Deutsch English Home About us Travel information Suggestion Contact us online-booking Impression Testimonial.Beijing Chengdu Chongqing Dali Datong Dunhuang Guangzhou Guilin Guiyang Hangzhou Hohhot Hongkong Kashgar Lhasa Lijiang Luoyang Nanjing Tsingdao Qinghai Shanghai Suzhou Turfan Urumqi Wuhan Xi'an Zhangjiajie Shanghai The Bound The bound (Waitan) is an Anglo-Indian term for the embankment of a muddy waterfront. The term is apt: mud bedevils Shanghai. Between 1920 (when the problem was first notice) and 1965, the city sank several metres. Water was pumped back into the ground, but the Venetian threat remains. Concrete rafts are used as foundations for high-rises in this spongy mass. Its muddy predicament aside, the Bound is symbolic of Shanghai. In faraway Kashgar and Lhasa, local Chinese pose for photographs in front of oil-painted Bound facades. Constant throngs of Chinese and foreign tourists pad past the porticos of the Bound’s grand edifices with maps in hand. The buildings themselves loom serenely, oblivious to the march of revolutions: a vagabond assortment of neoclassical 1930s downtown New York styles, with a pompous touch of monumental antiquity thrown in for good measure.To the Europeans, the Bound was Shanghai’s Wall Street, a place of feverish trading, of fortunes made and lost. One the most famous traders was Jardine Matheson & Company. In 1848 Jardine’s purchased the first land offered for sale to foreigners in Shanghai and se up shop shortly after, dealing in opium and tea. The company grew into one of the great hongs (a ’hong’ is literally a business firm), and today it owns just about half of Hong Kong. At the north-western end of the Bound were the British Public Gardens (now called Huangpu Gongyuan). Famously, a sign at the entrance announced ‘No Dogs or Chinese Allowed’. Or at least that is how posterity remembers it: in actual fact the restrictions on Chinese and dogs were listed in separate clauses of a whole bevy of restriction on undesirables. The slight, however, will probably never be forgotten. The Bound today is in the process of yet another transformation. The building identified by a crowing dome is the old Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, completed in 1921 with much pomp and ceremony. For many years it housed the Shanghai people’s Municipal Government and was off-limits to curious travelers. Now it belongs to the Pudong Development Bank. Other Bound fixtures are being sold off, and will no doubt be dusted off and clean up.Jade Buddha Temple The Yufo Si is one of Shanghai’s few Buddhist temples. It is active and attracts large number of visitors-largely local and overseas Chinese tourists.Built between 1911 and 1918, the centerpiece is a 2m-hihg white jade Buddha around which the temple was built. The story goes that a monk from Putuoshan travelled to Myanmar (Burma) via Tibet, lugged the Buddha back to its present site and then went off in search of alms to build a temple for it.This seated Buddha, encrusted with jewels, is said to weigh 1000kg. A smaller Buddha from the same shipment reclines on a mahogany couch. Pudong New Area Larger than Shanghai itself, the Pudong Xingqu is on the eastern bank of the Huangpu Jiang. Before 1990-when development plans were first announced-Pudong constituted 350 sq km of boggy farmland supplying vegetables to Shanghai’s markets. Now the veggies are grown elsewhere as Pudong has become a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Shanghai’s second metro line connects Pudong with Puxi and was opened at the end of 1999. The Waigaoqiao harbour area is being upgraded into a major container port and work has begun on the US$2 billion Pudong airport, which will eventually supplement Hongqiao airport. The first international flights began relocating there in late 1999. The gargantuan economic strides in Pudong have created a vast city out of northing, but culture was never an issue. Its purpose is the creation of wealth. The tourist alienated by the scale of the place, and attractions are few and far between.Home, About Us, Travel Information, Suggestion, Contact Us, Online-booking, Impression, Testimonial and professional tour guide. Please contact us! All rights reserved

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Shanghai

The Orient Pearl TV Tower

The Orient Pearl TV Tower is 468 meters high, the tallest in Asia and the third tallest in the world. Its construction was started in 1991 and completed in 1994. Soon after that, it was opened to the public. Now it has become the centre of the culture, entertainment and tourism in the city of Shanghai.

It faces the Bund across the Huang Pu River. When viewed from the Bund, the tower and the Nan Pu and Yang Pu bridges create a vivid imagery known as "two dragons playing with a pearl." The sphere at the top has a diameter of 45 meters and is 263 meters above ground. The observation deck in the sphere offers a sweeping view of the city. The revolving restaurant is set at 267 meters above Pu Dong New Area. The dance ball, piano bar and 20 karaoke rooms, at 271 meters, are also opened to the public. The penthouse, which sits at 350 meters, has an observation deck, meeting room, and coffee shop. The tower integrates broadcasting technologies with sightseeing, catering, shopping, amusement, and accommodations. It has become the symbol of the city and a major tourist attraction in Shanghai.

Shanghai Museum

Situated in the center of Shanghai in People's Square, Shanghai Museum is a large museum of ancient Chinese art. The museum style and presentation surround visitors with artifacts demonstrating ancient wisdom and philosophy of Chinese people. The exterior design of the round dome and the square base symbolizes the ancient idea of a round heaven and a square land. The museum consists of eleven galleries and three exhibition halls. The eleven Galleries cover most of the major categories of Chinese art: Ancient Bronze, Ancient Ceramics, Paintings, Calligraphy, Ancient Sculpture, Ancient Jade, Coins, Ming and Qing Furniture, Seals, and Minority Nationalities.

China is one of the earliest countries to use currency, and the nearly 7,000 pieces in the Gallery of Chinese Coins reveal the development of Chinese currency and the growth of economic exchange between China and foreign countries.

Chinese culture is a result of the melding and collaboration of many nationalities. During its long history, minority nationalities have created their own colorful cultures. From clothes to textiles, metal wares, sculptures, pottery, lacquer and bamboo wares, the exotic styles of their artwork give us a general picture of creativity and passion toward life of those ethnic groups.

As a Chinese saying goes, it is better to see for oneself than to hear many times. Shanghai Museum welcomes visitors to see and enjoy Chinese culture.

Temple of the Town God (Chénghuáng Miào)

Every Chinese city once had its Temple of the Town God (Chénghuáng Miào), the central shrine for Taoist worship. Shanghai's version was founded in 1403 but the current temple dates from the early 1990s. Temple of the Town God in Shanghai was founded in 1403, when local official Qín Yùbó, who had been posthumously designated as Shànghai's patron town god by the Míng Dynasty Hóngwu emperor (1328-98), was finally honored with his own temple. It didn't take on its present name until 1929.

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), the temple, which had grown to become more of a marketplace, was destroyed. In the early 1990s, the temple and surrounding bazaar area, which encircled part of Yù Yuán, were extensively restored to become one large market/temple complex.

The temple's main courtyard is usually jammed with worshippers praying before the statues of Huò Guang (a local military hero) in the front hall, and the town god in the back. The smell of incense is overpowered only by the smell of money wafting from the nearby shops.

Garden of Contentment (Yu Yuan Garden)

The Garden of Contentment or the Yu Yuan Garden is famous in Shanghai as one of the finest Chinese Gardens in China. The garden is nestled within the main ancient City particularly in Shanghai China. It has been said that the garden was first established in 1159 by Pan Yuan. He spent of about 20 years making the garden look fascinating from his father’s eyes—Pan En who was a prominent high-ranking official during the Ming Dynasty period.

The garden suffered and experienced severe damage by the people occupied on it. Starting from 1760 when it was bought by the traders which spoiled much in the 19th century. While in 1842 which was during the Opium Wars, the Town God temple was being occupied by the British armies for about five days. And during the period of Taiping Rebellion the garden as well was being inhabited by the imperial troops and was again damage by the Japanese in 1942. Eventually, the garden was then refurbished by the Shanghai government in 1956-1961 which was then dramatically opened to the public in 1961 while when the year 1982 approaches the latter was appointed as a national monument.

Zhujiajiao

Located in a suburb of Shanghai city, Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town well-known throughout the country, with a history of more than 1700 years. Covering an area of 47 square kilometers, the little fan-shaped town glimmers like a bright pearl in the landscape of lakes and mountains.

Endowed with another elegant name - 'Pearl Stream' - the little town is the best-preserved among the four ancient towns in Shanghai. Unique old bridges across bubbling streams, small rivers shaded by willow trees, and houses with courtyards attached all transport people who have been living amidst the bustle and hustle of the modern big city to a brand-new world full of antiquity, leisure and tranquility.

It is said that to visit Zhujiajaio without seeing the bridges means that you have not really been to Zhujiajiao at all! Bridges in the town are distinctive and old, built during Ming and Qing Dynasties. The old town is thoroughly connected by 36 delicate spans in different shapes and styles, from wooden to stone to marble.

In the town, there is an ancient street filled with representative ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, attracting great numbers of domestic and foreign tourists. That is North Street, which is the best preserved ancient street in this suburb of Shanghai. Only one kilometer long, the whole street is at once primitively simple, yet very elegant. Strolling on this ancient thoroughfare and appreciating the historic buildings, long-established stores, and old bridges as well as the many narrow lanes is another enjoyment.

Longhua Temple (Longhua Si)

Longhua Temple is the largest and most active Buddhist temple in Shanghai. It is especially famous for its 10th-century, seven-story octagonal pagoda. Longhua Temple is traditionally believed to have been founded around 247 AD by Sun Quán, the king of the Wú Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period. The pagoda dates from the 10th century. Due to fires and wars, most of the current temple buildings are fairly new.

Due to its age and fragility, the interior of the Longhua pagoda is not open to visitors. Outside, the pagoda is made of wood and brick and tiny bells hang in its delicate eaves.

Near the front entrance stands a three-story bell tower (Zhong Lóu), where a 3.3-ton bronze bell is rung at midnight every New Year's Eve (Dec 31-Jan 1). The tower's 3,000-kilogram (3.3-ton) bronze bell, cast in 1894, is struck 108 times to dispel all the worries said to be afflicting mankind. For a fee of ¥10 ($1.25), you can strike the bell, but for three times only.

The most impressive of the four is the third hall, Dàxióng Bao Diàn (Grand Hall). where a gilded statue of Sakyamuni sits under a swirling red and gold carved dome. He is flanked on each side by 18 arhats (disciples). Behind him, Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, presides over a fascinating tableau representing the process of reincarnation: a boat in the bottom right corner indicates birth, while death awaits at the bottom left corner.

The fourth hall, Sanshén Bao Diàn, features three incarnations of the Buddha. Behind the third and fourth halls is a simple, popular vegetarian restaurant (11am-2pm), as well as the Longhua Hotel and a room filled seven rows deep with small golden statues.

Jade Buddha Temple

Located in the city of Shanghai and as one of its famous Buddhist temples, Jade Buddha Temple belongs to the Chan sect, and has a history of over one hundred years.

During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, Monk Huigen from Putuo Mountain, on his way home after paying homage to Buddha in India, brought back from Myanmar 5 jade statues of Buddha of various size, and left in Shanghai 2 white-jade statues of one seated and one reclining of Sakyamuni for the specially built temple in Jiangwan, hence the name of the Temple. It was moved to the present address in 1918. Yufo Temple constructed in the style of the palace architecture of the Song Dynasty comprises the Hall of Heavenly King, the Precious Hall of Sakyamuni, the Hall of Reclining Buddha, the Pavilion of Jade Buddha etc.

As one of most precious relics in the Temple, the seated jade statue, 1.9 meters high and carved out of a single piece of jade stone has the image of a solemn Buddha and is reputed as a gem of Buddhist art works. Housed in the middle of the Pavilion of Jade Buddha, the seated statue of Buddha is decorated with dazzling Buddhist lights and gold girdles. Enshrined in the main room of the Hall of Reclining Buddha, the reclining statue of white jade, 0.96 meter long and lying on his side on a mahogany couch, is the image of Sakyamuni in nirvana with a serene and self-possessed expression. Here the air is heavy with smoke of burning incense all the year round and the sound of scripture-chanting never comes to an end.

Huangpu River

Huangpu River, the most important shipping artery of Shanghai, wriggles like an undulating muddy dragon from the mouth of the Yangtze River in Wusong to the East China Sea. The yellow and ice-free Huangpu River is 114 kilometers (71 miles) long, 400 meters (0.25 miles) wide and has an average depth of nine meters (30 feet).

Huangpu River joins 29 kilometers (18 miles) north of downtown Shanghai and divides Shanghai into two parts, east and west. Cruises are available everyday, including the shorter cruises (navigating the main waterfront area between the Yangpu Bridge and the Nanpu Bridge) and the complete cruises (meandering eastward along the golden waterway, over a distance of 60 kilometers or 37 miles). Whether it is in the daytime or at night, the views along the river are the same beautiful. The great modern skyscrapers and the characteristic buildings in different architectural styles are the best records of the development of the city and the Huangpu River, the birthplace of Shanghai, is the faithful eyewitness. However, it has become the largest river in Shanghai, and Suzhou River became its branch.

It is an average of 400 meters wide and 9 meters deep. Shanghai gets most of its drinking water from Huangpu, which thus plays an important part for the metropolis. It divides the city into two regions: Pudong (east) and Puxi (west).

The Bund in Shanghai is located along the river.