Shanghai Things to Do Tips by Amareyui

The Bund is Shanghai's unceasing legend. Architectures from a century ago are equally enchanting at this age. At the opposite shore, Pudong is challenging the Bund as the symbol of Shanghai with its ever-changing, awkward looking modern buildings; yet these 52 old commercial buildings along the Bund still stylishly represent the most curios time of Shanghai. As ironic as it sounds, these imported, foreign styled buildings have a soothing presence among this gateway city where its surrounding is changing by the day. This collection of the past is a constant motivation for the Shanghai people to know its origin; the most opened, welcoming (to foreign ideas) city in China. The Bund is not only the symbol of Shanghai, more importantly it is the foundation in which the rest of Shanghai builds upon.

Leave a Comment

The famous He Ping (Peace) Hotel is located at 20 Nanjing Road (E). Opened in 1926, it was used to be the Sassoon House, which incorporated the Cathay Hotel.
The Peace Hotel remains one of the most popular hotel among foreign visitors because of its European interior setting. Walking into the dimly lit lobby from the chaotic city life, sitting down on a comfortable sofa while sipping in some fine tea can make the most wearied traveler feels right at home.

Leave a Comment

Directions: 20 Nanjing Road (E)

Originally the Ginshan Sheng Miao (Temple of the Golden Mountain God), it had been renamed as Cheng Huang Miao (Temple of the City's Gods) in the Ming Dynasty. Since then, the temple had foregone several severe damages, and had each time been properly restored to its former glory. During the latter years of the Qing dynasty, teahouses, street performers, and hawkers formed an extremely lively marketplace in front of the temple.
During the Cultural Revolution, the temple was thoroughly destroyed. The surrounding marketplace was given a new name, "Yuyuan Bazaar". The temple was again restored and opened to the public in 1981.

Leave a Comment

Address: 218 Anren Street, Old City
Directions: Walk south along The Bund then swing a right at Jinling Dong Lu. Busline: No. 11, No. 24, No. 42, No. 64, No. 66, No. 126

Entrance fee: 5 RMB

As mentioned above, Yuyuan Bazaar was evolved from the marketplace in front of Chenghuang Miao back in the latter years of the Qing Dynasty. Despite being renamed as Yuyuan Bazaar during the Cultural Revolution, Chenghuang Miao's still the name widely known among the locals.
As most elder locals will say, a scroll in Chenghuang Miao is always a good way to join the lively scene and spend an otherwise uneventful weekend afternoon.

Leave a Comment

Address: 218 Anren Street, Old City
Directions: Walk south along The Bund then swing a right at Jinling Dong Lu. Busline: No.11, 42, 64, 66, 126

Yuyuan is possibly the only place in Shanghai's city centre to find a tiny mark of ancient China. Built by the Pun family in 1559, the garden had the name of "Yu", which meant abundance back then.
After hundreds of years of mismanagement and several big destruction, Yuyuan has taken a different look. Today, much of the original garden, right up to Cheng Huang Miao in the south, is formed as part of the Yuyuan Bazaar shopping district.

Leave a Comment

Address: 218 Anren Street, Old City
Directions: Walk south along The Bund then swing a right at Jinling Dong Lu. Busline: No. 64, No. 24, No. 11, No. 926

Near Yuyuan Bazaar there is a street calls Shanghai Old Street. Like the name suggests , many century old buildings and shops are here.
Shanghai Old Street is famous for its antique shops, Chinese style memorabilia shops, and tea shops.
To a novice, it is quite difficult to identify the authenticity of the antique. But someone who has the interest and experience of collecting old Shanghai memorabilia can quite possibly find a personal favourite here.

Leave a Comment

Directions: Links with Yuyuan Bazaar

The Shanghai Museum was established in 1952 and relocated twice before finding a permanent home at its present location, south of the centrally located People's Plaza, in 1996. More than 120,000 precious and rare works of art in 21 categories make the Shanghai Museum the most remarkable cultural institution in the city.
The Shanghai Museum is a four-storied building that occupies a total area of 39,200 square meters.
Altogether, there are eleven special galleries and three exhibition halls in the Shanghai Museum:
The Ancient Chinese Bronze Gallery, the Ancient Chinese Sculpture Gallery, the Ancient Chinese Ceramics Gallery, Zande Lou Ceramics Gallery, the Chinese Painting Gallery, the Chinese Calligraphy Gallery, the Chinese Seal Gallery, the Ancient Chinese Jade Gallery, the Chinese Ming and Qing Furniture Gallery, the Chinese Coin Gallery, and last but not least the Chinese Minority Nationalities' Art Gallery.

Leave a Comment

Address: Renmin Da Dao
Directions: People's Square Station (Metro Line 1); public buses 17, 18, 20, 23, 37, 46, 48, 49, 123, 145, 916

At the time of my visit the three exhibition halls are having a special display of Cartier Jewelry, which attracted most of the visitors and allowed me to stroll along the galleries mostly crowd free. That in itself is a rarity in Shanghai.
Shanghai Museum is by far the most organized of all the museums in China I have been to. However, the amount of exhibits is not nearly as much as I have hoped. Shanghai Museum is by no mean a bad museum, but being the most comprehensive museum in all of China, it saddens me as a museum lover and a Chinese. China's 4,000 plus years of history should allow us to have a top notch museum, piles with varied and abundant amount of artifacts, which can be even a greater collection of art and historical importance than the Lourves, Uffizis, and British Museums of the world. But after so many years of internal turmoil and destruction brought by foreign powers, much of these precious treasures were either destroyed or stolen. The bigger concern, though, is the lack of concern and sensitivity displayed by the Chinese government and citizens alike toward the preservation of the past. They naively believe these cultural milestones will never run out, thus resulting in a general impractical and procrastinate effort to preserve these pieces of identity. Their interest, as shown by the huge crowds in the jewelry halls, is mostly money and business related.
When will the day come, the day when Shanghaiese will be proud because their city is the home to a museum that chronically illustrates the complexity of the Chinese civilization, instead of the founding of another tasteless building in Pudong?

Picture Caption: This Buddhism scripture, made in the 14th century, had inscription of Chinese characters that are the same as today's.

Leave a Comment

Address: Renmin Da Dao
Directions: People's Square Station (Metro Line 1); public buses 17, 18, 20, 23, 37, 46, 48, 49, 123, 145, 916

Opening Hours: 9:00 - 17:00

Admission: 20RMB per adult

Every night, thousands of people are congested on the strip of pedestrian road that is the Nanjing Dong Lu. Locals and tourists alike, a walk on this infamous road at night has long been a hands-on study about capitalism in this Communist nation.
Since the rapid development of other commercial districts, namely Huaihai Lu and Xujiahui, Nanjing Lu has lost much of its prestige. Nowadays, it seems to be content to be a causal destination for all families to stroll along and buy an ice cream from the numerous McDonald's that have been sprawling like wild fungi.
Nanjing Lu, like most other high-end shopping malls, is a display of expensive shops most locals do not dare to enter, and a habitat for an unreasonable amount of fast food chain to satisfy the typically-low-income's hunger.

Leave a Comment

In Shanghai, if you accidentally bump into a tree, and still luckily have your head intact, please remember that nine out of ten tree in Shanghai is: the French Parasol tree.
Why does a tree that has its roots in Shanghai be named French Parasol tree? A widely believed theory was that the first of such tree was planted in the French Concession, thus began the misunderstanding of the French connection.
The Parasol tree along Shanghai's roads were mostly originated from Kunming, Yunnan. These Chinese Parasol trees have no relation with France whatsoever.
The best looking Chinese Parasol trees, according to the elder Shanghainese, are planted along Hengshan Lu.

Leave a Comment