Attractions

The Bund (外滩) Wàitān 

The Bund is a famous waterfront area in central Shanghai. The word ‘bund’ derives from an Anglo-Indian word for an embankment along a muddy waterfront and that is what it was in the beginning, when the first British company opened an office there in 1846. It houses 52 buildings of the various architectural styles such as Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Classical, Beaux-Arts, and Art Deco along the Huangpu River. These buildings were once banks and trading houses from the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Italy, Russia, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Belgium as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain, the Shanghai Club and the Masonic Club. At night, the buildings are lit with colorful lights.

Bund Sightseeing Tunnel

It’s a long Sightseeing Tunnel 646.7 m long that runs from the Bund at the end of Nanjing Road to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong. It is the first of its kind for pedestrian in China , which adopts the internationally advance SK system, taking 2.5 –  5 min to cross river. The interior wall of the tunnel is decorated with colourful light beams. In the tunnel there are transparent carriages that provide visitors with an open eye view of the tunnel. Its has a 6-sound-band acoustic system accompanying the changing scenes in the tunnel.

The Oriental Pearl TV Tower (东方明珠电视塔) Dōngfāng Míngzhūdiànshìtǎ

The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is located at the tip of Lujiazui in Pudong district, by the side of Huangpu River, opposite The Bund of Shanghai. It was designed by Jia Huan Cheng of the Shanghai Modern Architectural Design Co. Ltd. Construction in 1991. The Tower was completed on 1 Oct 1994.The design of the building is based on a verse of the Tang Dynasty poem Pipa Song by Bai Juyi about the wonderful sprinkling sound of a pipa instrument, like pearls, big and small falling on a jade plate. At 468m high, it was the tallest structure in mainland China from 1994 – 2007, when it was surpassed by Shanghai World Financial Center. The tower consists of 11 spheres , different in sizes and arranged at different levels, hanging from the sky down to the green lawn. There are fifteen observatory levels, one revolving restaurant at 267 m level. The towel also contains exhibition facilities, restaurants, a shopping mall and a 20 room hotel called the Space Hotel.

Yuyuan Garden  (豫园) Yùyuán

Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden is an extensive Chinese garden located beside the City God Temple in the northeast of the Old Shanghai City. The name Yù Yuán, literally means "Happy Garden. Currently, it has more than 400 years of history.

The garden was built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty by Pan Yunduan. Initially, it was built for his father who was a minister but he died when the garden was almost completed. The garden then became Pan Yunduan’s private garden for leisure and reclusive life where he hosted banquets, sacrificing ceremonies, play crickets, kites, writing playscripts and exchanging the antiques and artistic masterpieces. People from all walks of life from monks, nuns, fortune tellers to prostitutes were found in the garden.  

Currently, Yuyuan garden is made up of 3 parts: the east part, the middle part and the west part. The east part includes famous sites such as Sanhui Hall, Yangshan Hall, Juanyu Tower, Giant Rockery, Yixiu Pavilion, Wangjiang Pavilion, Iron Lion of Yuan Dynasty, Cuixiu Hall, Yifang, Yule Corridor, Fu Corrdior, Liangyi Pavilion, Dianchun Hall, Hexu Hall. The east part includes Yuhua Hall, Jiyushuilang, Jiyu Peak, Huijing Tower and Jiushi Pavilion. The middle includes Zhi Pavilion, Huanying Rockery and Library. The internal site includes Jingguan Hall, Guantao Tower, Huanyun Tower, Yanqing Tower, Songcui Pavilion, Ship Hall, Jiulong Pool and Ancient Stage. The best time to appreciate the beauty of Yuyuan garden is in the evening of the Lantern Festival. 

Yuyuan Garden is one of the classical representatives of Jiangnan Garden because it exhibits architectural styles during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The uniqueness of the garden’s design brings about its reputation as the No.1 Garden of Jiangnan for its Uniqueness and Splendor.

Many international figures have visited this garden and one of them is HRH Queen Elizabeth II. 

The City God Temple  (城隍庙) Chénghuángmiào

It is located next to the Yuyuan Garden (also known as Yu Garden Market).  It was built in the fifteen century during the Ming Dynasty, originally as a Taoist temple built to honor the Han statesman Huo Guang (68 BC). It composed of many halls such as the Grand Hall, Middle Hall, Bedroom Palace, Star Gods Hall. Yama Palace, Xuzhen God Hall. It has a area of more than 10,000 square meters including two gardens: West Garden (Yuyuan Garden) and East Garden.

The religious festivals of the temple are considered to be the festivals for all Shanghai people. Especially during the Sanxun festival (a day when the City God start to inspect his people), nearly everyone will come to the Temple to burn incense and worship the God, while all shops inside or close by would hang red lanterns to celebrate the festival. In addition, some folk arts, such as penmanship performance and acrobatics, are fairly attractive.