China's largest city
- Geographical location: 31°14' North, 121°29' East / China
- Location: west bank of the Pacific Ocean
- Climate: subtropical maritime monsoon climate
- Population: 15.81 million (as of 2006)
- People: 56 ethnic groups, vast majority Han
- Currency/monetary unit: RMB/Yuan
- City subdivisions: 18 districts and 1 counties
Tourist Highlights
The Bund
The Bund is a symbol of Shanghai. The buildings are harmonious in color and style, thus gaining the name of “Gallery of World Architecture”. There are the Gothic pointed roofs, ancient Greek vaults, Baroque columns and Spanish balconies. When night falls and the lights are on, all the buildings are lit with colorful lights, glistening and dazzling to the eye.
Longhua Temple
Longhua Temple is a famous 1,000 year old monastery in Shanghai. Occupying a area of 20,000sq.m., it is a temple largest in scale and longest in history in Shanghai. It is said that the temple and Longhua Pagoda were built by King Sun Quan of the Wu Kingdom during the Period of the Three Kingdoms (242 A.D.). It was rebuilt many times in the later dynasties. Many of the structures were built during Qing Emperor Guangxu’s reign (1875-1909). It has always been attracting large numbers of worshippers.
There are 4 principal halls in the temple: the Grand Hall, the Hall of the Three Sages, Hall of Metreya and the Abbot’s Room. On the sides are the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, Arhats Hall and the Preaching Hall.
Longhua temple fair, a folk festival with a history of 400 years, is held every year on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month (April 15th).
During the Qing Dynasty it was known that “Longhua bell at midnight sounds better than that in Hanshan Temple”. The area is now listed as a folk custom tourist attraction. On New Year’s Eve, thousand of tourists and Budhists from Japan, southeast Asian countries and local citizens visit the temple and listen to the bell.
Yuyuan Garden
A famous classical garden in south China, it was once famed as the “top beauty in southeast China”. First built during the Ming Dynasty, 400 years ago, by a Sichuan minister of finance named Pan Yunduan, it has been several times renovated by the government since the Liberation and is now one of the key relic sites in the country under state protection. The garden is divided into the scenic sections of “Mountains and Forests in the City”, “Magnificent Woods and Beautiful Valleys”, “Historical Relics of Heralding Spring”, “Water and Rockery Scenery”, “Tops in the World” and the Inner Garden.
Xin Tian Di
Shanghai Xintiandi is an urban tourist attraction imbued with the city's historical and cultural legacies. At this 30,000 square meters area, Shanghai Xintiandi's Shikumen attraction was created by converting residential blocks into a multifunctional dining, retail and entertainment center flowing with restaurants, boutiques, cafes and bars of an international standard. With its infinite charm, Shanghai Xintiandi is where "yesterday meets tomorrow" and “east meets west” in Shanghai today that make it become not only the best venue to learn the historical culture and modern life of Shanghai but also an ideal recreational place for Chinese and foreign tourists.
People’S Square
People's Square has become the political and cultural center in Shanghai since 1994, when it was rebuilt. In and around the square are a massive fountain named the Light of Huangpu River, 10,000 square meters of lawns, six groups of relief carvings that depict the history of Shanghai, the New Shanghai Museum, the offices of the municipal government, an underground shopping plaza, the Shanghai Grand Theater and the Shanghai Exhibition Center.
Shanghai Maglev Demonstration Line
The demonstration line of the maglev train is the important project of the shanghai traffic development during the tenth five-year development period of the nation and is also the first maglev train used in business in the world with the function of transporting, displaying, tourism and sightseeing. The magnetic suspension train is from Long Yang Stop of the No.2 subway in the west to Pu Dong International Airport in the east which eased the heavy traffic between the city and Pudong Airport. The whole line was 30km long, including the upper departing line and the lower arriving line with the speed of 430km/h. it will cost us 8 minutes for a single line. Since March, 29th, 2004, the magnetic suspension train has adjusted the running time. In former time, the train works half a day during work time and a whole day at weekend. Nowadays, it opens from 8:30am to 5:30 pm everyday at the interval of 20 minutes with 54 schedules in total.
Economy
Shanghai and Hong Kong have had a recent rivalry over which city is to be the economic center of China. Hong Kong has the advantage of a stronger legal system, international market integration, superior economic freedom, greater banking and service expertise. Shanghai has stronger links to both the Chinese interior and the central government, in addition to a stronger base in manufacturing and technology. Shanghai has increased its role in finance, banking, and as a major destination for corporate headquarters, fuelling demand for a highly educated and modernized workforce. Shanghai has recorded a double-digit growth for 14 consecutive years since 1992. In 2006, Shanghai's nominal GDP posted a 12 % growth to 1.0297 trillion yuan (US$ 128.8 billion).
More details and actual information on Shanghai are available in Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission in the internet: www.meet-in-shanghai.net.
With kind permission of
©Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission
Foreign Direct Investment
Information on qualified Industrial Zones for foreign direct investment in Shanghai
