Shanghai, China's leading industrial and commercial city and major financial center, is located in the middle of the coast of the Chinese mainland and on the Southern shore of the Yangtze River estuary. The famous Huangpu River flows through Shanghai, which is in the possession of a host of historical scenes and sights that testify to the city's modern-time glory as a national commercial and financial center. The policy of reform and opening up to the outside world has transformed Shanghai into a sophisticated metropolis with a well-developed network of land, air and sea transportation. Catering and entertainment service are distinctive of the tourist industry of Shanghai. Many countries, such as Canada, France, Russia, Iran, Cuba, the Republic of Korea, Germany, New Zealand, the United States, Italy, Japan, India, Poland, Britain and the Netherlands, have established consulates-general in Shanghai.

SCENES & SIGHTS

Yangpu & Nanpu Bridges

The Yangpu and Nanpu bridges are, at 7,658 and 8,346 metres respectively, among the longest bridges of the world. Both are of the double cable-stayed suspension type with a long span.

Open 8:30-17:00.

Longhua Temple

Built during the Five Dynasties, the Longhua Temple is the most venerated and largest temple in Shanghai. Apart from its long history, the allure of the temple also lies in the Longhua Pagoda and the peach blossoms in its courtyard.

Tour of Residential Quarters

Visitors are invited do "be a Shanghai citizen for a day" by visiting families often those with several generations living under the same roof-in some residential quarters. In this way they can experience the delights of family life the oriental way.

"Pedestrians Only" Nanjing Road

Flanked on both sides by famed shopping centers, department stores, specialty stores, exotic restaurants and cultural and recreational facilities, the 5-km-long Nanjing Road is the most sophisticated shopping and tourist complex in Shanghai. Every day it is thronged by more than 1 million visitors.

The Oriental pearl TV Tower

The "Oriental Pearl" TV Tower is a new landmark of Shanghai which faces the Bund across the Huangpu River at Lujiazui, the busiest part of Pudong new Area. At a height of 468 metres, it is the tallest TV tower in Asia. An elevator whisks visitors to the tower's observational deck at a height of 263 metres, where they can feast their eyes on a panoramic view of shanghai. The tower is equipped with tourist service facilities, including eateries, shops, recreational including eateries, shops, recreational centers and a hotel.
Open 8:30-21:30.

People's Square

The People's Square, which was refurbished and expanded in 1994, is the political and cultural center of Shanghai. The square is home to a gigantic music fountain, several dozen thousand square metres of green patches, the Shanghai New Museum with a unique design, the magnificent City Hall, a spacious underground shopping center, and the splendid Grand Shanghai Theatre. A stroll on the square enables one to gain some idea about the modern chic and refined elegance of Shanghai and its people.

Grand View Garden

Patterned after the settings of the 18th-century Chinese classic A Dream of Red Mansions, the Grand View Garden is an 8-hectare affair by the Dianshan Lake in Qingpu County.

Shanghai Museum

The Shanghai Museum at the People's Square is in the possession of a collection of 123,000 cultural artifacts in 21 categories, but bronze ware, ceramics, calligraphy and painting are its forte. A vast collection of exhibits, world-class architecture, and high-tech facilities explain why the Shanghai Museum can attract visitors who come in a constant stream from every nook and cranny of the world.

Arts & Crafts Research Institute

Situated on Fenyang road and established in 1956, this is China's first comprehensive center for the research of Chinese arts and crafts. Its 19 departments are staffed with a galaxy of virtuoso craftsmen in such fields as woolen needlepoint tapestries, embroidery, ivory carving, jade carving, dough modeling, and porcelain carving. Visitors are in for quite a few rare artistic delights.

Shanghai tourist Festival

Time: From mid-October to November every year
What's On: Large-scale float parade, open-air concert, demonstration of Chinese and foreign tea ceremonies, international symposium on tourism, exhibition of culture and art associated with the classic A Dream of Red Mansions. Other programs include the tour to "be a Shanghai citizen for one day" and evening cruises on the Huangpu River. There are also tours for those who return from overseas to seek out their ancestral roots.

As befits its status as a major center of transportation in China, Shanghai has developed an extensive network of transport and telecommunication services. It is also the only city in China to have two international airports-Hongqiao Airport and Pudong Airport, which operate direct flights to and from major cities in more than 20 countries and regions. More than 40 Chinese and foreign air companies have opened airlines to Shanghai, and some of them have established offices there. As China's largest harbour city, Shanghai has fostered close ties with major commercial harbours in the world. An extensive web of expressways and railways has brought Shanghai closer to neighboring cities. Getting around in the city has become more convenient than ever with the completion of a series of elevated roads, major bridges, and the subway.

The land of Shanghai is studded with restaurants, including age-old eateries, fast food chain stores, and snack bars with a distinct local flavor. While famous dishes from every major school of Chinese cooking are served in one restaurant or another, the epicurean paradise of Shanghai also has a vast assortment of restaurants serving French, Italian, German, Russian, American, Japanese and southeastern Asian haute cuisine. But despite all this, the local culinary scene is naturally dominated by the Shanghai School of cooking, whose chefs are choosy about the ingredients and stop at nothing to home their cooking techniques, resulting in dazzling array of delicacies that can be found only in the water-bound country south of the Yangtze. The food streets at Huanghe Road, Yunnan Road and Zhapu Road are favorites with visitors.

Shanghai is a shopper's dream place, where the streets are thickly strewn with department stores, shopping centers, age-old stores, specialty stores, super markets. Virtually all the famous Chinese and foreign brands and the latest fashion can be found there. Souvenir stores are concentrated in Nanjing Road, Huaihai Road, Sichuan Road North, Yuyuan Bazaar, and Xujiahui. A special shopping excursion from Yuyuan Bazaar to Nanjing Road and then to Zhangyang Road of Pudong brings visitors on a tour of discovery of the city's commodities and its ancient, modern and contemporary history.

CULTURAL LIFE IS RICH AND COLOURFUI IN Shanghai, where there are many world-renowned performing groups including the Shanghai Philharmonic Society, Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe and Shanghai Yueju Opera Troupe. Local dancing halls, restaurants, discotheque and bars teem with fashion model teams, pop singers, and bands. Shanghai is the venue of many international cultural and art festivals. Fitness gyms and recreational clubs are all over the city.