Destination China
Shanghai Excursions
Yu Garden & Old Town Bazaar and Arts & Crafts Centre
Yuyuan Garden, a place of peace and comfort in the heart of bustling Shanghai, dates back to the fabled Ming Dynasty. Now a popular tourist destination, Yuyuan began as a private garden created by Pan Yunduan, who spent almost 20 years - and all of his savings - to build a garden in order to please his parents in their old age.
Jade Buddha Temple was built between 1911 and 1918, housing 70 resident monks. Its exterior is easily identifiable by its bright saffron walls. Inside, the centerpiece is a two-meter-high white jade sitting Buddha encrusted with jewels.
The Arts & Crafts Research Institute was set up in 1956 and is located in a beautiful, former French bourgeois villa by the French Concession area. This is the first center in Shanghai to focus on a comprehensive study of the traditional Chinese folk arts and crafts.
Urban Planning, French Concession, the Bund and Shanghai Museum
Building a city planning exhibition centre is indicative of the need to have citizens participating and aware of our new period of urban construction and development. The centre condenses the planning stages of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Take a walking tour of the old French Concession and International Settlement to see the European influence on this port city. Most of the old style houses in this area have remained intact, providing a charming surrounding for strolling, browsing of shops, and imagining what life for Shanghai’s wealthy community prior to World War II must have been like.
The Bund, also called the Zhongshan Road, is a famous waterfront and regarded as the symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years. Walking along the Bund, which is at the west shore of the Huangpu River, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower can be seen.
Spend the remainder of the afternoon visiting the Shanghai Museum, which contains one of the world’s best collections of Chinese art, all housed in a state of the art setting.
Zhujiajiao Water Village, the Bund & Maglev Train
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.
The Bund, also called the Zhongshan Road, is a famous waterfront and regarded as the symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years. Walking along the Bund, which is at the west shore of the Huangpu River, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower can be seen.
Shanghai Magnetic Suspension Express Train Project is a commercial high-speed railway combining the traffic, sightseeing and touring. It will take only eight minutes to travel between the downtown area to the airport by the maglev train, which runs at a speed of more than 400 kilometers per hour. It’s the world’s fastest, most futuristic passenger line.
Full day excursion to Suzhou
Suzhou is not only a famous cultural city and a city of gardens, but also the silk capital of China. Silk production peaked during the Han Dynasty when the manufactured goods were transported as far away as Rome from Chang’an (today’s Xian). The overland trade route was to become famously known as the Silk Road. However, there was also a Marine Silk Road extending from Xuwen, Guangdong or Hepu, Guangxi to Vietnam. An outward-bound voyage lasting five months would arrive in Vietnam; it would take another four months to reach Thailand; while a further twenty days would carry the merchants on to Burma. Two months later they would arrive in India and Sri Lanka, from where the silk would be eventually transported to Rome via the Mediterranean.
Full day excursion to Wuzhun
Wuzhen, located in the north of Zhejiang Province, is embraced by the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal with rivers and canals crisscrossing the whole town. For hundreds of years, its residents have been building houses along the rivers and trading near the bridges. The ancient docks, waterside pavilions, and corridors stretch out for miles and erect a romantic atmosphere that is typical to Jiang Nan water towns.
Urban Planning Museum, Sightseeing Tunnel and Pearl TV Tower
Building a city planning exhibition centre is indicative of the need to have citizens participating and aware of our new period of urban construction and development. The centre condenses the planning stages of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
The Bund, also called the Zhongshan Road, is a famous waterfront and regarded as the symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years. Walking along the Bund, which is at the west shore of the Huangpu River, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower can be seen.
Travel underground to Pudong via the Sightseeing Tunnel
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is located in Pudong Park in Lujiazui, Shanghai. The tower, surrounded by the Yangpu Bridge in the northeast and the Nanpu Bridge in the southwest, creates a picture of “twin dragons playing with pearls”.
French Concession Walking Tour
Walk the Historic Fuxing Road and Shop at Shanghai’s French Concession.
A great way to see a bit of Shanghai off the beaten tourist path and do a little off-the-the-beaten path shopping is to take a nice walk down Fuxing Road to enjoy this lovely stroll down one of Shanghai’s most beautiful French Concession streets.
Begin your walking tour at the intersection of Ulumuqi and Fuxing Roads. Start on the north side of Fuxing Road and go west. Shanghai street signs are well marked in both Chinese and English and conveniently give directions (north, south, east or west) as well.
HuangPu River Cruise
Back in the 1920’s you would have arrived in Shanghai by boat - Cruising Huangpu River is the ideal way to marvel at the remarkable views of the Bund and the river front activity.
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.
