Shanghai

Today's Shanghai weaves the infamous seaport legacy of its past together with impressive new 21st-century architecture and grand 4 & 5 star hotels and shopping complexes. It is an intriguing, fast-paced city, where East meets West. No other city in the world is quite like it. While Shanghai is China's largest city, with 14 million people, it manages to remain both densely populated and highly sophisticated and exhilarating. Long known as a paradise for adventurers in pre- 1949 days, Shanghai now opens its arms as one of the most exciting cities in the world. Shoppers can bargain with merchants in designer boutiques day and night along Nanjing Road, the Fifth Avenue of China.

Shanghai enjoys an international reputation for excellent cuisine-more than 10,000 specialty dishes can be found here. You have a wide range of dining choices in some of the finest restaurants in China, or can opt for eating on the streets from one of many vendors that instantly appear at meal times. At night, Shanghai comes alive with entertainment, including theater, opera, acrobats, discos, karaoke clubs, and upscale lounges-the city's pulse equals the excitement of New York, London or Paris. You can even take an overnight cruise around the harbor, an excellent way to capture the spectacular view of the Bund at night and the 11 new" Shanghai skyline, with its impressive futuristic 1,510 foot TV tower.

With the first section of a state-of-the-art underground railway and free way system completed, and a new international airport and visitor transportation system scheduled to be completed next year, Shanghai is well-positioned to welcome travelers to China as "the Gateway to the Orient" in the new millennium.

The Bund
Stretching about a mile along the Huangpu River, once known as the Wall Street of Asia, China's most famous waterfront is lined with 1930's-era buildings. One of the most elegant and famous of these is the Peace Hotel, recently remodeled, it towers over the harbor and offers a wonderful view. The water front park along the Bund is a popular meeting place for Chinese and foreign visitors, as well as occasional performers. Early morning visitors will see young and old practicing Tai Ji, martial arts, and ballroom dancing. Side-streets in the area have charming'20s and'30s-style shops and restaurants.

Nanjing Road
The ultimate shoppers' Mecca and Shanghai's "Fifth Avenue" offers China's greatest variety of retail stores, restaurants, sweets shops, gift boutiques, and cozy night clubs.

Jade Buddha Temple: Two of China's most famous jade Buddha are housed within these temple walls. Each figure is carved from a single piece of white jade, with one carved in a rarely-found reclining position.

The Old Town
It is easy to lose yourself in the narrow, winding alleys of Shanghai's Old Town. Stroll through the local bazaar and shop for traditional handicrafts, crossover the pond for lunch and tea in Huxinting Teahouse and then rest in the Garden of the Purple Clouds of Autumn and enjoy its classical Chinese landscaping.

Yuyuan Garden
This 16th-century garden is a maze of colorful pavilions, ponds, stone dragons, arching trees, and flowers, surrounding the instantly recognizable zigzag bridge. It is one of China's finest examples of Ming Dynasty gardens and architecture.

The Children's Palace
Once the palatial home of a Shanghai millionaire, children now come here to study performing arts, calligraphy, and ancient handicrafts, as well as science and modern technologies. It is very enjoyable, and a photographer's paradise.

Nanpu Bridge
Nanpu Bridge is situated across the Huangpu River, in the southeast of Shanghai city. It is the world's second, and Asia's largest and tallest twin-towered, double-cabled drawbridge, stretching 8.5 km. The towers have a height of 150 m while the main draw-bridge is 846 m long. With a net height of 46 m, 50,000-ton vessels can easily pass through under the bridge. During the night, the bridge looks even more picturesque under the luminous shower of over 600 lamps. On both sides of the bridge are four 50 m, fully computerized sightseeing lifts that add to the convenience of sightseers.

The Huangpu River
A cruise on the 110-kilometer-long Huangpu River brings visitors in touch with Shanghai's urban buildings, new industrial zones and the Yangtze River estuary.

Ancient towns in the region of rivers and lakes
The Zhujiajiao, Luzhi and Zhoushi towns scattered around Dianshan Lake present a typical landscape in the south of the Yangtze River. Simple yet graceful buildings, rivers winding through the towns and small bridges in various shapes.