Local Attractions
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Shanghai, China
The Bund
The Bund on Shanghai's waterfront is the biggest showcasing of colonial era buildings. Here, you'll learn the history and economic influences of the area through the exhibits. This renowned waterfront district is the city's most famous landmark. The word "Bund" is of Anglo-Indian origin meaning "embankment on the waterfront". Nowadays it is the ideal dating venue for lovers young and old alike. Many love to come here in evening by the side of the bund to chat and enjoy the beautiful night view with the lights illuminating the highrises by the Huangpu River.
Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai
This temple was first built in 1882 in Jiangwan on the southern outskirts of Shanghai. In order to make it convenient for adherents to visit, it was bodily moved to Shanghai at the present site in 1918. There are seated and reclining statues of the Buddha in exquisitely built and ornately decorated. A few particularly famed statues were carved from whole pieces of white jade from Burma.
Yuyuan Garden
This garden was originally designed in the sixteenth century by a provincial governor, Pan Yun-duan, in honor of his father who was then the government minister. The construction took over twenty years to complete. It is ingeniously laid out to create the feeling of spaciousness within a small area, a garden within a garden with many closely-packed pavilions, serpentine bridges over ponds, rockeries and halls. Trees and flowers fill the landscape and complement the man-made wonders with their natural beauty. The garden is regarded as one of the best gardens from the Ming Dynasty and is ranked as a National Cultural Treasure by the State Council.
Shanghai Old Town
Shanghai Old Street is adjacent to the Yuyuan Garden Bazaar Area with both ends marked by decorated archways. The street can be divided into the eastern and western section. The eastern section keeps the characteristics of residences in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican days. The western section is filled with Ming and Qing style architectures The western section has a number of antique & curio shops as well as restaurants and teahouses, and the eastern sections has a variety of shops including florists, shoe and clothing retailers, noodle restaurants and specialty dealers selling Chinese tea and snacks. Shanghai Old Street is an ideal place to explore the Old Shanghai.
The Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower
The Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower stands in Pudong Park in the new and developing Lujiazui district on the banks of the Huangpu River. With its spire reaching 468 m, the tower was once the tallest structure in the city, but now pales in comparison to the newer additions to the landscape. The design for the Tower incorporates eleven spheres (or "pearls") and three gigantic columns linking the green grass below to the blue sky above. There are six high speed passenger elevators (although there are usually queues) inside the column taking visitors up to the viewing platform which affords great views over the city. One of the most impressive aspects of the building is the lighting. A computer controlled system alternates the light on the tower as the weather condition changes.
Huangpu River
The 97 km long Huangpu River starts from the lake district of Shanghai and flows northeast into the Chang estuary at Wusong. The cruise boat meanders eastward along the golden waterway to the intriguing "three-layer waters" at the Wusong Mouth, with beautiful view emerging one after another. On a starry night, you can see the row of stately buildings at the Bund. This quintessential example ofmodern architecture gives off auras of different colors, painting the night skyline. The splendid array of structures resembles misty ice palaces in a riot of colors - golden yellow, pure white and aquamarine blue.
People's Square
People's Square is a spectacular space in the heart of the city. It is a vast green area covered in plants and trees, and surrounded by city landmarks on all sides. The Square covers an area of 140,000 square meters. In the north lies the Municipal Government Mansion and in the northwest sits the Shanghai Grand Theatre. The Square is particularly spectacular at night, when steam appears to seep out of the roof of the museum and the light bounces off the glass walls of the Grand Theatre.
Former French Concession District
In Shanghai, the French Concession is the most famous among these districts. The Concession once covered an area extending from the Bund to Xiangyang Road. Today, the area known in the city as the French Concession has become remarkably fashionable and charming. Long home to the city's radicals and the base of the Chinese Communist Party, the district is still very outward looking and cosmopolitan in its intellectual life and aesthetic sensibilities. There are some great shops and boutiques around here as well as two of the city's best art galleries. Huaihai Road has always been the most famous road in the district and is named after a famous French general, Xaifei. The streets around Huaihai Road contain a wealth of colonial-era houses, villas and alleys waiting to be discovered. It is nice to just explore the streets, take occasional rests under the parasol trees, discover the old residences around here and dine in some of the city's most trendy restaurants and bistro-bars. There are also some great cake and sweet shops for those with a craving for the creamy delicacies. When you want to sit down to relax and absorb the whole thing, Fuxing Park, is a lovely little area to take a break and watch the locals practicing Tai Chi or flying kites.
Xin Tian Di
Xin Tian Di will be your closest match to what Lan Kwai Fong is to Hong Kong. Indeed, this ambitious area was build by Hong Kong's Shui On Group and contains stylish and expensive shops, pubs and restaurants. Prices for food generally start at RMB 200 but if you head into the 'mall' complex at Xin Tian Di south, you will find fastfood restaurants and reasonably priced eateries. The Shikumen houses have been renovated to suit modern tastes and do not resemble anything you will find in traditional Shikumen areas. Shanghai Xin Tian Di is where 'yesterday meets tomorrow in Shanghai today'.
Zhujiajiao
Located in a suburb of Shanghai city, Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town well-known throughout the country, with a history of more than 1700 years. Covering an area of 47 square kilometers, the little fan-shaped town glimmers like a bright pearl in the landscape of lakes and mountains. Endowed with another elegant name-'Pearl Stream', the little town is the best-preserved among the four ancient towns in Shanghai. Unique old bridges across bubbling streams, small rivers shaded by willow trees, and houses with courtyards all transport people who have been living amidst the bustle and hustle of the modern big city to a nostalgic world of the past full of antiquity, leisure and tranquillity.
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