Places To See in Shanghai Today Bund Pudong and Nanking Road

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Places to see Shanghai today is geared for the tourists and the shoppers.

It is seeking to out bling the other Asian cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore.

When China began to open up to the world the city welcomed international capital and help to push its development forward.

Now no other city in China is more cosmopolitan and international.

Situated on the estuary of Yangtze River it is a port city on the Huangpu River, which is a main artery of the area. Once a fishing town, it was opened to the world by the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. The Americans, British, French, Germans, and Russians began to set up their businesses in the city. By the 1920s and 1930s it was called the "Paris of the East".

The ‘Bund’, put forward as the symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years. Borders the west bank of the river Huangpu and gives testament to the influence of the west on the city. It curves some 1500 meters from the Waibaidu Bridge to Nanpu Bridge showing various styles of architecture such as Baroque, Gothic and Romanesque.

It is wonderful to view at night with all the buildings tastefully lit up. Since its upgrade in twenty ten the traffic has been redirected to an underground pass and public spaces have been created, which all adds to its ambience.

Just off the Bund is the shopping delight of Nanjing Road at three miles plus it is one of the major shopping places on earth. This was the earliest shopping street in Shanghai when the British imported foreign goods into the city.

Of course over the years there has been many changes but it has kept its commercial nature. Now you will find shopping mall after shopping mall, speciality stores, traditional stores, luxury stores, hotels, theatres, street vendors and entertainers. There is a street train, flashing neon lights, light shows and lots and lots of people.

Across the Huangpu River is Shanghai's new area called the Pudong. You can cross on one of the many ferryboats, walk via the pedestrian tunnel, take the train or take a taxi. The Pudong is given over to everything modern and skyscraper after skyscraper competes for a foothold.

Here you can visit the space design Orient Pearl Tower, which is a TV and radio tower standing at 1,536 feet high. There are three large spheres including the top sphere, known as the space module. The space module contains shops, a rotating restaurant and a viewing platform. The tower also has a hotel, a history museum and other attractions.

Another must see view is from eighty-eighth floor of the Jin Mao Tower. Two direct elevators whisk you to the viewing floor in only 45 seconds. The tower also holds the highest hotel in the world the Grand Hyatt hotel. Floors fifty-three to the eighty-seventh are reserved for the deluxe Hotel. On the viewing floor there is a sloping window where you can look down into the tallest hotel lobby in the world.

On my visit there was an Italian restaurant where we had dinner at night with views over the Pudong, the Huangpu River and the Bund it was amazing. There was also a piano bar with a local Chinese singer singing modern and traditional Chinese songs and she was very good as were the views. If you get the chance, do it!

Next to this tower is the Shanghai World Financial Center with 101 floors and about 1,614 feet high. Here is another observation floor with the added twist of a skywalk, which is a fifty-five meter corridor with a see through glass floor.

For a more traditional visit there is the famous classical Yuyuan Garden, which was laid out and finished in 1577. This five-acre garden is a restoration that opened in 1961. There are six main areas holding pavilions, halls, rockeries, streams, ponds and cloisters. At the entrance to the gardens is the nine turning bridge, which was built that way to deflect evil spirits. There is also a four hundred year old Huxinting Teahouse.

In the north west part of Shanghai you will find the Jade Buddha Temple. Here are two priceless white jade statues, one reclining and the other seated in the traditional pose. The Sitting Buddha is 190 centimeters high and adorned with agate and emeralds. The Recumbent Buddha is 96 centimeters long. You can also view ancient paintings, Buddhist scriptures and other artefacts.

There are many other places to see in Shanghai, as any good guidebook will point out.

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