Shanghai Travel Guide, Shanghai Hotels,Shanghai Tour,China Tours, Elite China Travel

Shanghai, also named ��Hu�� or ��Shen�� in Chinese, is one of the four municipalities directly under the Chinese central government.Shanghai , literally known as ‘the port on the sea��, is one of the world��s largest seaports and China ��s major industrial as well as commercial center. With the deepening reform, the city, formerly crowned as the financial, economic and trade hub of the Far East, is playing a leading role in boosting economic development of China . Meanwhile, the city has attracted more and more tourists from home and abroad for its unique charm.

Shanghai has a rich collection of buildings and structures of various architectural styles. The Bund, located by the bank of the Huangpu River, contains a rich collection of early 20th century architecture, ranging in style from neo-classical HSBC Building to the art deco Sassoon House. A number of areas in the former foreign concessions are also well preserved.

Because of Shanghai��s status as the cultural and economic center of East Asia for the first half of the twentieth century, it is popularly seen as the birthplace of everything considered modern in China. It was in Shanghai, for example, that the first motor car was driven and the first train tracks and modern sewers were laid. It was also the intellectual battleground between socialist writers who concentrated on critical realism (pioneered by Lu Xun and Mao Dun) and the more "bourgeois", more romantic and aesthetically inclined writers (such as Shi Zhecun, Shao Xunmei, Ye Lingfeng, Eileen Chang).

Two women wear Shanghai-styled qipao while playing golf in this 1930s Shanghai advertisement.Besides literature, Shanghai was also the birthplace of Chinese cinema & theater. China’s first short film, The Difficult Couple (Nanfu Nanqi, 1913), and the country’s first fictional feature film, Orphan Rescues Grandfather (Gu��er jiu zuji, 1923) were both produced in Shanghai. These two films were very influential, and established Shanghai as the center of Chinese film-making. Shanghai’s film industry went on to blossom during the early Thirties, generating Marilyn Monroe-like stars such as Zhou Xuan. Another film star, Jiang Qing, went on to become Madame Mao Zedong. The talent and passion of Shanghainese filmmakers following World War II and the Communist revolution in China contributed enormously to the development of the Hong Kong film industry.

Many aspects of Shanghainese popular culture ("Shanghainese Pops") were transferred to Hong Kong by the numerous Shanghainese emigrants and refugees after the Communist Revolution. The movie In the Mood for Love (Huayang nianhua) directed by Wong Kar-wai (a native Shanghainese himself) depicts one slice of the displaced Shanghainese community in Hong Kong and the nostalgia for that era, featuring 1940s music by Zhou Xuan.

Despite rampant redevelopment, the old city still retains some buildings of a traditional style, including Yuyuan Garden, a traditional garden in the Jiangnan style.

In recent years, a large number of architectually distinctive, even eccentric, skyscrapers have sprung up throughout Shanghai. Notable examples of contemporary architecture include the Shanghai Museum and Shanghai Grand Theatre in the People��s Square precinct.

The tallest tower in Asia, the distinctive Oriental Pearl Tower, is located in Shanghai. Its lower sphere is now available for living quarters, starting at very high prices. The Jin Mao tower located nearby is mainland China��s tallest skyscraper, and ranks fifth in the world.

Known to the world as the Oriental Pearl, Shanghai is China ��s major gate to the outside world in the east. As early as in the Tang and Song Dynasties, Shanghai served as a foreign trade port and mercantile ties. And during the the Qing Dynasty, the city turn into a navigation hub and metropolis in southeast China , which attracted countless ships to the Huangpu River . Today, this famous International port has developed into China ��s important center of economy, finance, trade, science and technology, info rmation as well as culture.

As one of the noted historic and cultural citied in the country, Shanghai has more than 70 sites of historical interest and cultural relics, which best represent the distinctive characteristic of Shanghai regional culture. What��s more, Shanghai is the Paradise of gourmets, who may find thousands of restaurants here that serve a complete list of China ��s major famous cuisines and various foreign foods.

Shanghai also received the name of ‘Exhibition of the World��s Architecture��, the city has a collection of buildings with different architectural styles along the Bund and elsewhere of the city. The Financial and Trade Building, the International Convention Center and the Oriental Pearl Television Tower in Pudong Area, flanked by the magnificent Nanpu and Yangpu Bridges, which are connected by the city��s elevated inner beltway, and the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Grand Theater on People��s Square. All these bring the city a brand-new look.

Location : located at 31 degrees 14�� N and 121 degrees 29�� E, the middle point of the coastline of China��s mainland. It is also the gateway for the Yangtze River valley. Shanghai borders on the vast East China Sea in the east and links up the fertile Taihu Lake in the west.

Area : Shanghai has jurisdiction over 18 districts and 1 county, covering a total area more than 5,800 square meters including the urban area of about 740 square meters.

Transportation : As a modem metropolis, Shanghai has enjoyed very convenient transport facilities. It has two international airport named Pudong and Hongqiao which link Shanghai with most of the domestic and overseas big cities. And there are three railway stations, which see trains running to and from the large and medium-sized cities everyday. How about water? Shanghai port is the only passenger port in China integrated with sea transport, river transport and inland water transport. It now mainly consists of Shiliupu Passenger Port, Gongping Lu Passenger Port and International Passenger Port. As to the urban Transportation, Shanghai has an excellent transportation system. Different buses run between the traffic hubs, scenic spots, streets and lanes, together with taxis, magnetic suspension train, special tourist lines and subways.

Population : Shanghai has a population of 18.7 million, including 2 million floating population.

History : During the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), the western district of Shanghai was the manor estate of Huang Xie, who was a noble of the State of Chu and conferred the title of Chun Shenjun. Later ��Shen�� or ��Chunshen�� becoame another name of Shanghai. According to the historical records, ��Hudulei��, a facility used to prevent the damage of the seawater was built by Yu Tan during the Period of Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 A.D.), thus another name of Shanghai ��Hu�� was originated from here. The city became a small town in the Song Dynasty and a county in Yuan Dynasty, then a walled city in Ming Dynasty. Shanghai accelerated its development at an usual speed after it has been open to the outside world. The city is changing and taking on a new look with each passing day. Now, Shanghai has become the symbol of modern Chinese cities.

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