China’s economy has entered a stage of high-quality development. The cultural tourism industry is a key pillar in driving consumption, promoting culture, and enhancing urban soft power. As an international metropolis and the core city of the Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai boasts rich cultural tourism resources, a strong industrial foundation, and considerable policy support. In recent years, the Shanghai cultural tourism market has continued to recover, with inbound tourism and other key indicators reaching new highs. However, compared to the world’s top tourist cities, Shanghai’s cultural tourism industry still faces numerous challenges. Issues such as insufficient supply of high-quality products, low levels of industrial integration, inadequate international service standards, and an imperfect support system are particularly pronounced. This article is based on the actual situation in Shanghai, summarizing the achievements and advantages of its cultural tourism industry. It analyzes the main bottlenecks restricting high-quality development. From five aspects—deep integration of culture and tourism, empowerment through digital technology, collaborative industrial synergy, enhancement of international capabilities, and improvement of the support system—practical development paths are proposed. This research aims to assist Shanghai in building a world-renowned tourist city while providing ideas and references for the high-quality development of urban cultural tourism in China.