is laid out by geography, moving from China's rivers and lakes through Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, the polar regions and finally the open ocean.
The tunnel
The centrepiece is an acrylic tunnel about 155 metres long, one of the longest aquarium tunnels in the world, passing beneath a large ocean tank. Visitors ride a moving walkway along most of its length, with sharks, rays, groupers and turtles passing overhead and to the sides. It is the part of the aquarium that justifies the ticket, and the light in the tank makes it work as well for adults as for children. A second, warmer section of the tunnel passes beneath a coral reef tank.
What else there is
The Chinese section is the most distinctive part of the collection, with tanks devoted to species from the Yangtze and from China's lakes and rivers, including rare and endangered fish that most foreign visitors will never have seen. Further along there are penguins, seals and sea otters in the cold-water zone, a Southeast Asian mangrove and freshwater display, and a coral reef tank with reef fish, morays and a large number of soft corals. Touch pools and feeding talks run at set times through the day.
Visiting practically
Allow two to three hours. Tickets are cheaper for children and there are family packages, and booking online usually avoids the worst of the queue. The aquarium is extremely busy on weekends, school holidays and rainy days, so a weekday morning is far more comfortable. The route is largely one-way and fully accessible, with lifts and step-free access through the tunnels, and there is a cafe and shop at the exit. Lockers are available for bags.
Getting there
Lujiazui station on Line 2 is the nearest metro stop, and the aquarium is also within walking distance of the Dongchang Road ferry landing, which makes a pleasant approach across the river from the Bund. Because it is surrounded by the district's main sights, it combines well with the Oriental Pearl Tower or an ascent of one of the supertall towers on the same day.
