Attractions in Shanghai

Overview

Shanghai, China’s biggest and most prosperous city oozes an atmosphere of vitality, and a dynamic which can rival New York in the United States and Paris of France in terms of modernity. Shanghai is the second largest ‘city proper’ in the world after Mumbai. In the center of China’s eastern coastline, it is one of China’s greatest cultural centers, and has a long history as a trading port and gateway for foreigners entering China. Shanghai’s gorgeous night scenery is one of the main highlights that will linger in visitors’ minds after their Shanghai travel experience. As night descends, the entire city is lit up by dizzily colorful lights, joined occasionally by the bright moon hanging in the sky.

Yu Garden

Yu Garden is located in the center of Shanghai's Old City, a few blocks south of the Bund. Yu Garden is believed to have been built in the Ming Dynasty, more than 400 years ago. The exquisite layout, beautiful scenery and the artistic style of the garden architecture have made the garden one of the highlights of Shanghai. Its cultural relics include: century-old furniture, calligraphy and paintings of famous artists,clay sculptures and brick carvings, some inscriptions and couplets.

Jade Buddha Temple

Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai is an active temple, with 70 resident monks at the last count. The temple was built between 1911 and 1918 in the style of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), with symmetrical halls and courtyards, upturned eaves, and bright yellow walls. Inside, the centerpiece is a 1.9-meter-high white jade Buddha, which was installed here after a monk brought it from Burma to Zhejiang Province in 1882. The seated Buddha, encrusted with jewels, is said to weigh about one thousand kilograms.

Shanghai Museum

Shanghai Museum is famous for its large collection of rare cultural piece. The museum now houses over 120,000 pieces of cultural relics in twelve categories, including Chinese bronze, ceramics, paintings and calligraphy, and artifacts. The items exhibited include the bronze wine vessel, food vessel, musical instrument,water vessel, weapon and some other vessels from the Xia Dynasty (ca, 21st century B.C.) to the Warring States Period (221 B.C.)

Oriental Pearl TV Tower

Towering high above Pudong New Area, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower has been the outstanding landmark of Shanghai since its completion in 1995, at 468 m high.The tower includes 15 spheres of different sizes at different levels creating an artistic conception of "large and small pearls dropping onto a jade plate". There is a revolving teahouse and a sightseeing platform,which can accommodate 1600 people, in the largest ball, the second ball.Here visitor can get a panoramic view of the Bund and Pudong New area.

Maglev Train

Want to feel the pulse of the city immediately? Take the maglev train if you arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. It ends at Longyang Rd. Station located in Pudong New Area. The whole journey takes only eight minutes for over 30 km, at the speed of 300km/hour. It is the world's first and only commercialized maglev train line in operation.

Huangpu River Cruise

Huangpu River is a branch of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River which runs through Shanghai City. During the cruise, you can find the obvious differences of architecture between the east bank and the west bank. On the west bank, a lot of western-style buildings can be seen, full of exotic flavor; while on the east bank, rows of skyscrapers spring up and rise above the clouds.Departure times vary depending on which trip you take, but there are generally morning, afternoon and evening departures.