Short China Kung Fu Tour from Shanghai

Your private tour guide will pick you up from the hotel in the morning. Yu Garden (closed each Monday) will be the first attraction that you visit today. It is the only existing private garden built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Shanghai. With a history of more than 400 years, it witnessed the rise and fall of the Pan family, the owner of Yu Garden. During the Ming Dynasty, the Pan family was a renowned family. Pan Yunduan, Governor of Sichuan Province, built this garden for his father Pan En as his residence after retirement from Supervisory Censor. However, his father died before the garden was finished. Then the garden became a private place for Pan Yunduan to socialize. He often hosted large banquets with brilliant performances by famous theatrical troupe and acrobatics troupe. At that time, Yu Garden was bustling with activity. Nevertheless, during Pan Yunduan’s twilight years, his eldest son suddenly died and he had to sell his land property for a living. With the death of Pan Yunduan, the Pan family declined and Yu Garden was laid waste. Now it has become a tourist attraction commemorating history.

Then you will go to a famous Buddhist temple in South China – Jing’an Temple. Its history can date back to the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), even longer than the history of Shanghai. It is the oldest Buddhist temple in Shanghai. Jian’an District is also named after it. The total construction area of Jiang’an Temple is 22,000 square meters. The Great Buddha’s Hall, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, and the Hall of Three Saints are the main buildings of Jing’an Temple. In the Great Buddha’s Hall, there is a statue of Buddha Sakyamuni. The statue sitting on a lotus base with a total height of 8.8 meters is made of pure silver and weighs 15 tons. If you believe in Buddhism, you can light an incense stick and pray for peace and health here.

You will have your lunch in a downtown restaurant. Then you will go to Shanghai Tower. It is a 128-storey, 632-meter-tall skyscraper in Lujiazui financial zone, Pudong New Area of Shanghai. It is the second tallest building in the world, preceded only by Burj Khalifa Tower (828 meters) in Dubai. You will go up to the sightseeing observatory on the 118th floor by taking the fastest elevator in the world within 1 minute. You will get a bird’s-eye view of Shanghai, including the Bund, the Huangpu River, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, and other landmark buildings. It will be a fantastic experience during your Shanghai tour.

When you get down from the Shanghai Tower, you will go across the Huangpu River and come to the Bund. It is another iconic landmark of Shanghai representing its past during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. It stretches along the west bank of the Huangpu River for about 1.5 kilometers. A total of 52 classical buildings in different styles gather on the Bund, making it the “Exhibition of World’s Architectures”. Taking a pleasant walk along the Bund like a local, you will see the old western buildings on the Bund and admire the modern high-rises in Lujiazui at the same time.

Then you will follow your guide to Nanjing Road. Nanjing Road is an east-west commercial pedestrian street with a total length of 5.5 kilometers. It is the earliest commercial street in Shanghai and also one of the busiest shopping streets in the world, like Fifth Avenue in New York and Ginza in Tokyo. A lot of internationally prestigious brands, such as Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Chanel, can be found here. Furthermore, restaurants, snack shops, dessert shops, and souvenir stores also assemble here. It’s one of the most popular places in Shanghai, attracting nearly 1 million people daily.

The Bund

Jing’an Temple

This morning, you will be transferred to the airport and take the estimated flight 9C6583 11:50/13:55 to Zhengzhou. After landing, your tour guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to The Yellow River Scenic Area for sightseeing.

The Yellow River Scenic Area is located 20 kilometers northwest of Zhengzhou, on the south bank of the Yellow River. The Yellow River is the cradle of the Chinese civilization of five thousand years. It is commonly known as the “Mother River” of the Chinese nation. Here, you can enjoy the magnificent natural landscapes of the Yellow River. At the same time, you can also enjoy the grand cultural landscapes. You will see the Statue of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang, the most majestic sculpture in China. The head statues of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang are located on the top of Xiangyang Mountain which is also used as the bodies of the two emperors. The total height of the sculpture is 106 meters, also known as one of the highest sculptures in the world.

The Yellow River Scenic Area

The Yellow River Scenic Area

This morning, we will drive southwest for about one and a half hours to Dengfeng. We will go to the Astronomical Observatory first.

The Astronomical Observatory was built in 1276 AD during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) by the famous astronomer Guo Shoujing and has a history of over 700 years. It is the oldest existing astronomical observatory in China and one of the earliest astronomical buildings in the world. After years of diligent observation and calculation relying on the Astronomical Observatory, Guo Shoujing, together with another astronomer Wangxun, compiled the “Shoushi Calendar”, the most advanced calendar in the world at that time. It is almost the same as the Gregorian Calendar commonly used all over the world today. However, the Gregorian calendar is three hundred years later than the “Shoushi Calendar”.

Then we will go to the Shaolin Temple. It is a famous Buddhist temple in China and even in the world. It was built in the 19th year (495) of the Taihe period during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). Emperor Xiaowen ordered to build the temple for promoting Buddhism. Entering the temple, your guide will show you the classic route to see its main buildings, especially the Pagoda Forest. It is the place where Shaolin monks are buried after death. A pagoda built means the death of a senior monk. The higher the pagoda is, the greater the monk’s achievement was. Can you find out which one is the highest among them?

Finally, a fascinating Shaolin Kung Fu Show is waiting for you. The Kung Fu Show will be an outdoor performance due to the Covid-19. There are 5 performances each day and each lasts about 30 minutes, including two in the morning, 10:30-11:00 and 11:30-12:00, and three in the afternoon, 14:00-14:30, 15:00-15:30, and 16:00-16:30. You can choose from the five performances according to your time. The Kung Fu Show is performed by the martial monks of Shaolin Temple. Their consummate Kung Fu skills, such as Shaolin Cudgel skills, Shaolin Boxing, and Shaolin Whip skills, will certainly amaze you. It’s also a good opportunity for you to take some pictures and post them on your social media. Maybe you will receive a lot of followers.

After visiting Shaolin Temple, you will be transferred to a hotel in Dengfeng and stay there for one night.

Astronomical Observatory

Shaolin Temple

Today you will be driven to Zhengzhou airport and take the estimated flight MU8545 12:10/14:00 to Shanghai.

Author: Lingyun Zhou

Proofreader: Carrie Zhang