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China Yangtze River Information: cruises, maps, pictures, ships, three gorges dam.

Author: jessica (page 11 of 72)

Shanghai Facts

Shanghai is the largest of China and it is an economical, financial and commercial centre. It is very vital city from the future point of view of this country. No other city in this country is much fascinating, vibrate or having such a unique colonial past.

Shanghai is a port city on the Huangpu River where the Yangtze River ends into the sea of East China. This city was initially a fishing and textile town and gained its identity when it was opened to the foreigner power by the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. The French, British, German, Russian and American moved in and settled their Western-style banks, mansion and trading houses which left a permanent architectural legacy.

 

Oriental Pearl TV Tower

Oriental Pearl TV Tower

The city has flourished as a thriving commercial and cosmopolitan and financial center in 1920s and 1930s. In spite of being cradle of the Chinese Communism, this city has been neglected during the Cultural Revolution that took place in 1960s and 1970s. In the year 1990, it was chosen for spearheading the reform of modern China and opening up resulting in the intense development. This city has also been the inspiration for the films, novels and cocktails. It is the most evocative city for visiting for an outsider. Beijing might be the more mysterious but Shanghai offers the semi-mythical and half-understood images.

 

It is always fun to visit to Shanghai. The commercial river- Huangpu, which is a tributary of Yangtze River is lined up having galleries of different architecture called the Bund which beckons curious visitors and locals alike. It was erected during many periods and varies in styles such as Gothic, Baroque or Romanesque, fifty tow buildings stand together in Harmony. When the night falls, the Tow most famous buildings- the Peace Hotel and Bank of China Building are bathed in the lavender light and are telling witness to the past century of Bund. Garden estates, clubs, mansions and cathedrals are scattered throughout the city which were build by the Westerners.

Museum in Shanghai

Shanghai Museum

Shanghai Museum is the veritable treasure house of the ancient Chinese area and housing more than 120,000 precious relics. Pottery, Bronzes, calligraphy

Shanghai Museum

Shanghai Museum

and paintings are some of the distinctive features of the collection of Museum. This Museum looks like a large bronze mirror of the Han Dynasty when seen from the above. It also looks like a bronze Ding from the distance which is an ancient cooking vessel containing many mementos of the about 5000 year old history of the civilization of China.

 

Jewish Refugees Museum

Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum is located in the district of Hongkou at the Changyang Road. It was built in the memory of the Jewish refugees who sought sanctuary from massacre during the Second World War. It is placed in the former Ohel Mosche Synagogue. It is the place where the Jewish refugees gathered for the religious activities. This museum has many scrolls as well as other cultural relics.

The prototype of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue was built in 1927 It was previously the headquarters fo the Jewish Youth Organization in the form year 1937 to 1941. Shanghai has over 25 thousand Jewish refugees and it is the only metropolis in the world who has welcomed Jews as refugee. The number of Jewish refugees that is taken by this city equals the number in total taken by New Zealand, Australia, India, Canada and South Africa. Ohel Moshe Synagogue has now become a synonym for refuge or rescue.

Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum

Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum

You can visit more museum like The Site of the First national Congress of the CPC, Song Qingling, , The Former Residences of Sun Yat-sen, The Memorial Hall of Fushou Garden, Chenyun and Pingpu Revolutionary Memorial Hall and some specialized museums like Automotive museum, Tobacco Museum, Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, Science and Technology Museum.

 

 

Famous historic and cultural site in Shanghai

Longhua Park

It is located on the Longhua Road which is at the south of the City and famous for the ancient Longhua Temple and Longhua Pagoda, the Evening Bell Striking Ceremony as well as the peach blossoms. The visitors can see the modern architecture and historical sites of the city. The neighboring water towns like Qibao Ancient Town and Zhujiajiao Ancient town are the famous attractions. You can enjoy another world where the ancient houses are huddled by the rivers running through this town and paved road. You will feel the typical local flavors and will surely slow your pace as you will savor their tradition.

Longhua

Longhua

Zhujiajiao Ancient Town

This town is located in the suburb of the Shanghai City and is an ancient water town which is famous as it has the history of more than 1700 years. It covers an area of 47 kilometers and it emerges as the bright pearl in the landscapes for the lakes and mountains.

Also known as the Pearl Stream, this town is very well preserved among the other ancient towns of Shanghai. It has unique old bridges across the bubbling streams, small rivers by side the willow tree and houses having courtyards. You can easily escape from the hustles of the modern city to this brand new world of the leisure, antiquity and tranquility.

Jiang’an Temple

Located at the west Nanjing Road and the flourishing downtown area of Shanghai, Jig’an Temple is one of the most popular temples in shanghai. It was put on the list of the key national protection in the year 1983. This temple has history of over 780 years and was built during the period of Three Kingdoms Period at first and called as Hudu Chongyuan Temple. It was moved to its present location from bank of Wusong River in during the Southern Song Dynasty.

Jiang’an Temple

Jiang’an Temple

Other historical and cultural sites are Qibao Ancient Town, Confucius Temple, Shanghai Old Street, Fengjing Ancient Town, Ancient Yi Garden and Shikumen Residence.

 

Top Attraction in Shanghai

The Bund and Huangpu River

Huangpu River is the mother river of Shanghai which also divides the city into eastern and western parts and assembles the splendid attractions of this city. Bund is situated on the east bank of the Huangpu River and is a symbol of Shanghai. There are many finance and commercial houses and grand buildings are build in 1930s in European architecture style along the Bund. You can enjoy the night bright light adding happiness to the atmosphere there.

Bund

Bund

Nanjing Road

Nanjing Road is considered as the No. 1 commercial street of China. It has been a landmark for this city for a very long time.  You can find more than 600 shops along the 5.5 km long Road and about 1.7 million people visit here each day. You can purchase everything that you want which span from special to cheap to luxury goods and world famous brands.

Yuyuan Garden

This garden is the largest ancient garden of Shanghai and having the architectural style of Ming and Qing Dynasty. The Garden has six areas and each one having its own style. The center of the garden is The Grand Rockery which is a very renowned sight. The City God Temple is situated near the garden where you can find a number of local snack shops scattered around.

Yuyan Garden

Yuyan Garden

Jae Buddha Temple

Jade Buddha Temple is one of the most famous Buddhist Temples in Shanghai.  The White jade Buddhas were brought from Burma to here in the 19th Century. One is it is seated while the others are in the position of Sakyamuni recumbent which symbolizes the attainment of nirvana or enlightenment of Buddha. This temple also has the impressive images of the Heavenly Kings.

Xin Tian DI

Xin Tian Di is the best choice if you want to experience the cultural and historic atmosphere of the city. It is composed of Shikumen and modern architectural style and one of the hot and fashionable streets in the centre of the city. It stands for the leisurely and popular lifestyle of the new generation of the city. You can find a number of bars, cafes and romantic restaurants all over this place.

Yangtze FAQ (Part Two)

Qutang Gorge

Qutang Gorge

How many ways can travelers visit the Yangtze River?

There are 3 ways for travelers to visit the Yangtze River: boats, ferries and hydrofoils, among which the cruise boats is the most popular and comfortable one.

How many ships are there for us to choose from?

There are President Cruises Series, Victoria Cruise Series, New Century Cruises Series, Yangtze Explorer Cruise Ships, OTC Victoria Cruises, 3-Day Yangtze Cruises and Yangtze Gold Cruises, among which Century Sky, one of the luxury ships for the Yangtze Cruise; Victoria Sophia, the only one ship sailing between Chongqing and Shanghai; Victoria Prince, offering commendations for both leisure and business travelers; Victoria Jenna, the Flagship of Victoria Cruise are the highly recommended cruise ships for 2013.

What are the most popular ships preferred by the foreigners?

Here are top 5 ships preferred by foreigners: President Prime, Century Diamond, Victoria Selina, Yangtze Explorer and President No. 1.

What attractions can we enjoy during the cruise on the ship?

There are many famous scenic spots you will view during the whole cruise, undoubtedly including Qutang Gorge, Xiling Gorge, Wu Gorge, Baidicheng, The Lesser Three Gorges, Fengdu Ghost City, The Lesser Three Gorges, Gezhou Dam, The Chinese Sturgeon Museum, Three Gorges Dam etc.

What is the ideal season for the cruise?

The best time to take a Yangtze River cruise is spring and autumn, namely, it is April, May, September and October when the weather is comfortable. We call these four months high seasons. But you can enjoy best prices if you travel in other months.

Is there any shore excursion during the cruise?

Yes, of course. There cover some exciting shore excursions as below:

1. Ascending the Viewing Platform on the Jar Hill on the northern bank of the Three Gorges Dam and have a bird’s-eye view of the dam.

2. Leave your big ship and transfer to small boat to experience either Little Three Gorges at Daning River or Shennong Stream.

3. Go ashore to visit the Fengdu – “Ghost City” (or visit Wanzhou, or Shibaozhai at Zhongxian County)

Yangtze FAQ (Part One)

How do I know which cruiser I am going to take?

There are various piers scattering along the port, which is very difficult for passenger to find the right ship to get onboard. Moreover, the anchorages of all the ships are temporarily decided by ship companies. It often happens that some passengers couldn’t find their ship until the ship had departed, which is over our control. So highly recommend you book the cruise package tour through travel agency, which will include the transportation to the pier to get onboard with the help of our guide and driver.

What is the weather like on Yangtze River?

The average temperature is 30 C° (90F) in July and 10 C° (50F) in January. In summer, dramatic thunderstorms and heavy rains often happen to cause the water level high between July and September, while winter is short and cold. Usually, most ships suspend during winter because of the low water level. April, May, September and October are the peak as well as the best season for taking the cruise.

Xiling Gorge

Xiling Gorge

What are the Yangtze River boats like?

All of the boats we use are 3 to 5 star, as are the hotels. They cater to western tourists. The cabins have two berth type beds on each side of the cabin, and the cabin contains a private bathroom. Meals are the same as the restaurants. The boats are like all the standard, very large Yangtze River boats, which look very similar. The facilities include central air-conditioning, closed circuit TV and audio, Chinese and western dining rooms, coffee shop, video cinema, bar, ballroom, karaoke, gift shop, beauty parlor, outside observation deck, telephones etc. Foreign exchange, credit card service, laundry, and massage services are available on board.

What does the price of the cruise include or not include?

Shipboard accommodations, meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and designated shore excursions fee and port taxes, while the price does not include any designated overnight hotel stay prior to boarding the ship, personal expenses such as wine in the bar, laundry, hairdressing and barbering, telephone and facsimiles, postal and cable service, clinic, massage and shopping, gratuities etc.

What routes are available for Yangtze cruise?

Downstream:
Chongqing – Yichang (4 days 3 nights)

Chongqing – Wuhan (5 days 4 nights)

Chongqing – Shanghai (7 days 6 nights)

 Upstream:

Shanghai – Chongqing (9 days 8 nights)

Wuhan – Chongqing (6 days 5 nights)

Yichang – Chongqing (5 days 4 nights)

Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple

Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple

Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple

Located in the Anyuan road in Shanghai city, the Jade Buddha Temple is Buddhist temple not only famous in Shanghai, but also well known at home and abroad. As one of the ten scenic spots of Shanghai tourism and though it located in the heart of the city, it is described as a piece of pure land in the downtown.

Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple

Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple

Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai nowadays is divided into two main parts: the front yard and back yard. The front yard, that is the temple site of the Jade Buddha Temple. Its axis is followed by large screen wall, the Tianwang Hall, Mahavira Hall, Prajnaparamita Zhangs Room (floor upstairs for jade Buddha and scripture-stored tower). East of the Dongshan gate is followed by Shanghai Buddhist Association, Guanyin Hall, Shanghai Institute of Buddhist Studies, Meditation Room, Wuguan Hall and Plain Zhai Department; west of the Xishan Gate are Monastic Reception, Temple Business Office, and storeroom, Copper Buddha Hall, Mahaparinirvana Temple Guest Room and Lezhi Hall. Its back yard, that is the original Liqun hospital site purchased in 2000, has built multi-functional group of buildings, composing of functional lecture hall, guest room, office area, teaching area and dormitory area. Walking inside the Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple, you will find that there is a cultural relics room, which is in possession of those precious cultural relics of the northern Wei, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple is famous for consecrating jade Buddha. The jade Buddha statue in the jade Buddha floor is the temple treasure. The Buddha statue is characterized by exquisite sculpture, exquisite jade texture, glistening thoroughly tick, round and smooth, fluent and beautiful lines, harmony and symmetry proportion of every parts. The whole figure of Buddha looks peaceful, quiet, floats and feminine look, which makes the person look after mind suddenly, having the feeling of super take off all of dust.

Shanghai Museum

Shanghai Museum

Shanghai Museum

Located in the south side of the people’s square in Shanghai city center, the Shanghai Museum is one of the four China great museums together with the Beijing Museum, Xi’an Museum and Nanjing Museum. Featuring the display area of 2800 square meters, the Shanghai Museum has set 12 special showrooms, ethnic crafts pavilion hall, ancient Chinese bronze pavilion hall, China’s Ming and Qing furniture hall etc. There are 120,000 pieces of precious relics including bronze ware, ceramics, calligraphy, painting, jade teeth, bamboo and wood lacquer, oracle, ethnic crafts, among which the bronze ware, ceramics, calligraphy and paintings are its characteristics.

Opened in the 12th October 1996, the Shanghai Museum covers a total building area of 39,200 square meters with the height of 29.5 meters. Its dome square base which symbolizes orbicular sky and rectangular earth constitutes the new outstanding visual effect there. The whole architecture skillfully fuses the traditional culture with the spirit of the age together to make it stand outstandingly among all the museums in the world. It is a famous scenic spot in Shanghai worthy your visit during your tour there.

Shanghai Museum

Shanghai Museum

The new Shanghai Museum has eleven specific pavilions and three exhibition halls. It is greeting all the guests with its new look now. There are Chinese bronze showroom, Chinese ceramics showroom, Chinese painting gallery showroom and Ancient Chinese sculpture gallery showroom. The Shanghai museum collection bronze exhibition, six-thousand China art exhibition, Shanghai treasure porcelain museum exhibition, Ming-and-Qing- Dynasty calligraphy exhibition, Yangzhou eight eccentrics exhibition etc have exhibited in Hong Kong , Japan and America.

Travel tips: 1) Opening time: 9:00 a.m. -17:00 p.m. 2) Ticket price: Free; 3) Ideal time to visit: all the year round especially the autumn time and the New Year’s time; 4) Playing time suggestion: 4 hours; 5) Ways to go there: Take the city public buses No. 454,112,123,71,934,145,46,167 and 18; or take the No. 6 tunnel; subway line 1, 2, and 8 to the People’s Square Station.

JinMaoTower

JinMaoTower

JinMaoTower

Located in the Pudong new area in Shanghai lujiazui finance &trade zone in prime locations with the famous bund scenic spot on the other side of the Bund, the Jinmao Tower is a famous AAAA level attraction in China and also a landmark building in Shanghai with its total 88 floors.

The 88-stories Jin Mao Tower, whose height is 340.1 meters and area is 1,520 square meters, is the highest and biggest tourist hall in China mainland and it has been recorded into the Shanghai great world Guinness record. The sightseeing hall is decorated luxury, which completely adopted import natural marbles whose wall thickness of the stone is only 3 mm. You can have a broad and distant view from the glasses wall screen to enjoy a birds’ eyes view of the urban scenery on both sides of the Huangpu River and the grandeur of the Yangtze estuary. From there, you can also overlook the atrium of the Jinmao Hyatt Hotel which is called the spatio-temporal tunnel by the architects. Besides, you can enjoy the wonderful sunrise and sunset, and take a friendly handshake with the white rapidly changing cloud in blue sky. Those two express lifts whose moving speed at 9.1 meters/second called “The Clumsy” take you to the 88-stories sightseeing hall with only 45 seconds from the underground 1st floor, which will shock you really!

JinMaoTower 

JinMaoTower

Being the combination of modern office building, luxury five-star hotel, business conference, high-end banquet, sightseeing, entertainment and market, the 88-stories Jin Mao Tower is an intelligent skyscraper that integrates profound and rich cultural connotation of the Chinese nations and also adopts western architectural art. It has become the most convenient, flexible and comfortable place in Shanghai today for security office, finance, commerce, entertainment and catering.

Travel information: 1) Ticket price: 120 Yuan/adult; 2) Opening time: 8:30 a.m. -22:00 p.m. 3) Best time to visit: all the year round; 4) Duration: 2 hours; 5) How to go there: Take the city public lines: No. 81, 82, 85, 795, 996, 971, 774, 961, 583, 798, 799, 870, 971 and 992 to the Lujiazui stop.

Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower

Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower

Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower

With the total height of 467.9 meters, the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower is located in the Lujiazui in Pudong area of Shanghai city, adjacent to the Huangpu river and on the other side of the Bund. Being the Shanghai international press center, the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower is the No.4 high tower in Asia and No.6 in the world,which is just behind the Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates ( 828 meters), the Tokyo Sky Tree TV Tower in Japan (634 meters), Guangzhou New TV Tower( 600 meters), the CN Tower in Canada ( 553.3 meters) and Ostankino Tower in Canada ( 540.1 meters). It is a famous attraction in Shanghai worthy your visit.

Being the landmark building of the Shanghai Bund, the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower is also one tour degrees higher sights in Lujiazui financial center. You can have a birds’ eyes view of the Bund, whose distance is the Shanghai Pudong and its foot is the flowing Huangpu river. It stands till there, no matter how many people go back and forth, witnessing the rise and fall of various history since the reform and opening up development in Shanghai.

Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower

Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower

The world-famous Oriental pearl air revolving restaurant is located in the Oriental pearl tower, 267 meters on the sphere. It enjoys high reputation proudly at the top of the Shanghai with its unique landscape advantage, outstanding diet culture and feel at home in the warm service. As Asia’s highest revolving restaurant, it covers an area of 1,500 square meters to accommodate 350 guests for dinner. This restaurant at the same time provides more luxurious package and the combination of Chinese and western buffet, hundreds kinds of delicacies, uninterrupted supply for visitors to share delicious food and appreciate beauty.

Travel information: 1) Opening time: 8:00 a.m.-18:00 p.m. 2) Ticket price: 160 RMB/adult; 3) Best time to visit: all the year round and especially those sunny day when you can overlooking the beautiful sights there; 4) Ways to get there: Take the travel line no. 3, city buses no.81, 82, 85, 870, 872. 5) Visiting suggestion: 2 hours.

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