Shanghai, with a population of over 17 million (excluding its suburbs), is not just China's largest city, but is also the city with the largest population in the world. My wife and I spent almost a week in Shanghai in 2013. My wife's sister in law was staying there at that time, and she and her family were perfect hosts to us. I was really impressed by what Shanghai had to offer - a mix of traditional China, and modern glitzy China at its very best (especially in Pudong)!
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| Huxington Tea House, Yu Gardens |
In the 19th century, Britain and China went to war, and the outcome was the Treaty of Nanking, which allowed the British free trade across various ports in China, including Shanghai. Shanghai was divided into different concessions and the foreign nationals lived in these concessions.
The Bund, with its grand European buildings, is a reminder of that period in Shanghai's history. The Bund lies along the river Huangpu, and along it, lie grand colonial era buildings like Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, Peace Hotel and Customs House.
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| Peace Hotel at The Bund |
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The Bund at night, with the HSBC Building
and Customs House |
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| Lion Sculpture at HSBC Building, The Bund |
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| Bas Relief at Peace Hotel, The Bund |
Pudong lies across the Huangpu River, and one gets a great view of it from The Bund. It was formerly a poor quarter in the city, but in the 1990s, the area was redeveloped as a Special Economic Zone, with numerous skyscrapers, some of which are among the world's tallest. It reminded me of Manhattan. The landmarks at Pudong include Oriental Pearl Tower, Jinmao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center.
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Oriental Pearl Tower
at Pudong |
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Jinmao Tower
at Pudong |
Oriental Pearl Tower houses the
Shanghai History Museum, which depicts the city's history through wax figures. On display are figures showing what the common man did for a living. There are also models of some of the city's landmarks, and modes of transportation that were popular in the city in a bygone era. It's an interesting museum indeed, and gives a good glimpse of what life in the city used to be like in the late 19th century.
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| Close-up, Oriental Pearl Tower |
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Model of a city tram at
Shanghai History Museum
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| Vintage Car, Shanghai History Museum |
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Wax figure of a person
on a wheelbarrow at
Shanghai History Museum
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Yu Gardens and Bazaar is a Ming Dynasty complex that consists of shops, restaurants, gardens, a lake, and a popular tea-house - the Huxington Tea House. The complex also has the City God Temple. Dumplings are a speciality in the market there, with a huge range on offer!
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| Dumplings, Yu Gardens |
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| Entrance of City God Temple, Yu Gardens |
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| City God Temple, Yu Gardens |
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| Hall of City God, City God Temple, Yu Gardens |
Jing'an Temple is one of Shanghai's most sacred temples. The temple is used for ancestral worship and to pray for financial success. Jing'an Temple has a Four Lions' Pillar, a Silver Buddha, and a white jade Sakyamuni.
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| Jing'an Temple |
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| Silver Buddha at Jing'an Temple |
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| White Jade Sakyamuni at Jing'an Temple |
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| Four Lions Pillar, Jing'an Temple |
The
Jade Buddha Temple was built in 1882 to house two famous jade Buddha statues, a reclining one, and a seated one. After a fire, the temple was shifted to its current location in 1918.
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| Jade Buddha Temple |
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Buddha statues at the Jade Buddha Temple
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Xujiahui Cathedral is Shanghai's main church. It was built in 1906. It has twin 50 meter tall steeples. The church was partly destroyed during the cultural revolution, but it was subsequently rebuilt.
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| Xujiahui Cathedral |
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| Pieta at Xujiahuia Cathedral |
Shanghai Museum is the city's principle museum. It was set up in 1952, but it moved to its current location in 1995. It has over 120,000 objects from the neolithic period to the Qing Dynasty. The museum has a fine collection of jade sculptures, furniture, coins, clay and ceramic vessels, and stone sculptures.
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| Equestrian figure, Shanghai Museum |
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| Child Shaped Pillow, Shanghai Museum |
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| Head of Lokapala, Shanghai Museum |
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| Ox Shaped Wine Vessel, Shanghai Museum |
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| Dish with bird design from the Qing Dynasty, Shanghai Museum |
Sun Yat Sen’s Former Residence is a popular site for people interested in the history of modern China. He lived in this villa from 1918 to 1924.
Many of his personal belongings lie here. Sun Yat Sen was born
in 1860 and he was at the forefront of the efforts to overthrow the last
Chinese dynasty. He spent 15 years abroad from 1895 after a failed uprising in
Canton. After the Qing Dynasty fell in 1911, he was made president of the new
republic. He died in 1925, before being able to set up an independent
government.
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| Sun Yat Sen's Former Residence |
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Sun Yat Sen's Statue at
Sun Yat Sen's Former Residence |
Fuxing
Park is a French park in Shanghai. The French bought this
private garden in 1908 and did it up like a Parisian park. It was called French
Park then, and was renamed Fuxing Park in 1949.
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| Pathway, Fuxing Park |
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| Marx and Engels Statue, Fuxing Park |
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum lies at one end of Nanjing Street, Shanghai's main shopping street. It has wax figures of numerous Chinese and international celebrities, including the likes of Bruce Lee, Audrey Hepburn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Julia Roberts, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Tiger Woods, Ayrton Senna, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Lady Diana.
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| Barack Obama, Madame Tussauds |
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| Michael Jackson, Madame Tussauds |
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| Audrey Hepburn, Madame Tussauds |
For animal lovers, there are two places in Shanghai that are certainly worth visiting.
Shanghai Ocean Aquarium has a vast collection of underwater life. It also boasts of penguins, It lies close to Oriental Pearl Tower in Pudong.
Shanghai Zoo has an impressive collection of wildlife from across continents. The wildlife on display includes tigers, zebras, hyenas, ostriches, flamingos, bisons, kangaroos and penguins, to name just a few.
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| Hyena, Shanghai Zoo |
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| White Tiger, Shanghai Zoo |
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| Kangaroo, Shanghai Zoo |
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| Lionfish, Shanghai Ocean Aquarium |
All in all, it was an exciting visit. In very few cities across the world have I seen such a beautiful amalgamation of the past and the present coming together. Language was certainly a problem, but I had my DK Eyewitness book with me, which made life easy. The extensive metro system in Shanghai also made transportation very easy. A highly recommended trip!!
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| A night view of the skyscrapers at Pudong |
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