Review of a Private Tech Tour with Locals: A Day of Shanghai’s Tech Scene
Here is an honest review of a curated Private Tech Tour with Locals in Shanghai by the Shanghai Squad.
Shanghai is often described as “futuristic,” but that word gets thrown around so loosely. I always want to design tours that are themed and segment-focused. We have so many citywalks, foodie tours, historic tours, etc. and yesterday, I spent a full day on a private Next-Gen Tech Discovery Tour explicitly designed for visitors with a curious mind.
This wasn’t a conference, a showroom crawl, or a corporate PR experience. It was a carefully paced, locally hosted tech day that showed how advanced technologies are already embedded in daily life in Shanghai — from transportation to retail to payment — all guided by a Shanghainese host Larry who genuinely enjoys hosting guests and explaining how things work. He was fun, knowledgeable and understood my curiosity and expectations. I could see how wholeheartedly he designed this unique tour.
The tour is offered by The Shanghai Squad (https://www.the-shanghai-squad.com), and here’s what the experience was actually like.
Pre-tour: One thing I appreciated immediately: the tour prioritises efficiency and realism.
Instead of private vans or artificial setups, the itinerary intentionally uses metro and public transport, with ride-hailing only when it genuinely saves time. This makes the experience feel grounded in how locals actually move through the city and use various unique technologies in their daily lives, so it is not staged for visitors.
It’s also important to note that the fee is reasonably priced, with a breakdown of the fixed guiding fee by the hour and any extra expenses — admissions, transport, and meals — paid at cost, with a transparent post-tour breakdown. As someone who runs concierge and private tours myself, I value this kind of clarity and honesty.
Morning: China’s EV Ecosystem Up Close
The day started at a premium EV showroom inside Shanghai Tower, where we inspected flagship models from leading Chinese electric-vehicle brands
What made this interesting wasn’t just the cars themselves, but the conversation around:
how competitive the domestic EV market is,
why design, software, and battery strategy matter so much in China,
and how fast iteration cycles differ from Western auto brands.
There’s also an optional observation deck visit (ticketed separately), which offers panoramic views of Shanghai — a useful visual anchor for understanding the city's scale and infrastructure. I didn’t go to the top, as I had been there many times with other guests, but we still made it halfway to the highest bookstore, where we could enjoy the beautiful view with a special drink at the cafe.
Battery Swapping & Autonomous Driving — Not as Demos, but as Reality
Electric Vehicle Battery Swap Demonstration
Next, we visited a NIO battery swap station, where we witnessed how rapid battery swapping works in practice — a key part of China’s EV infrastructure strategy.
This wasn’t a showroom explanation. You see the process, understand the timing, and discuss why this model suits dense urban environments like Shanghai.
Level-4 Robotaxi Ride with Pony.ai
Shortly after, we experienced a Level-4 autonomous robotaxi ride with Pony.ai, operating on public roads within the Pudong pilot zone.
As a guest, sitting inside a fully autonomous vehicle in live city traffic is one of those moments that really resets your sense of “what’s already happening” versus “what’s still experimental.” It was very efficient! I felt safe in the automated vehicle with a screen that I can track the routes and the estimated arrival time to where we are headed for lunch. However, I think it will take more than a decade to have this fully implemented throughout the city, this might not work in the downtown city centre.
Lunch in a Real Local Commercial Hub
Lunch took place at a modern commercial complex in Huamu, which locals consider a place where shops, offices, and restaurants are newly assembled in a very decent space, with both indoor and outdoor landscapes, and the architecture there was very refreshing. It is not a curated dining stop for tourists. The lunch break was intentionally placed and paced — not just to eat, but to absorb what we’d already seen and talk through questions before moving on to the afternoon experiences.
Afternoon: When Tech Meets Everyday Life
Drone Delivery Afternoon Tea
In a local park, we experienced automated drone food delivery in a normal public park setting
What stood out here wasn’t spectacle but normalisation. This wasn’t framed as “look at this crazy future thing” but as one of many logistics solutions already being tested and refined in urban China. Larry helped me select a delightful tea to be delivered by the drones within minutes of our arrival at the park. So seamless. Love this hands-on experience, and the cost is the same as ordering a normal food delivery in Shanghai.
E-Bike City Ride
I I was lucky with the weather, sunny and mild at 18 °c. Larry took me to an e-bike shop I had walked past a hundred times but never heard of. Bijen, a Dutch-designed micro-mobility solution, offers a tactile way to understand last-mile transport in the city. This is my favourite part of the tour. If you have never tried an electric-powered bicycle before (with pedals!), you must give this a go. It’s like driving a car for the very first time. We rode the Bijen bike through the beautiful former French concession for 20 min, 10km. It was so much fun, and the route was very scenic! Highly recommend, even if you aren’t doing the tech tour as they have two locations in the city with hourly and daily rental! What a good find!
Retail, Payment & Human-Machine Interaction
New Retail & Taobao Vision
Later in the afternoon, we took a quick one-stop subway and walked through the Yuyuan Road area to explore “New Retail” concepts, including immersive shopping technologies using AR/VR/XR, framed around how online and offline retail are increasingly merging in China. I could see a lot of potential in this technology growing into everyday life.
“Pay by Palm” or “Pay by Face”
At a local convenience store, after Larry’s demonstration of biometric payment, using either palm or facial recognition, I finally experienced paying with just my palm — no phone, no wallet. However, the facial recognition only works with local Chinese with ID cards.
Again, what’s striking is not the technology itself, but how casually it’s integrated into daily transactions.
Ending the Day with Robotics & Wearable Tech
Humanoid experience
The final stop was an interactive robotics and exoskeleton trial at Global Harbour Mall, where guests can engage directly with humanoid robots and wearable exoskeleton technology.
It’s a fitting end to the day — something to anticipate, the products are already being sold to consumers, and so much potential for the future. The experience was hands-on, curious, and human — rather than abstract. Can you imagine these humanoids will be our caretakers at home in the near future, just like the movie Bicentennial Man? Love that movie and I can see it is coming true in reality!
The final stop was an interactive robotics and exoskeleton trial at Global Harbour Mall, where guests can engage directly with humanoid robots and wearable exoskeleton technology.
It’s a fitting end to the day — something to anticipate, the products are already being sold to consumers, and so much potential for the future. The experience was hands-on, curious, and human — rather than abstract. Can you imagine these humanoids will be our caretakers at home in the near future, just like the movie Bicentennial Man? Love that movie and I can see it is coming true in reality!
Who This Tour Is For (and Who It Isn’t)
This tour is well-suited for:
International visitors curious about China’s tech ecosystem
Business travelers or founders on short exploratory visits
Repeat Shanghai visitors who want something beyond landmarks
Visiting family with youngsters who love technology and want to be educated
It may not be ideal for:
Guests looking only for classic sightseeing
Travelers who prefer highly scripted group tours
Locals who already know them all
My Verdict
What I appreciated most is that this tour doesn’t try to impress you with hype. It simply lets you observe how technology already functions in Shanghai, guided by someone who understands both local context and international curiosity. I thought 8 hours was a bit long, but we covered a lot! And there was not a dull moment. The logistics and planning were excellent, and Larry treated me and every guest he had as VIPs. What makes Larry great company for a full day isn’t just what he knows, but how he shares it. He doesn’t over-explain, doesn’t assume what you already know, and never rushes questions. I learned so much on this tour, and I cannot replicate it, as I can see Larry and his team put effort into optimising and refining the route and flow. I would recommend and confirm that his testimonials from other guests are genuine, as this one. Simply put, a unique pleasure you don’t get anywhere else.
If you’re visiting Shanghai and want to understand how the city actually works today — not just how it’s marketed — this is a genuinely thoughtful way to spend a day.
Big thanks to Larry for his outstanding guidance, and I hope more guests can enjoy his personable tech tour in Shanghai.
Here is a YouTube video for you to take a look at. Enjoy!
You can learn more about the tour here: https://www.the-shanghai-squad.com
Hi, thanks for reading this blog. I am Genie Yip, a travel experience designer based in Shanghai, helping visiting guests create memorable trips to Shanghai and China. Please feel free to contact me for more curated experiences in Shanghai and China if you are planning a visit or a bespoke tour in the area. I provide curated experiences, itinerary design, private transportation, personal concierge services, and help you connect with the right people for your needs. I take great photos, and know where to taste the best food in the city.