One of my least favorite tourist activities in Shanghai is the obligatory Bund visit (walk around for 15 minutes, take pictures, throw in an overpriced river cruise, and cap things off with drinks at a pretentious restaurant). However, I've recently begun to appreciate the drill if you prepend it with 5-10 km of walking and/or biking.
When I first came to China, this idea wasn't especially feasible because the river banks were quite industrial. But, for the past ~4 years, everything between the Xupu (Xuhui--Pudong) and Yangpu (Yangpu--Pudong) bridges has been connected by mixed-use trails on both sides.
As I kick off this thread, I can really only comment on the west side of the river, but I will definitely get over to Pudong and give its trail a test drive fairly soon.
The following articles provide a pretty good overview of both sides:
West (Shanghai)
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/article...-huangpu-river
East (Pudong)
https://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/...ide_bike_trail
Moving on, I'd like to add a few insights based on my recent experiences:
-during lockdown, the parks were closed from between the Lupu (Shanghai--Pudong) Bridge and at least Suzhou Creek, so I focused on the Xupu to Lupu sections of the trail, which are surprisingly nice, but maybe not worth the time investment for people on semi-tight schedules (assuming you're planning on ending up on the Bund)
-the pedestrian and bike trails overlap in some areas but run parallel most of the way
-the pedestrian trails are closest to the river in all cases (i.e. nicer), and the bike trails are actually "bike lanes" during ~30% of the span
-I certainly don't want to dismiss (shared) bikes in the slightest, though because they facilitate longer journeys (distance-wise) and it's incredibly easy to ditch them or find new ones as you plod along
-there isn't any need to bring water along with you (vending machines, coffee shops, convenience stores every 1000 meters or so)
-for Lupu Bridge to Suzhou Creek (best part), plan on about 90 minutes if you walk the entire way
-Suzhou Creek to Yangpu Bridge is another ~45 minutes
-Xupu Bridge to Lupu Bridge ~75 minutes