Attractions and Tourist Sites
Attractions and Tourist Sites
Tourism City
Cultural and Historical Sites
Sites of Historical Activities
Tourist Sites
Food and Shopping
Tourism City
Shanghai is one of China’s major tourism cities. In 2013, the added value of the city’s tourism sector reached 140.08 billion yuan. The tourism services also improved further. By the end of 2013, the city had 271 star-rated hotels including 60 five-star ones, 1,302 travel agencies including 46 overseas tour service providers, 88 A-level tourist sites, 45 tourism information centers and five tourist dispatch centers.
In the year, the city received 7.574 million international tourists, bringing in us$5.337 billion worth of foreign exchanges. It also attracted 259.9068 million domestic tourists, earning 296.8 billion yuan.
Cultural and Historical Sites
Shanghai is a cultural city with a long history. By the end of 2013, there were 29 cultural and historical sites listed under the state-level protection for relics, 154 under the city-level protection, 480 under district-level protection and 808 registered as unmovable relic sites.
Yuyuan Garden
The well-preserved Yuyuan Garden in city center is a famous garden featuring southern China structures. Construction of the garden stared in 1559. Its layout features the garden styles of south China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, enjoying a lasting reputation as “Wooded Hill in City”. The pavilions, ponds, man-made stone formations have formed 48 scenic spots, including ancient buildings, rare stones and centuries-old trees. The garden now owns thousands of precious relics items, such as paintings and calligraphy, furniture and China Wares.
Longhua Temple
Longhua Temple in Xuhui District is the oldest, largest and most magnificent Buddhist architecture in Shanghai. It is said that the temple was built in 247 AD. Many Buddhist scriptures, gold seals and statues from the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty are housed in a hall built in the Song Dynasty. The temple, the pagoda, the temple fair and the evening bell chiming constitute a religious tourist attraction.
Jade Buddha Temple
Shanghai’s famous Jade Buddha Temple in Jing’an District was built in 1882 and named after two jade Buddhist statues that Hui Gen, a monk from Putuo Mountain, brought back from Myanmar. The temple has several grandiose halls and houses a 1.9-meter-tall and 3.4-meter-wide jade statue featuring a sitting Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism.
Confucius Temple
Confucius Temple in Jiading District was built in 1219, always known as the No.1 temple in this area of the country. The temple has exhibition halls displaying articles related to the traditional imperial examination system and three high stone tablets, representing people’s respect to education and Confucius. Among the stone tablets there, one is carved with the calligraphy by Zhu Xi, a well-known Chinese philosopher and educator of the Song Dynasty.
Square Pagoda
The square Pagoda in Songjiang District was built in 949 AD. Made of wood and bricks, the nine-story, 42.5-meter-high square pagoda features the architectural style of brick pagodas of the Tang Dynasty. Many parts of the building are originals created in the Song Dynasty. The pagoda today is surrounded by a “classical garden”, which is dotted with bridges, pavilions and stone formations.
Zhujiajiao Ancient Water Town
Known as “Shanghai’s Venice”, Zhujiajiao is a well-preserved ancient water town typical of the south of the Yangtze River. It first appeared as a village market during the Three Kingdoms Period. Later, it became a bustling trade town in the Ming Dynasty. Today, visitors can still see many well-preserved buildings, boats, stone bridges and stone lanes dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. This is a little quiet town where people can find antiquity, leisure and tranquility.
People’s Square
Located at the city center, People’s Square is a garden-type open space surrounded by buildings and facilities for administration, cultural activities, transportation and shopping. On its north is the People’s Mansion, to its northwest the Shanghai Grand Theater, to its northeast the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, and to its south the Shanghai Museum. People’s Avenue goes across the center of the area. The total green areas in the square reach 80,000 square meters.
Oriental Pearl Broadcasting and Television Tower
It is one of the city’s tourist landmarks. Serving for radio and television broadcasting as well as recreation and sightseeing, the 468-meter-tall tower is the highest TV tower in Asia and the third highest in the world. It features broadcasting, entertainment and tourist facilities. Tourists can get a bird’s eye view of the city at the 263-meter-high observatory and the 350-meter-high “space cabin”. At 267 meters high is a rotating restaurant, the highest one of its kind in Asia. The ground floor of the structure is a historical museum featuring the city’s history, including the life-like scenes of old Shanghai streets.
Jin Mao Tower
Jin Mao Tower is one of SHnghai’s landmarks. Overlooking the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone in Pudong New Area, it is an intelligent building offering services for office, hotel, recreation, sightseeing and shopping. It covers a total floor area of 290,000 square meters and is 420.5 meters high. It has 88 stories above the ground and three stories underground. The observatory hall on the 88th floor offers a breathtaking bird’s eye view of the city to up to more than 1,000 tourists at a time.
Shanghai World Financial Center
Situated in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone in Pudong New Area, the skyscraper is China’s tallest and the world’s second-tallest building, with a gross floor area of 381,600 square meters. It is 492 meters tall, including 101 stories above the ground and three underground stories. Housing offices, conference center and luxury hotel facilities equipped with state-of-the-art amenities, the building has become another landmark in the city’s efforts to build an international financial center. The observatory room on the 100th story at 474 meters high, the highest of its kind in the world, is acclaimed as “peak of city”.
Shanghai Ocean Aquarium
Located in Pudong’s Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, Shanghai Ocean Aquarium covers a total area of 22,400 square meters. The aquarium displays more than 14,000 marine lives of 300-plus species from all over the world. Its 120-meter-long undersea tunnel is one of the longest of its kind in the world and a major attraction for visitors. Walking through this tunnel, people can have a close contact with the unique and colorful ocean world.
Shanghai Xintiandi
Shanghai Xintiandi is an urban tourist attraction imbued with the city’s historical and cultural legacies. The 30,000-square-meter trendy entertainment complex is nestled in the city center, close to the bustling Huaihai Road M., Huangpi Road S. and Madang Road. It showcases the perfect blending of Shanghai’s traditional shikumen houses and state-of-the-art buildings. It features a multitude of restaurants and cafes, retail, entertainment, cultural, recreational, commercial and residential facilities. It’s where Shanghai’s rich history meets the modern posh lifestyle.
Food and Shopping
Shanghai is known as a paradise for gourmets. The city has more than 30,000 catering enterprises, whose businesses range from Chinese-style, western-style and leisure-style food to fast-food chain stores. The foreign-style restaurants feature food from more than 30 countries, including Italy, France, Japan, Portugal and India. The Chinese-style ones feature food from nearly 20 regions of China. The famous restaurant areas are at the regions of China. The famous restaurant areas are at the City God Temple area, Yunnan Road, Huanghe Road, Zhapu Road and Xianxia Road.
Shanghai is also renowned for its shopping facilities. Nanjing Road, crowned as the No.1 commercial street in China, and bustling Huaihai Road are commercial areas widely known across the country. Super Brand Mall, the Grand Gateway 66 and Plaza 66 are the rendezvous for top fashion commodities and luxury brands.
City God Temple
The City God Temple area features antique shops, restaurants and teahouses in typical Shanghai style. The famous shopping venues in the area include Huabaolou antique market and Cangbaolou antique and souvenir market. The famous food sold here includes Shanghai’s signature Nanxiang xiaolongbao (steamed dumplings), Chinese rice pudding and glutinous rice pudding. The area is popular among tourists from home and abroad for its wide variety of commodities, special operation mode and good services.
Yunnan Road Food Market
The food street near the crossing of Yan’an Road and Xizang Road features restaurants serving typical food from Shanghai, Sichuan, Shandong, Jiangsu and other regions in China. The choice food includes Beijing roast duck, salty duck, steak and glutinous rice cake, sauce-dipped chicken and hotpot. It is popular with tourists from home and aboard.
Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall
The street is known as “China’s No.1 Commercial Street”. It began to boom in the 19th century and was the busiest shopping area in old Shanghai. In recent years, many time-honored shops have been rejuvenated while modern shopping malls such as the No.1 Department Store, New World Department Store, Oriental Shopping Center, Yong’an Department Store and Landmark Plaza have sprung up along the street.
Huaihai Road
The road matches the world’s famous shopping streets for its elegance and high-end commodities. It is lined with shops housed in buildings of Chinese, American and European styles, offering a wide variety of boutiques and commodities. Shopping malls like Shanghai Times Square, Hong Kong Plaza, Central Plaza, Pacific Department Store, Printemps-Shanghai and Parkson are popular with shoppers of luxury brands.
Xujiahui
It is the largest shopping and public activity venue in the city’s southwest. Covering 1.2 square kilometers, the very center of the area is home to Grand Gateway 66, Oriental Shopping Center, Pacific Department Store, Huijin Department Store, Metro City and Huilian Department Store.