Things to know before booking your Oriental Pearl Tower tickets
Choose the right ticket for your visit
The Oriental Pearl Radio & Television Tower Ticket is the standard option and includes access to the 263m observation deck, 259m glass skywalk, 90m lower sphere, 78m multimedia show, and Shanghai History Museum. Some variants also include the 351m Space Capsule, the tower's highest observation level.
If you're looking for more than just the views, choose the Lunch/Dinner Buffet package or the Tower + Huangpu River Cruise + City Sightseeing Bus combo to experience Shanghai from multiple perspectives.
Booking & availability
Standard tower tickets are generally available until close to your travel date, but restaurant packages and cruise combos have limited seating and often sell out several days in advance, especially on weekends, public holidays, and during Golden Week. Booking online guarantees your preferred time slot and eliminates the need to purchase tickets onsite.
Entry & elevator access
All visitors enter through the main entrance and pass through airport-style security before boarding the elevators. Pre-booked tickets skip the ticket purchase queue but do not bypass security or elevator lines.
The Lunch/Dinner Buffet ticket with the 267m revolving restaurant includes priority elevator access, making it the best choice if you're visiting during busy periods when elevator waits can exceed an hour.
Dining & combo experiences
The Lunch/Dinner Buffet ticket combines sightseeing with a meal at either the 267m revolving restaurant or the Coca-Cola themed buffet, depending on your selected package. Dining tickets include tower entry and observation deck access, making them a convenient all-in-one option.
For a broader sightseeing experience, the Tower + Huangpu River Cruise + City Sightseeing Bus ticket adds a 45-minute Huangpu River cruise and a 1-day hop-on hop-off bus pass, letting you explore Shanghai by skyline, river, and road without purchasing separate tickets.
Most visitors spend 2–3 hours at the tower, or 4–6 hours if they've booked dining or sightseeing combos. Tickets are single-entry and valid only for the selected date and time slot.
The observation decks and river cruise are weather-dependent, and visibility may be reduced on foggy or polluted days. Most tickets offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before your visit, although cancellation terms vary by ticket type.