Hu for short, Shanghai is one of the renowned international metropolises of the world and drawing more and more attention from all over the world. It is situated on the bank of the River Yangtze which serves as the most influential financial, economical, cultural, international trade, science and technology centers of East China. It is a very famous destination for the tourist for sensing the pulsating development of the country of China.

In addition to the modern look and feel of the city, it has also been endowed with the unique glamor. You can find the perfect blend of culture, tradition, modern, western and oriental.  Old Shikumen and New skyscrapers draw the skyline of this city. Chinese and western traditions are intertwined and thus forming the culture of Shanghai and make the visitors stay here very memorable.
You can enjoy the fascinating view of Shanghai through the extensive walkway of the riverfront on the bank of this river especially at the night time. You can easily get boats which frequently depart from Shiliupu Pier to the south of the Bund and this journey takes approximate three hour’s time.

You can see the glistening waters of the river Huangpu and enjoy the incredible view of the historic architectures. You can also enjoy the modern sky scrapers and experience the local people’s life by doing Tai Chi or playing the game Chinese checker at the park. You can also look into the promenade which has an amazing architecture which has the styles ranging from Neo-Renaissance, Classic, French Baroque and Art Nouveau. The history of this place also backs to when the British established their trade and banks houses and also created a European style landscape in that area. During the War of Chinese Civil, financial investors had relocated and now days it has evolved as a Shanghai’s financial district and home for many companies related to finance in last two decades.

Hu for short, Shanghai is one of the renowned international metropolises of the world and drawing more and more attention from all over the world. It is situated on the bank of the River Yangtze which serves as the most influential financial, economical, cultural, international trade, science and technology centers of East China. It is a very famous destination for the tourist for sensing the pulsating development of the country of China.

In addition to the modern look and feel of the city, it has also been endowed with the unique glamor. You can find the perfect blend of culture, tradition, modern, western and oriental.  Old Shikumen and New skyscrapers draw the skyline of this city. Chinese and western traditions are intertwined and thus forming the culture of Shanghai and make the visitors stay here very memorable.
You can enjoy the fascinating view of Shanghai through the extensive walkway of the riverfront on the bank of this river especially at the night time. You can easily get boats which frequently depart from Shiliupu Pier to the south of the Bund and this journey takes approximate three hour’s time.

You can see the glistening waters of the river Huangpu and enjoy the incredible view of the historic architectures. You can also enjoy the modern sky scrapers and experience the local people’s life by doing Tai Chi or playing the game Chinese checker at the park. You can also look into the promenade which has an amazing architecture which has the styles ranging from Neo-Renaissance, Classic, French Baroque and Art Nouveau. The history of this place also backs to when the British established their trade and banks houses and also created a European style landscape in that area. During the War of Chinese Civil, financial investors had relocated and now days it has evolved as a Shanghai’s financial district and home for many companies related to finance in last two decades.

Yayuan Garden

Yayuan is very popular as well as classic garden which is located in Aren Jie area of Shanghai. This garden was completed in the year 1577 by a government officer in the Ming Dynasty. Yu means satisfying and pleasing in china and this garden was made for enjoying the tranquil and happy time. In nearly four hundred year of the existence of Yujuan Garden, it has undergone many types of changes. During the war of opium in 19^th century, it was damaged and after that it was restored in the year 1956 and was opened for public in the year 1961.

This garden is extended in area about twenty thousand square meter or about five acres. It has many unique characteristics like rockeries, halls, pavilions, ponds and clusters. You can enjoy main six scenic areas wanhua Chamber, Sansui Hall, Huijing Hall, Inner garden, Dianchun hall, and Yahua Hall. Each of these areas is filled with various scenic spots within their borders.

Yuyan Garden

Yi Garden

Ancient Yi garden is located in the Nanxiang which is nearby the Jiading District of Shanghai. It is located at a distance of about 20 kilometers from the centre of the city. It was built by the Emperor, Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty.

This garden is a wonderful garden among five other classical gardens of Shanghai. Other four gardens are Drunk Pool Garden, Yuyan Garden, Autumn Sightseeing Garden or Qiupu Garden and Zigzag Water Garden. It is divided into four scenic areas which are Yi garden, Flower Fragrance Park, Moonlit Bamboo Park and Crane in Stream pond. Green Bamboos, Ming Style architectures, Tranquil, path with Motifs, and Poem Streams and Couplet Scrolls are its some of the features.

“Yi” name is derived from the beautiful view of the bamboo. It has been inspired by the poems in books of songs as well as the Odes to Qin which is a kind of musical instrument. Yi also reflects the artistic conception of the green bamboos. The traditional features of this garden are bamboos. In Yi garden Annals, it is recorded that the most beautiful scenery of the garden is the mountain which is covered with the bamboos. Green, graceful and elegant bamboos are present everywhere in the landscape.

Oriental Pearl TV Tower

The Tower of oriental Pearl TV is located at Ljuiazui in Shanghai. This tower is surrounded by Nanpu Bridge in the southwest side and Yangpu Bridge in the northeast which creates a picture like the twin dragons playing with pearls. This place has photographic jewels of excitement and imagination which attracts hundreds of tourists every year.

This tower is a mind-blowing ultra modern tower combining the ancient concept of spherical pearls and technology, education, recreation, commerce and conference facilities of this century. The TV and radio tower provides the services in the Shanghai area with total of nine TV channels and ten FM radio channels.

Oriental Pearl TV Tower

Jin Mao Tower

The Jin Mao Tower symbolizes the emerging of Shanghai into the 21^st century. It is the tallest building of China and the third tallest building in world. It also has the tallest hotel ever build. It has the design of east meeting west and signifies the city of shanghai emerging as a modern global city. Jin Mao follows the paradigm of offer retail and multi-use and shopping at its base and the offices above. The Grand Hyatt is the world’s highest hotel which covers the upper 38 floors.

The Jin Mao Building is a very luxurious complex which combines office space with the shopping mall, commercial space and the entertainment hubs. Three basement levels house service facilities, electric facilities, food court and parking spaces.

Jin Mao Tower

Disneyland

The opening ceremony for the Shanghai Disneyland was held in the year 2011 and the long-wait for the Disneyland in the biggest city of China was over. This is one of the biggest Sino-foreign joint investments yet in the modern service industry in the country. It is expected to be completed after 5 years.

Shanghai Disneyland is the sixth Disneyland of the world. Orlando Disneyland of Florida is the largest while the Hong Kong Disneyland is the smallest one. It resides I the Chuansha New Town of the Pudong New Area. The first construction period of this Disney Resort covered 390 hectares which includes the core area, 116hectares of Magic Kingdom. The infrastructure and the supporting facilities consist of retail store, theme hotel, parking lot, restaurant, traffic hub, central lake.

Jian Temple

Located at the west of Nanjing Road, Jian Temple is one of the most famous temples of Shanghai. It is at the downtown flourishing area of Shanghai. In the year 1983, it was put on key national protection list.

This temple has more than 780 years of history. It was built in the period of Three Kingdoms and named as the Hudu Chongyan Temple. It was moved to its present location by the Southern Song Dynasty form the bank of the river Wusong. It has been crowded places until the year 1908.d it was first built as the Jing’an Temple and later it was renamed to Jian’ng Temple in the year 1945. It was unfortunately burnt down in the year 1972 but soon reconstructed. In 1990, this temple was opened for the public. You can escape from the bustle and hustle of the crowds in Jing’an Temple. You can also enjoy the marvelous calligraphy and painting by the Yangzhou’s Eight Eccentric painter which is in the exhibition hall of the Buddhist Relics.

Jiang’an Temple

Confucius Temple

Confucius Temple is located in Wenmiao Road and it is the only ancient architecture which is dedicated to Confucius in the central Shanghai. It was built in the year 1368-1398 for worshipping Confucius who was believed to be a great educator, thinker and founder of Confucianism in China. It has been one of the top learning institutions for several years in shanghai.

Temple of Confucius is one among the four ancient stone carving groups of china and famous as the Treasure house of the Stone Carving Art. It consists of more than 28 ancient buildings which is built with the large number of the stone carvings which includes Dacheng Hall, Xunjing Pagoda and Minlun Hall. Most of the building have been pulled down or destroyed and others are well preserved.

Longhua Temple

Longhua Temple is the oldest temple in Shanghai for its long history of over 1700 years. Because of the several destructions by the wars, most of the buildings here were reconstructed during the reign of the Emperor Tongzhi and Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty.

Longhua Temple

Besides its long history, Longhua Temple is the largest temple in Shanghai. It occupies an area of over 20,000 square meters (five acres) and the architectural proportion is about 5,000 square meters (one point two acres). Along the 194 meters long (637 feet) axis are the Maitreya Hall (Miledian), Devajara Hall (Tianwangdian), Mahavira Hall (Daxiongbaodian), Three Sages Hall (Sanshengdian), Abbot’s Hall (Fangzhangshi) and the Sutras Keeping Hall (Cangjinglou) which keeps the three treasures of the temple including the Dazang sutras, the gold seals and the Buddhist statues. Accessory halls on the two sides are the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower, both of them are furnished with the same hexagonal windows and the curved eaves. The whole courtyard was built strictly in the style of traditional Buddhist symmetry and it’s in accordance with the Chinese concept of beauty.

The weather of shanghai is generally moist and mild with four distinct seasons – a hot rainy summer, a pleasant warm spring, an overcast cold winter and comfortable cool autumn. The location of region at the estuary of Yangtze River to the East China Sea making it so wet that it rains for one third of the year.

The hottest time here is in July and August with the temperature above 35 C or 95F. The coldest time is from late January to February. The spring season is from March to May and it is the most descent time to visit to this city.

With the subtropical maritime monsoon climate, this city is generally moist and mild. Although it is situated on the southern part of China, Shanghai experiences four different seasons throughout the year. The cool autumn and warm spring are very much comfortable for travel while the hot rainy summer as well as overcast cold winter is not suitable time for visiting there.

Spring in the Shanghai starts in March and continues till May. This is the best season of the year for travelling. The flowers that bloom in the spring time make the city attractive and lively. The temperature at this time is around 20C. Light rains however occur sometimes, but it will not disturb your trip. Thin sweaters, long-sleeved shirts or coats are very much suitable for this time.

Summer is long here and starts from June and ends in September. The temperature is very high with abundant rainfall. The highest temperature can be noticed in July or August. For about 10 days, the temperature is above 35C. You should avoid visiting at this time of the year.

There is Meiyu Season or Plum Rain Season form mid June to early July. This lasts for about a month which commences from early summer when the plums begin to ripe along the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. During this time, the rainfall is about 25 percent of the total rainfall of the year.

Autumn is good season for travelling and it comes in October and November. Winter here comes in December to February. The coldest period is during the end of January to early February, during the Chinese Spring festival.

Visa

From the year 2013, the passport holders of the following 45 regions and countries can be granted a visa free stay up to 72 hours while in transit via the Pudong International Airport (PVG) and Hongqiao International Airport.

Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States.

The visitors from other countries have to obtain a visa before entering to this city. You can easily apply for the visa in the Consulate of P. R. China of your country or you can contact your travel agency for arranging your tourist visa. Special fast applications are generally completed within the timeframe of 24 hours.

Health and Hygiene

Before the entry and departure, you need to fill the Health Declaration Card. You are also required to accept the body temperature scanning upon the entry.

Currency and Banks

Currency used in the mainland China is RMB or Ren Min Bi namely CNY and same in Shanghai. The Shanghai Branch of Bank of China is located in Zhongyin Building in the Yincheng Middle Road, Pudong New District. Many other sub-branches are also there where you can avail the facility of foreign exchange. These banks are generally open from Monday to Saturday and the office hours is from 9:00 to 17:00 hrs.

Some of the useful numbers are

Fire: 119
Police: 110
Ambulance: 120
Consumer Complaint: 12315
Tourists Complaint: 64393615
Telephone Trouble: 122
Local Telephone Number and Long-distance City Code Inquiry: 114
International City Code Inquiry: 116
Weather Forecast: 121, 221
Zip Code Inquiry: 184
Customer Service Center of Post Office: 185
Train Ticket Reservation: 63171880, 8008207890
Coach Ticket Reservation: 56630230
Hongqiao International Airport Consultation: 62688918
Pudong International Airport Consultation: 38484500

Nightlife in Shanghai is colorful and gentle as there is much more than the life itself and it is elegant.  The Scenery at the night can be best enjoyed at the Bund. The modern buildings and ornate classical will take you on a exciting and new look as they are lit up by an abundance of the colorful lights. It is really a magical sight to look across the Huangpu River to Jinmao Tower to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. If you spend a night time at Huangpu River Cruise you can have the opportunity to appreciate the night life on the Bund. About 30 boats carry tourists which include ancient dragon boats of Ming and Qing style, deluxe boats, Pirate Boats and Boats of Shikumen style of old Shanghai. Whatever boat you take, the view seen here at night will surely be live in your memory for many years to come.

shanghai-nightlife

Leaving the scenery aside while walking Westside along the Nanjing East Road you will reach the famous Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street in no time. The Gaily illuminated shops are very much exciting backdrop to the cheerful crowds that comes here after the dark for enjoying the carefree atmosphere. You can pick up a bargain or enjoy the tasty morsel for eating.

The subway Line 1 Links to the main three shopping area of this city namely Nanjing Road, Xujiahui and Huanhai road. These places are shopping paradise. Most of the shops get closed at 10 pm but it is the time when most of the tea houses and bars came into their own and the night at that time is still young. The tea houses are open 24 hours a day. You can invite your friends for playing cards or having just chat apart from enjoying the excellent tea. Karaoke, Nightclubs, coffee houses, discos houses are all popular place during the night time.

Shanghai-nightlife

Shanghai is known as the Shopping paradise and Oriental Paris. So, if you are ever visiting to this city, you should not miss the shopping which is more than its charming attractions. Shanghai provides the best of the shopping experience and it has become an indispensable part of the tourism industry of this city.

Shopping areas in this city are divided into mainly four streets and four cities. Nanjing Road which included the east and west Nanjing Road is among the four streets which as the reputation of number one commercial street in China. It was developed in the beginning of the 20^th century and has a wide variety of shops and some of them are centuries old while other are modern malls. Nanjing Road has become more and more prosperous in these years. Huaihai Road is no less famous than Nanjing Road and it is celebrated for its elegance.  It features the top-end designer brands from all over the world. North Sichuan Road offers some inexpensive merchandise and it is the first choice among the ordinary people. The food and tourism are very well provided on the Middle Tibet Road which is one of the four streets.

Shanghai Shopping

The Parkson Shopping Centre on the Huaihai Road is worth a visit. You can find many special offers and goods at reasonable price in the form of many promotions and discounts. You can also get some brand name clothing here at reasonable price.

Maison Mode is also located in the Huaihai road and it claims to be the aristocate on this street. You can find some leading designer brands like Ferragamo, Bally, Gucci, Hugo Bos, Kenzo, etc. The reputation of the Huaihai Road is enhanced by the presence of Maison mode.

Shanghai Shopping

Yuyuan Tourist Mart, New Shanghai Shopping City, XUjiahui Shopping City and Jiali Sleepless City are the four cities. Yuyuan Tourist mart is specialist in Chinese goods which ranges from local crafts, small articles to antiques, jade wears and jewelry. Xhujiahui consist of large stores where you can get the costly as well as middle-ranged goods in abundance. New Shanghai Shopping city offers the best amenities and facilities. Trade and Pudong Lujiazui Finance Zone is surrounded by the various retail outlets.

According to the locals of shanghai, blessed are those born in Shanghai as they have the most chance for tasting the delicious foods. Shanghai Cuisine is not among the eight major Cuisines of China but it is definitely a choice blend of most appealing aspects of the other national styles of food. Local chefs here are ready for adopting the best aspects of the foreign cuisines and making them their own. Therefore, it sis said that you can enjoy the best food from home as well as abroad for all budgets when you are in Shanghai.

shanghai-dining

The Chinese food has a profound culture and history. Due to the multiple ethnic groups and large area of this country, different religions have their own featured foods and cuisines. Dishes of various cuisines are cooked differently and have different appearance and taste. You can also try various distinctive Chinese snacks when you will visit this country. When you will be bored by the local dishes and want variety then these will surely be good news for you.

shanghai xiao long bao

It does not matter that where you belong to and which kind of dish you like. You need not worry about dining as long as you are in Shanghai. This city has all the delicacies from all over the world as an all embracing pot of the world cultures. There are many foreigners who study, work or live in this city. This city is also preferred by most of the foreign visitors as a must destination during their stay in China. More and more locals also want to try the dishes of the foreign countries and experience the exotic cultures and customs. Therefore, a number of restaurants has emerged in this city and became popular. Many foreign cuisine restaurants in this city offer wide range of choices and you will not have to bother about the longing for the dishes of your homeland.

Shanghai is situated on the estuary of the Yangtze River and it is the busiest transport hub in the eastern China. It has highly developed infrastructure as an important business and financial centre of China and the world. It has a convenient network of public transportation.

This city has many links to the outside. You can easily get there from the adjacent cities like Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou as well as distance cities like Xian, Beijing, Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Many cities in other countries also have the convenient transportation link with Shanghai. You can easily get there by train, air, Ship or long distance bus.

By Air

Shanghai is the Only Chinese city having tow international airports i.e. Hongqiao International Airport and pudong International Airport. They are highly equipped with all modern facilities. About one thousand flights travel through these airport on daily basis. Many domestic as well as international flights are available from these airports to many international cities like Beijing, New York, London, Los Angles, Singapore, Tokyo and Paris.
By train

The railway network is the comfortable and inexpensive way for getting you into this city. Huning Railway and Huhang railway pass through the city of Shanghai and connects the main three railway stations with the cities spread over the country. You can take the advantage of Special holiday trains and tourist trains for seeing the scenic areas of the provinces like Mt. Huangshan in Anhui and Mt. Wuyishan in Fujian.

Long Distance Bus

Long distance buses are also available in this city. Four expressways and highways passes through the city which composes the efficient long distance bus transport system of this city. More than one thousand routes are covered by about forty long distance bus stations.

Ship

Transportation via waterways is also accessible due to its strategic location. This city stands as the largest port of china and good number of goods and passengers move in and out promoting the development of the tourism and economy of Shanghai and its adjacent cities.