Scenes and Tourist Sites

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Date:30/01/2008

Cultural and Historical Sites
Shanghai is a city with a long cultural history. By the end of 2006, there were 19 cultural and historical sites listed under the state protection and 165 under the city protection. A number of ancient sites and gardens dating back to Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties have been well preserved.

Yuyuan Garden
Under well preservation, the Yuyuan Garden in city center is a famous garden featuring southern China structures. Construction of the garden started in 1559. Its layout features the garden styles of the
southern part of the country during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Enjoying a lasting reputation as "Wooded Hill in City," the garden is very well preserved. Carved dragons wind across atop the walls which divide the garden into different scenes. The pavilions, ponds, man-made stone formations have formed 48 scenic spots, including ancient buildings, rare stones and centuries-old trees.

Longhua Temple
Longhua Temple in Xuhui District is the oldest, largest and most magnificent Buddhist architecture in Shanghai area. It is said that the temple was built in AD 247. The temple, the pagoda, the temple fair and the evening bell chiming constitute a religious tourist attraction. Many Buddhist scriptures, gold seals and statues from the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty are housed in a hall built in the Song Dynasty.

Jade Buddha Temple
Jade Buddha Temple in Jing'an District was built in 1882 and named after two jade Buddhist statues that Hui Gen, a monk from Putuo Mountain, brought back from Myanmar. In the temple, there are several grandiose halls housing a 1.9-meter-high and 3.4-meter-wide jade statue featuring a sitting Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. The temple has several grandiose halls.

Confucius Temple
Confucius Temple in Jiading District was built in 1219, always known as the number one temple in this area of the country. The temple has exhibition halls displaying articles related to the traditional imperial examination system and three high stone tablets, representing people's respect to education and Confucius.
The 270-year-old "Danghu Academy" in the temple is one of the best-protected such buildings in Shanghai area. Among the stone tablets there, one is carved with the calligraphy by Zhu Xi, a great Chinese educator. Many others are also of very high art values.

Square Pagoda
The Square Pagoda in Songjiang District was built in AD 949. Made of wood and bricks, the nine-story, 42.5-meter-high square pagoda features the architectural style of brink pagodas of the Tang Dynasty. Many parts of the building are original from the Song Dynasty. The pagoda today is surrounded by a "classical garden," which is dotted with bridges, pavilions and stone formations.

Zhujiajiao Ancient Water Town
Known as the"Shanghai's Venice," the well-preserved Zhujiajiao is a typical ancient water town in the south of the Yangtze River. It first appeared as a village market during the Three-Kingdom Period. Later, it became a bustling trade town in the Ming Dynasty. Today, visitors can still see many well-preserved buildings, stone bridges and stone lanes dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. This is a little quiet town where people can find antiquity, leisure and tranquility.

Revolutionary Sites
Shanghai has many precious relics and sites featuring its glorious revolutionary history.

Site of the first National Congress of the Communist Party of China
Situated at No. 76-78 Xingye Road, this is the birth place of the Communist Party of China and is now under the state protection. The two houses with stone gates are typical Shanghai resi- dences in the 1920s. The first national congress of the Party was convened in one of the sitting room on the ground floor on July 23, 1921. Now, the furniture in the sitting room is replica. There are also wax statues of participants in the congress, precious documents and other exhibits, recording the historic period of the beginning of the Party and its activities in the following years.

Site of 2nd National Congress of the Communist Party of China
Located at No. 30 Lane 7 on today's Chengdu Road N., the two-story shikumen building has been placed on the list of relics under city-level protection. July 16-23, 1922, saw the 2nd National Congress of the Communist Party of China convene its first session at the living room on the first floor. Furniture in the meeting living room is replicas. Hundreds of exhibits on show at the site feature Party constitution and Party Program passed at the meeting and other documents recording revolutionary activities after the Party was born.

Residence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen
No.7 Xiangshan Road is the address of the residence, which was bought by some Chinese living then in Canada for Dr. Sun Yatsen to support his revolutionary activities. Dr. Sun lived in this house in 1920-24. In 1961, it was listed as an important historical site under state protection. During his stay here, Dr. Sun reformed the Kuomintang and entered the first round of cooperation with the Communist Party of China. In addition, he had written several books in this house. Now, articles on display in this residence include
the sword, military maps and writing tools once used by Dr. Sun.

Residence of Mao Zedong
Mao's former residence is an old-style, two-storey building with a stoneframed gate, located at 7 Yulanfang, Weihaiwei Road (today's No.7, Lane 583, Weihai Road). In mid-February 1924, when Mao was the secretary of the CPC Central Bureau and an official of the Kuomintang Shanghai branch, he lived in this house. Today, the building is listed as a historical site under the city's protection.

Zhou Residence
Zhou Residence, where late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai lived at No 73 Sinan Road, is a French-style garden house. During 1946-47, this was the Shanghai representative office of the Communist Party of China. Zhou held many important press conferences and met with many famous patriotic personages here. Officially turned into a memorial hall in 1979, the house exhibits the sword, military maps and writing tools once used by Dr. Sun.

Zhou Residence
Zhou Residence, where late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai lived at No 73 Sinan Road, is a French-style garden house. During 1946-47, this was the Shanghai representative office of the Communist Party of China. Zhou held many important press conferences and met with many famous patriotic personages here. Officially
turned into a memorial hall in 1979, the house exhibits some of the precious articles and documents written by Zhou.

Residence of Lu Xun
The former residence of the great Chinese writer is at No. 9, Lane 132 Shanyin Road. The writer did a lot of writing, translating, editing in this house and created the "China Freedom Movement Alliance" and the "Leftists' Alliance" here. On display in the three-story red brick house are some writing tools and articles once used by the writer.

Tourist Scenes
Since 1990, Shanghai has built a batch of landmark architectures that are known both at home and abroad.
These buildings have become new tourist scenes in the city, reflecting its new appearances.
New Bund The Bund is the "name card" of Shanghai. The new Bund lies along the west bank of the Huangpu River between Waibaidu Bridge and Nanpu Bridge. The four-kilometer-long thoroughfare was listed as one of the top 10 new scenes and tourist attractions in the city. Along the Bund, there are buildings of different Chinese and Western architectural styles, nicknamed the contemporary world expo of architectures. This cultural heritage of mankind has epitomized the modern history of Shanghai. The modern skyline at the Lujiazui across the Huangpu River is within easy view, and as the night sets in, the scene along the Bund is fantastic.

People's Square
Located at the very center of the city, People's Square, nicknamed "city's green lung," is a garden-type open space surrounded by buildings and facilities for administration, cultural activities, transportation and commerce. On its north is the People's Mansion, to its northwest the Shanghai Grand Theater, to its northeast the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, and to its south the Shanghai Museum. Flanked on both sides by 17-meter-wide greenbelts, People's Avenue goes across the center of the square. The total green areas in the square reach 80,000 square meters.

Orient Pearl Broadcasting and Television Tower
It is one of the city's tourist landmarks. Serving for radio and television broadcasting as well as recreation and sightseeing, the 460-meter-tall tower is the highest TV tower in Asia and the third highest in the world. It features broadcasting, entertainment and tourist facilities. Tourist can get a bird's-eye view of the city at the 263-meter-high observatory room and the 350-meter-high "space cabin." At 267 meters high is a rotating restaurant, the highest one of its kind in Asia. The ground floor of the structure is a historical museum featuring the city's history, including the life-like scenes of old Shanghai streets.

Jin Mao Tower
One of Shanghai's landmarks, the building is the tallest in China and the third tallest in the world. Overlooking the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone in Pudong, Jin Mao is an intelligent building offering services for business, hotel, recreation, sightseeing and shopping. It covers a total floor area of 290,000 square meters and is 420.5 meters high. It has 88 stories above the ground and three stories underground. The 88th floor is the highest and largest sightseeing hall in China, offering a breathtaking bird's-eye view of the city to up to more than 1,000 tourists at a time.

Shanghai Ocean Aquarium It is a world-level high-tech tourist project. Covering a total area of 22,400 square meters, Shanghai Ocean Aquarium is located in Pudong's Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone. With a theme of "Across Continents -- Through Worlds of Water," the aquarium is divided into 8 zones, displaying more than 300 species and a total of more than 14,000 precious fish from across the world. Its 120-meter-long undersea tunnel is one of the longest of its kind in the world and a major attraction for visitors. Walking through this tunnel, people can have a close contact with the unique and colorful ocean world.

Shanghai Xintiandi
Shanghai Xintiandi is an urban tourist attraction imbued with the city's historical and cultural legacies. The 30,000-square-meter trendy entertainment complex is nestled in the very center of the city, close to the bustling Huaihai Road C., the Huangpi Road S. Station of the Metro Line and the conjunction of the north-south and east-west elevated roads. It showcases the perfect blending of Shanghai's traditional "Shikumen" houses and state-of-the-art buildings. It features a multitude of restaurants and cafes, retail, entertainment, cultural, recreational, commercial and residential facilities in restored -- stone-gate buildings. It's where Shanghai's rich history meets the modern posh lifestyle.

Food and Shopping
Shanghai is also known as a paradise for eating and shopping. There are more than 30,000 chain-store-style restaurants serving Chinese and Western-style food and delicacies from other Asian regions. The foreign-style restaurants feature food from more than 30 countries, including Italy, France, Japan, Portugal, and India while the Chinese ones feature food from more than 20 regions of China. The famous restaurant areas are at the City God Temple area, Yunnan Road, Henan Road, Zhapu Road and Xianxia Road. For shopping buffs, Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road, Super Brand Mall, the Grand Gateway, and Plaza 66 are the top choices.

City God Temple
The City God Temple area features antique shops, restaurants and teahouses in typical Shanghai style. The famous business venues in the area include Huabaolou antique market, Cangbaolou antique and boutique market, Zijincheng basement market, and Shanghai Old Street antique shops. The famous food sold here includes Nanxiang buns. The area is popular with tourists from home and abroad for its wide variety of commodities, special operation mode and good services.

Yunnan Road Food Market
The food street at the crossing of Yan'an and Xizang roads featuring restaurants serving typical food from Shanghai and Sichuan, Shandong, Jiangsu and other provinces. The choice food includes Beijing roast duck, salty duck, steak glutinous rice cake, sauce-dipped chicken and hotpot. It is popular with tourist on first visit to Shanghai.

Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall The street is known as "China's No.1 Commercial Street." It began to boom in the 19th century and was the busiest shopping area in old shops moved back to the street while modern shopping centers like the No.1 Department Store, Oriental Shopping Center, Wing On Department Store and Landmark Plaza have also sprung up along the street.

Huaihai Road
The road matches the world's famous shopping streets for its elegance and high-end commodities. It is lined with shops housed in buildings of Chinese, American and European styles spanning old and modern eras. Brand-name products are never in short supply here. High-end shopping malls like Shanghai Times Square, Printemps-Shanghai, Isetan Department Store and Maison Mode Department Store are popular with shoppers of luxury brand products.

Xujiahui
It is the largest shopping and entertainment zone in the city's southwest. The shopping area is named after Xu Guangqi, a scientist in Ming Dynasty who lived in the area. Covering 1.2 square kilometers, Xujiahui is home to Grand Gateway shopping center, Orient Shop- ping Center, Pacific Department Store, Huijin Department Store, Metro City and Huilian Department Store. The shopping area also has the biggest number of underground shops in Shanghai.