Yuyuan Gardens & Bazaar
The Yuyuan Gardens are located in the heart of the old town, a few blocks southwest of the Bund in downtown Shanghai, and are one of China's loveliest private classical gardens. They were originally completed in 1577 but had to be restored twice in the 19th century after being damaged once during the Opium War in 1842 and then again after the Taiping Rebellion. Right beside the Yuyuan Gardens you will find the Bazaar which is worth strolling around.
The Bund
The Bund (which means the Embankment) is Shanghai's famous waterfront which runs along the west shore of the Huangpu River and forms the eastern boundary of the old downtown. Today it consists of a marvellous promenade, stretching from Suzhou Creek in the north to Jinling Lu in the south. It makes the perfect platform for strolling beside the busy river and observing Shanghai's signature cityscape: a long row of colonial-era European buildings erected by foreign governments, trading houses and expatriate millionaires mostly during the prosperous and notorious 1920s & 1930s.
Shanghai Museum
Newly relocated from west Shanghai, this modern museum tells the story of Shanghai, with special attention to the colonial period from 1860 to 1949, when Shanghai was under European dominance. Over 1,000 relics, mostly from the past 200 years, are housed here.
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Jade Buddha Temple
Shanghai's most popular temple with visitors, the Jade Buddha complex has a short history, having been completed in 1918, but its powerful potion of thick incense, flashy decoration and dark, seedy atmosphere make it seem centuries older.
Longha Temple
Shanghai's largest temple is one of its most fascinating, featuring the city's premier pagoda. The seven-story, eight-sided, 1,000-year-old pagoda is gorgeous. The temple grounds, on the north side of the street, are extensive. The temple itself is famous for its midnight bell-ringing every New Year's Eve, which takes place in the old three-storied Bell Tower near the entrance. This Ming Dynasty tower which has been renovated twice, in 1566 and 1892, is the proud possessor of a 3 ton bronze bell which was cast in 1894.
Xujiahui Cathedral
Once known as St. Ignatius, Shanghai's great cathedral was opened by the Jesuits in 1906. It is the city's largest cathedral, with space for over 2,500 inside. Its twin red-brick spires and gargoyled roof are district landmarks and a fine example of Shanghai's legacy of European architecture.
Huangpu River Cruise
The Huangpu River, the undulating, muddy dragon that divides the two Shanghais, east and west, past and future, serves as the city's shipping artery both to the East China Sea and the mouth of the Yangtze River, which the Huangpu joins 18 miles north of downtown Shanghai.
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Tour boats make the voyage up the Huangpu to the Yangze River delta and from the river there are unrivalled views of Shanghai's port, the ships of the world that dock there, and the junks and Chinese barges that clog up the narrow river avenue. Unrivalled, too, are the postcard views of Shanghai's celebrated European skyline to the west and the booming cityscape of Pudong to the east.
Chenghuang Temple
Every Chinese city once had its Temple of the City God, the central shrine for Daoist worship. Shanghai's version dates from the Ming Dynasty, when it was a private garden estate, becoming the main area temple in 1726. Today, it has been extensively restored to serve as a kind of religious amusement park for tourists in the Old Town Bazaar. The courtyard was the local setting for lively fairs and markets, a tradition that has recently been reinstated on Sunday mornings.
Oriental Pearl Tower
On the eastern bank of Huangpu River, visible from the Bund, lies the Special Economic Zone of Shanghai called Pudong and it is here that you will find the Oriental Pearl Tower which soars 468m over the city and is now widely accepted as the new symbol of Shanghai. With a viewing platform half way up the tower it affords great views of the Bund and new Shanghai.
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