Jack Laugher of Britain took the bronze, scoring 488.20, and edging Illya Kvasha of Ukraine, who placed fourth.
"I made a mistake in the third dive (307C, Reverse 3.5 somersaults), it was because I had a shoulder injury and I was too careful to stretch my arms in this dive," He said.
"I faced strong challenges from my closest opponents, like my team-mate Cao and Jack [Laugher]. But I enjoyed every competition, I am happy with the gold," He added.
Though one step shy of making World Cup history, Cao said he learned a lot from the competition and enjoyed competing in both the springboard and platform events.
The medallists in the men's 3m springboard in Shanghai
"For me, it was a challenging schedule as I competed in three events with seven competitions in four days and I grabbed two golds and one silver. It is beyond my expectation. I never thought I could win three medals. I also learned a lot from the other divers," said 19-year-old Cao.
"It is the first time that I'm competing in the individual 3m springboard at a big meet. I'm a platform diver but I feel great diving on the springboard," continued Cao.
He Chong of China
Jack Laugher earned a day-high 102.60 points for his fifth dive (109C) which helped him collect his first World Cup bronze medal.
"It is an unexpected medal. I have made big progress since last year as I turned to be a professional diver. I trained full day and worked very hard," Laugher admitted.