Metro City (美罗城): The Glass Sphere Where the Anime Trail Starts
Mentioned in 2 local notesFree entry · metro-linked
You can't miss it: a shopping centre from 1998 wearing a giant glass sphere, right on the Xujiahui interchange. What our field notes care about is what's inside now — Metro City has become the front door of Shanghai's anime-and-merch scene (吃谷, "eating goods", in the local slang). One note plots an entire trail across the city and starts it here; the other maps a full Xujiahui day with the sphere as its retail stop.
The headline tenant arrived in July 2025: China's first official SHONEN JUMP SHOP, with a JUMP-themed cafe a floor up — joining POP MART, Sanrio's Gift Gate and a rotating cast of character stores.
The essentials
| What | Xujiahui's glass-sphere mall (opened 1998), now anchored by anime and character retail — JUMP Shop and cafe, POP MART, Sanrio and friends |
|---|---|
| Where | 1111 Zhaojiabang Road 肇嘉浜路1111号, Xuhui District |
| Metro | Xujiahui 徐家汇 (Lines 1 / 9 / 11) — exit 10 connects directly to the mall |
| Cost | Free entry; your wallet's fate depends on your fandoms |
| Hours | Mall standard, roughly 10:00–22:00 daily |
| Booking | None for the mall; big character-shop launches sometimes control entry — ask Kora what's on |
Why locals rate it
Because it's the trailhead. The note that coined the route runs Metro City → Joy City → ZX Chuangqu Chang and onwards — a full day of IP shops, blind boxes and merch floors — and this is the stop with the density to decide whether the rest is your kind of day. The other note treats it as the food-and-retail leg of a Xujiahui afternoon: the area's cathedral, library and park first, sphere last. Rice-burger sets with free refills earn a specific shout-out.
- Use metro exit 10. It feeds straight into the mall — in Shanghai's summer rain or August heat, that's the difference between arriving and arriving soaked.
- Launch days are a different sport. New character-shop openings and limited drops can mean controlled entry and serious queues. Tell Kora which shop you're after and we'll check the state of play that morning.
- The floors shuffle constantly — anime retail turns over faster than any directory. If you've crossed town for one specific store, have Kora confirm it still exists before you set off.
- Paying: blind boxes and merch counters are QR-first like everywhere — have Alipay working before the impulse strikes.
Around it
Xujiahui's own circuit (cathedral, library, park) fills the rest of the day, and a 20-minute walk north brings you to the Wukang Mansion corner for the classic photograph. The full ranked list is on the Shanghai local map.
Sources
Compiled from 2 public Xiaohongshu field notes by Shanghai locals — roughly 21,000 likes between them at collection time (14 July 2026; each note covers several places):
Text and photos in the original notes belong to their authors; everything above is rewritten in our own words and we don't republish their photos. The JUMP Shop opening and tenant line-up verified against 2025 public reporting — shop line-ups change fast, so treat specifics as a snapshot. Compiled by Kora's team on the ground in China.
First time in China? Kora checks the drops, confirms the shop still exists, and fixes the payment before the queue moves.
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