Shanghai's Revolutionary New GPS Walking Tours

By Ned Kelly, November 1, 2024

Originally from the Northeast of England, 20 year veteran of the tourist industry Mike Norton arrived in Shanghai in 2009 with the first double-decker tour buses in China.

Ever the innovator, he recently launched GPS Walks, which works through a WeChat mini-program, meaning you can begin your tour at any time you like, and stop and start whenever and wherever you please.

We caught up with Norton to hear more about his Shanghai walking tour revolution… and his mission to do away with notorious flag-wielding, sidewalk-hogging tour groups.

How did GPS Walks come about?
When you join a walking tour, you normally join a group which assembles at specific times, maybe only once or twice a month.

It moves slowly too, because everybody has to gather around a guide when they have something to say. If you stop to take a picture, you need to catch up; if someone else stops, everyone needs to wait.

What I wanted to do was create an experience for people to be able to explore the city on their own terms, without the need for tour guides or to be a part of large groups.

Shanghai has a great history and so many historic buildings, but sometimes the interesting stories behind those places, and some of the great characters that made Shanghai their home, aren’t told.

There’s often something really interesting hidden down a lane that we walk past every day, but we had no idea it existed.

I created these GPS Walks to give people a chance to explore the city and find a few things that perhaps might surprise them.

How does it work?
It works through a WeChat mini-program, which uses your location to play commentary automatically so that, while you walk, you can listen and focus on your surroundings.

You can start our walks at any time and stop whenever and wherever you like, for as long as you like. You don’t even need to hit pause; when you start moving again, the playback will continue.

You can follow your progress on the map, but the commentary also gives you directions, so you don’t need to be glued to your screen.

What can people expect from a tour?
We have seven tours online now, each one lasting around one-and-a-half hours. On each tour, we have some well known and famous places, and great photo opportunities, but also some hidden gems tucked away for people to discover.

The aim is to pick out the stories that bring a bit of Old Shanghai to life, and go a little bit deeper than the dry statistics there might be on the plaque on the outside of a building.

I’ve done a lot of exploring in recent times, which has been great!

We heard you also tailor-make tour routes for clients?
We do. We work with 5-star hotels and corporate clients to create bespoke routes. We can start the tour from your front door and create custom branded tours that can be used to enhance guest experience or reward loyalty club members.