Shanghai is the third largest city in China after Beijing and Tianjin and one of the four cities of the central subordination. In 1842, the Qing Empire was defeated in the Opium War, and the tightly closed country was forced to open five ports for trade with the rest of the world. The widest freedoms were opened in Shanghai: under the Nanjing Treaty, foreigners received the right to acquire real estate here, conduct trade and create enterprises. As a result, by the beginning of the twentieth century. Shanghai has become one of the largest trading centers in the world.

Shanghai is the meeting place of East and West, a kind of New York of China. Impressive Art Deco buildings, Art Nouveau banks, communist department stores adorn the waterfront of the Huangpu River. From here begins the largest shopping street in China – Nanjing Street (Nanjing Lu), where all tourists are sure to be brought. This is a pedestrian avenue with a lot of shops, both international brands and Chinese ones. Every day, hundreds of thousands of citizens and visitors pass by the windows of shops and luxurious salons, large shopping centers and arcades. The legendary N1 store on the Xizang Lu corner alone has over 300,000 customers every day. Check simplyyellowpages for provinces in northeast China.

Among other streets of the metropolis, it is worth visiting Dolunlu and ancient Laojie. On Dolunlu Street (Duolun Lu) and in nearby areas such famous figures of literature as Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Guo Moruo, Ye Shengtao, etc. lived and worked in their time. Dolunlu is small, narrow and quiet, and on both sides of it are small houses built in different styles. “Laojie” is located on Fangbanzhulu Road. It stretches for 825 m and shows the cultural evolution from the Ming, Qing, the Republic of China to the period of penetration of Western culture into Shanghai.

The city stands on the banks of the Yangtze River and its tributary Huangpu. Huangpu divides it into two parts – the historical center of Puxi (“west of the river”) and Pudong (“east of the river”). Along the Huangpu, the Bund stretches. (Waitan). On the embankment, parallel to the river, there are several dozen European colonial buildings that once housed numerous banks and trading companies from Great Britain, France, the United States, Russia, Germany, Japan, the Netherlandsand Belgium, as well as the consulates of Great Britain and Russia. In total, there are 52 buildings of various architectural styles, such as classicism, gothic, neoclassical, baroque, Beaux-Arts (beaux-arts) and art deco, on the one and a half kilometer section, which is why the embankment is often called a museum of world architecture.

Among the most notable waterfront buildings are the Peace Hotel, the HSBC Building and the Shanghai Customs Building. In the evening, when the lights are lit, the street turns into a sparkling stream. Opposite the waterfront is Pudong. In its place back in 1989, rapeseed was grown, now here is the most modern business center in Asia. The symbols of this part of the city are the Jin Mao skyscraper (one of the highest in Asia) and the third highest TV tower in the world, The PearlTower, 468 m high. Both skyscrapers have observation decks. Inside the TV tower is also the Shanghai Museum. You can make a trip along Huangpu, which offers tourists wonderful views of the waterfront and harbor. In the 20s. this was the only way to get to Shanghai, and today cruises are made on ships little different from those of the time. Ships depart from the embankment north of the Peace Hotel from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm. Tickets can be purchased at this hotel or directly at the piers. The journey lasts 3.5 hours and the length of the route is 60 km.

The historical sights of Shanghai can be seen in one day. The most famous architectural and landscape ensemble in the city is Yuyuan Garden of Joy. (Yuyuan). The park was founded in the 16th century for a wealthy family of Ming officials. Yuyuan is a classic example of southern China ‘s park architecture, which is characterized by the desire to recreate in small forms all the diversity and quirkiness of southern China’s nature. The architectural design of the park is so original that, having an area of only 2 hectares, it seems quite large.

The park is divided by five “dragon walls” into six integral architectural complexes, made up of pavilions, pavilions, passages, reservoirs, artificial towns, numerous courtyards with miniature landscapes. In the garden is the Temple of the City Gods.

Gui Park is also interesting to visit. It was built during the Ming Dynasty and is one of the 5 classical style parks in Shanghai.. A bamboo grove is planted on its territory. From the business center, you can make a short excursion to the most famous Buddhist monastery in Shanghai – the Temple of the Jade Buddha or Yufosi (Yufo Si). Its history is relatively short: it was built only at the end of the last century.

The monastery is famous for two Buddha figures carved from whole pieces of white jade. They were made in Myanmar (Burma) and presented to a monk from Putuoshan Island (one of the Buddhist centers of China), who delivered them to Shanghai. A temple was erected to store the sculptures. One figure of the Buddha is carved in a sitting position (height 1.9 m), the other depicts the Buddha, who has reached the state of nirvana. Adjacent to the garden is a bazaar, which has more than a hundred stalls and shops selling all kinds of souvenirs with Chinese symbols, paintings, antiques, bamboo and shell products.

The French Quarter (Faguo Zujie) is located on Huaihai Zhonglu Road. This territory was formerly occupied by the French concession. In the 20-30s. the quarter was almost entirely populated by white emigrants. Russians made up a third of the foreign population of Shanghai during these years. They worked as tailors, driving instructors, bodyguards, and set up numerous cafes around Huaihai. Cafes and ateliers are still grouped in the city around this street, many buildings have been preserved from the 30s.

In the north of Shanghai is Hongkou Park with the grave of the writer Lu Xun, the founder of modern Chinese literature, scholar and teacher. He was not a communist, but most of his books were banned by the Kuomintang regime and he hid in the French Quarter.

The House Museum of Sun Yat Sen, the first President of China, is located on Xianshan Road. Between 1918 and 1924 he lived here with his wife. Also in this house, he met with representatives of the Communist Party China, which resulted in the first cooperation between the Communist Party and the Kuomintang in the history of China.

On Lunghualu Street are the town of Lunghua and the temple of the same name. In the town, tourists can get acquainted with residential houses of residents of the southern regions of China. The Longhuasa Temple is the largest and oldest temple in Shanghai, where the canons, sutras, golden seals, Buddha statues of the Tang, Ming, Qing and the era of the 5th dynasties are kept. The seven-storey and octagonal pagoda of Longhuat is built of bricks and wood and is in perfect condition.

The center of cultural and political life in Shanghai is the People’s Square. Just like in Beijing, it is a huge area reserved for ceremonies, although it looks less formal. Created in 1951, it was intended for large communist parades. Nowadays, people prefer to walk and fly kites here. Tourists can admire the musical fountain “Light of the Huangpu River”, groups of reliefs reflecting the history of the city, “Xuzhi” and “Mingyue” squares. The building of the city government, the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai theater and other symbolic buildings of Shanghai are concentrated on the square.. The Shanghai Grand Theater is located in the northwest corner of Renmin. It is divided into large, medium and small halls, which are designed for staging ballet, opera, symphonic and chamber music, drama, opera-ballet. The Shanghai Museum is a large comprehensive museum with 123,000 items such as calligraphy, painting, bronzes, ceramics, and porcelain.

The Shanghai circus with an area of 22.5 thousand m ² is famous all over the world for its acrobatic performances. It also hosts cultural, sports and entertainment events. Shanghai Film City is located in Dandong Township. Almost all Chinese films are filmed at this film studio, as well as foreign films that require shooting on the old streets of Shanghai.. The town is open for tours from 8:30 to 17:00. In the village of Sanzao, you can see the reserve of wild animals with an area of 153 hectares. On the territory of the reserve there are zones of herbivores, carnivores, flamingos, rare animals and waterfowl. In total, there are about 10,000 animals and more than 200 rare species. The ancient city of Zhujiajiao is located 25 km west of Shanghai in Qingpu County.(Zhujiajiao) of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The authorities made great efforts to turn the city into an attraction for tourists: they brought antiques here, restored temples, reconstructed canals and bridges (36 ancient stone bridges). As a result, Zhujiajiao turned into a good place to relax from the bustle of Shanghai. A golf course was made here, a yacht club, an aquatic center and a horse riding field were organized. Zhujiajiao hosts traditional dragon boat races every spring on the nearby Dianshan Lake. It also houses the largest plum orchard in Shanghai. After the skyscrapers of Shanghai, the eye rests on simple, small black-tiled houses looking out over the Zhujiajiao canals.

In the same area you can see Daguanyuan residence. This architectural ensemble with an area of 18 hectares was built according to the description from the classic Chinese novel “Dream in the Red Chamber”. Among the buildings, the majestic Daguanlou Tower, the magnificent palaces of Yihongyuan, Xiaoxianguan, Hengyuan and Daoxiangcun stand out.