Introduction to Shanghai and surrounding sights

^{porG Introduction to Shanghai and surrounding sights

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Introduction to Shanghai  Shanghai is the biggest city and the commercial and financial center of China, with a land area of 6,340 square kilometers and a population of 18 million people.  As China ‘s most populous metropolis, Shanghai has been snoozing for the past few decades. Now, it is more alive than ever. It is an entrepreneur city of 2010 World Expo.  Shanghai is a haven for shoppers — Nanjing Road is the No.1 shopping street in all of China — but perhaps even more importantly.  Also, Shanghai is a popular tour city with may unique sights such as the Lujiazui financial center, the Bund, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and so on.

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Lujiazui Financial Center  The Oriental Pearl TV Tower  located in Lujiazui financial center, Shanghai  surrounded by the Yangpu Bridge in the northeast and the Nanpu Bridge in the southwest, creating a picture of ‘twin dragons playing with pearls’.  468 meters high (1,536 feet), which is the world’s third tal est TV and radio tower surpassed in height only by towers in Toronto, Canada and Moscow, Russia.  Shanghai International Conference Center  located to the northwest of Oriental Pearl TV Tower, along Riverside Boulevard, opposite to the Bund  cover an area of 45 thousand square meters  composed of the fol owing sections  modern conference halls  two multi-functional halls with an area of 4300 square meters  one international conference hall of press center (exhibition hall) with an area of 2500 square meters  two conference halls that can hold 200 people

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The Bund  "The Bund" is a long, storied road in Shanghai. The Bund has been considered a historic symbol of Shanghai for over one hundred years. It is a source of great pride to the Shanghai people, as it shows the world Shanghai’s culture and its capability to synchronize and meld its local culture with civilizations abroad.  The Bund faces Shanghai’s mother river, the Huangpu River. Behind the Bund are old buildings representing architectural styles from different countries. The unique geography around the Bund and that geography’s effect on the economy of Shanghai and China throughout the past one hundred years fil s the Bund with cultural connotation and undertones.  The river, the long bank, the green belt and the different architectural styles of the buildings on the Bund is the most "Shanghai-like" sight in Shanghai.

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Bund Sightseeing Tunnel  Like a rainbow in the underground world, the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel transports people under the Huangpu River that separates Pudong from the older part of the city.  Opened to the public in October 2000, the tunnel is China’s first cross-river artificial sightseeing tunnel with a total length of 646.7 meter, connecting the north side of Chen Yi Square at the Bund and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong.  Modern high technologies are showcased in one way or another. Escalators are instal ed at its entrances and exits, and hydraulic pressure lifts are especial y designed for the handicapped. The audiovisual show in the tunnel is part Disney and part psychedelic – pictures, patterns and views about people, history, culture, science, technology and natural scenery as wel as background music in the five- minute ride with neon madness wil have your head spinning.

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Chenyi Square  At the end of the 10-mile Nanjing Road is Chenyi Square, dominated by a sculpture of Chenyi-the first Shanghai mayor of the People’s Republic of China. The sculpture is made of bronze and stands 5.6 meters high with a red granite underlay 3.5 meters high. Every weekend, a grand "Square Concert" is held in front of the sculpture.  To the south of the sculpture is a popular fountain. Many colored lamps are set under the water of the fountain, and these lamps are turned on at night. The beautiful colored water streams created by the lamps are a great sight to see in Chenyi Square at night.

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Century Park  Century park is a huge park modeled park with lakes, hil s, grass and lots of trees. The park itself is by far the largest in Shanghai and it has got the cleanest air as wel .  Together with the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum and the Maglev train, the park, decorated with flying flags and crowded with jubilant people, is one of the main tourist attractions during public holidays.

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Xujiahui  Xujiahui is one of the most prosperous business centers, with many famous mansions and shopping centers.  The history of the district dates back to Ming Dynasty. A famous scientist Xu Guangqi, the Secretary of the Grand Council, had been buried here. Some of his descendants had multiplied and lived here, so it was first named "Xujia Vil age" and then gradual y developed into town. The name "Xujiahui" was from the fact that Xu Guangqi built a cottage at the joint of the two rivers of Zhaojiabang and Lihongjing. In March 1957, Changshu and Xuhui districts were amalgamated into the new Xuhui District.  There are many great sites in the district.  Longhua Town is the only ancient town with a long history of more than one thousand years in the urban Shanghai. The temple is the biggest and oldest in Shanghai, built over 1,700 years ago.  Shanghai Botanical Garden is well known for the diversified exhibition centers such as Herbal Medicines Garden and Peony Garden and the Memorial of Huang Daopo.

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Zhouzhuang-No.1 water country of China  Zhouzhuang lies at the middle between Shanghai and Suzhou, is an ancient town of Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province. This ancient town has a history of more than 900 years old with many houses built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are about 100 houses with courtyards, and 60 of them have arch gateways made by carved bricks.  The Twin Bridge was built between 1573 and 1619. The area is crossed by the Yinzi and Nanbei riversBecause they look like an ancient key, it also known as Key Bridge.

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Zhouzhuang-No.1 water country of China  Heritages of the Ming and Qing Dynasties:  Zhouzhuang has about 1000 households, living in the old dwel ing quarters.  More than 60% of the houses built in the Ming and Qing dynasties and the early Republic of China as wel are wel preserved.  Shen house  It was built in 1742 during the Qing Dynast.  It consists of seven courtyards, five archways, more than 100 rooms of different size along two sides of a 100-m-long axis road, covering an area of 2000 sq.m, offering a unique traditional Chinese architectural style.  Zhang Hal  It was built between 1436 and 1449.  It has 6 courtyards and more than 70 rooms, covering more than 1800 sq.m.

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Hangzhou-one of heaven cities  Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province, have long been a popular tourist destinations for hundreds of years.  Founded about 2200 years ago during Qin Dynasty and served as the south tip of Grand Canal in history, now it has become a regional political, economic and cultural center. It is cal ed as the hometown of silk in China  It is famous for its natural beauty and historical & cultural heritages. West lake is one of them.

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West Lake  West Lake, lying in Hangzhou City, is a world famous tourist spot. Embraced by green hil s on three sides, the lake covers an area of 5.6 square kilometers and has a perimeter of 15 kilometers.  The lake is divided into 5 sections, namely the Outer Lake, North Inner Lake, Yue Lake and Little South Lake, by Gu Hil , Sudi Causeway, Baiti Causeway and Ruangong Mound.  The name of West Lake was fixed as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Before the Tang Dynasty, the lake had various names such as Wulin Water, Mingsheng Lake, Jinzhong Lake, Longchuan, Qianyuan, Qiantang Lake, and Shang Lake, etc. Since Song Dynasty (960- 1279), the West Lake has another elegant name Xizi Lake.

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West Lake  Among the West Lake, the most famous sites are the Ten Sights and the Ten New Sights (known as the Double-Ten Sights)  The Ten Sights in West Lake 1. Melting Snow at Broken Bridge( 断桥残雪 ) 2. Spring Dawn at Sudi Causeway( 苏堤春晓 ) 3. Sunset Glow over Leifeng Hil ( 雷峰夕照 ) 4. Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard( 曲苑风荷 ) 5. Autumn Moon on Calm Lake( 平湖秋月 ) 6. Listening to Orioles Singing in the Wil ows( 柳浪闻莺 ) 7. Viewing Fish at Flowers Harbor( 花港观鱼 ) 8. Evening Bel at Nanping Hil ( 南屏晚钟 ) 9. Three Pools Mirroring the Moon( 三潭印月 10. Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds( 双峰插云 ).

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West Lake  The Ten New Sights 1. Dream Spring of Hupao( 虎跑梦泉 ) 2. Tea-tasting at Dragon Well( 龙井问茶 ) 3. Gem Bathed in Flowing Rosy Clouds ( 宝石流霞 ) 4. Heaven Wind over Wushan Mountain( 吴山天风 ) 5. Scud over Yuhuang( 玉皇飞云 ) 6. Yellow Dragon Spitting Greenness( 黄龙吐翠 ) 7. Rains of Sweet-scented Osmanthus Over Hills ( 满陇桂雨 ) 8. Trees in Mist by the Nine Rivulets ( 九溪烟树 ) 9. Ruan Mound in Green( 阮墩环碧 ) 10. Cloud Dwelling and Bamboo Path ( 云栖竹径 ).  The West Lake is also famous for its historical flavor with numerous celebrities. National heroes Yue Fei, Yu Qian, Zhang Ruoshui and Qiu Jin were al buried along the West Lake, leaving their il ustrious names and noble spirits in the green hil s and blue waters. Moreover, many ancient poets and artists, such as Bai Juyi, Su Dongpo, Liu Yong and Pan Tianshou, had also left countless famous writings.

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Suzhou-another heaven city in China  Suzhou, a city in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, is considered as beautiful as the paradise. It is praised as the ‘Oriental Venice’, featuring a scenic water town with numerous ponds and streams.  Suzhou is a wel – known tourist and cultural city, as wel as a coastal economic opening area, with 2500 years long history. It is famous with many parks and towers.

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Suzhou parks Liuyuan park Changyuan park Keyuan park

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Suzhou towers Huqiu tower North temple tower

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Convenient transportation

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Convenient transportation

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