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HOME > ABOUT SHANGHAI
Shanghai in the center of China's eastern coastline is one of China's cultural centers and has a long history as a trading port and gateway for foreigners entering China. It is the gateway to the Yangtze River delta. It is a municipality under the direct jurisdiction of the Central Government and the largest economic and trade center in China.
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China's biggest and most prosperous city radiates an atmosphere of vitality and a dynamic which can rival New York in the United States and Paris of France in terms of modernity.
Shanghai's gorgeous night scene is one of the main highlights that will linger in visitors' mind owing to its ornate feature after their Shanghai travel experience. As night descends the entire city is lit up by dizzily colorful lights joined occasionally by the bright moon hanging in the sky. |
History
Established as a tiny fishing community in the Warring States Period (453-221 BC), Shanghai slowly grew into a regional trade center, taking advantage of its access to the Yangzi River and nearby canals. The city stepped onto the global stage in 1842 when the British established a settlement just outside the walled Old City after defeating the Qing in the First Opium War. Concessions to the French, American, and Japanese soon followed, and Shanghai's economy began to boom as foreign investment poured in.
As the city grew in importance and wealth during the 1920s and '30s, it gave rise to an often disreputable mix of gangs, corrupt concession cops, fat-cat factory owners, sailors and rich expatriate families. It was during this period that most of the Bund's signature buildings were constructed and when Nanjing Lu, Huaihai Lu and the French Concession took the shapes that they largely retain today.
Political intrigue ran high, as the ruling Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) struggled to maintain control in a city full of Japanese spies, Western agents and Communist organizers. In 1922, the Chinese Communist Party held its first meeting in a French Concession lane house. It continued to organize in the city thereafter, briefly allying itself with the Nationalists against Japan, but the alliance was short lived. The Nationalists, working with Shanghai gangster Du Yuesheng and his Green Gang, massacred Communists and striking workers in 1927, driving opposition underground. Despite such turmoil, Shanghai continued to thrive economically, solidifying its reputation as one of the world's most exciting, prosperous and decadent cities.
That all ended in 1937, when Japan seized the city, taking control of the foreign concessions in 1941 on the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor. Following the end of World War II in 1945, Nationalist rule returned to Shanghai. It wasn't long, however, before the Communists ousted the Kuomintang in 1949.
During the Mao years, Shanghai's role as a center of global finance and trade was displaced by the need to serve as a source of industrial production and revenue in support of national revolutionary development schemes. Despite the sometimes violent tumult of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution (the latter saw many urban Shanghainese subjected to various reeducation and self-criticism programs), Shanghai remained a vital economic center, though the glamor was gone—for a while, at least.
Since the economic reforms initiated in the 1990s under Mao's successor Deng Xiaoping, the city has reappeared on the world stage—in a big way. The government's decision to open and develop Shanghai has helped fuel China's recent breakneck growth and has brought streams of foreigners back—for both business and pleasure—to a city that once again commands global attention.
Climate
The weather in Shanghai during May is warm, sunny and pleasant. The average temperatures are 19.2-23.5?C.
Banks and Exchange Offices
Open Monday to Saturday: 9:00am-5:00pm. Money exchange is available at the reception of Shanghai Riverside Hotel.
Postal service
Post Offices are open from Monday to Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm.
Electricity
The electrical current in China is 220 volts.
Parking facilities at the venue
There is ground parking area and parking garage in the Convention center.
Attractions
The Bund
For many, the Bund (Waitan to the locals) is the face of Shanghai. Even as the city transforms itself, growing upwards and outwards at a tremendous rate, the Bund's Art Deco and Neoclassical facades appear much as they did during Shanghai's previous heyday as China's most international city, way back in the 1920s and '30s. Of course, the surroundings have changed radically since then.
There's no better place to take in the spectacular Lujiazui skyline on the east bank of the Huangpu River than from the Bund's river promenade or behind a picture window in one of a growing number of luxury bars, restaurants and clubs occupying the upper floors of classic Bund buildings. At the north end of the Bund, Nanjing Dong Lu cuts west, a neon-lit paradise for shoppers and gawkers, flanked by a mix of colonial-era edifices and contemporary high rises. The south end of the Bund terminates near Shanghai's low-rise Old City, encircled by growing ranks of luxury residential towers. In between is rich evidence of Shanghai's role as China's key financial and business link to the West in the early 20th century: stately bank and embassy buildings, proud international hotels and business headquarters line Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu
Yuyuan Garden
Yuyuan is a classical oasis—albeit a generally crowded one—in Shanghai's relentlessly modernizing cityscape. The gardens, completed in 1577 by the aristocratic Ming Dynasty Pan family, retain their original grace and elegance even in the face of throngs of tourists and the commercial hubbub of Yu Bazaar just on the other side of the garden walls.
Situated in the midst of the Old City near the City God's Temple, the gardens make an excellent and restful stop in a walking tour of the area. The famous Mid-Lake Pavilion Teahouse sits right next to the garden's main entrance, reached by way of the zigzag bridge across a large carp pond. An excellent example of Ming-era garden design, Yuyuan's paths, corridors, rock formations and carefully arranged greenery lead visitors through a space that is much smaller than it appears, past limpid carp ponds, up atop cleverly scaled ""mountains,"" into shady pavilions and through miniature groves of bamboo, ornamental pines, willows, cherry trees and gingko.
Seasonal changes in flora are a delight to track for return visitors, with various flowers blooming from early spring well into the fall. Today's garden is actually a recreation of the original Ming-era garden; the British and Taiping rebels did great damage to the grounds during the first Opium War and Taiping Rebellion, respectively. Be sure to spend some time viewing the Exquisite Jadestone, the Hall of Heralding Spring, the Chamber of Ten Thousand Flowers and the Grand Rockery, among other specific garden spots.
Xintiandi
In the late 1990s, thousands of Shanghai's old shikumen (""stone gate"") houses were leveled to make room for high-rise developments. Throughout the city, sterile office and apartment blocks replaced traditional neighborhoods where vibrant street culture and tight-knit family life had long thrived. The narrow brick lanes and communal courtyards that define shikumen—a unique blend of Chinese and Western architectural features—were seen by the government and developers as impediments to progress in a city that, in the wake of economic reform, had little patience with calls to preserve its architectural heritage.
Then came Xintiandi. The notion that the old urban fabric of shikumen could be woven into a 21st century metropolis met resistance from big developers and officials initially, but the experiment was ultimately given the green light. Xintiandi was an almost instant success, and has since led to similar developments in Hangzhou and other Chinese cities, proving that China's rapid modernization need not obliterate the old.
Xintiandi is now a bustling pedestrian zone featuring upscale shopping, dining and entertainment housed in renovated shikumen. Popular with tourists, expats and Shanghainese nouveaux riches, the shopping center features high-end designer retail from names like Shanghai Tang, Vivienne Tam and Hugo Boss and ""lifestyle"" stores like the BMW Lifestyle Boutique, Arnold Palmer golf shop and Simply Life's furnishings and interior design concepts. Slightly more pedestrian brand-name shopping is also on hand at Benetton, Camper and French Connection. International dining options include KABB for burgers and American-style dining, Simply Thai, ye shanghai's dim sum and contemporary Shanghainese cuisine, and beer and bratwurst at Paulaner Brauhaus, to name just a few. Taking advantage of shikumen lanes and courtyards, many eateries offer outdoor seating in warm months.
For further details of Shanghai, please click to the official website of Shanghai Municipal Government: http://www.shanghai.gov.cn
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