Classic Shanghai City Tour with Shanghai Skyline

Welcome to Shanghai, China, dear tourist friends! Let me guess, you must be very excited and looking forward to the upcoming 2 days Shanghai city tour. You will spend two pleasant days in this charming city.

In the morning, according to the itinerary, you will go to three sightseeing spots today: Jade Buddha Temple, Yu Garden (Closed on Mondays), and Shanghai Old Street. Our guide will pick you up from the downtown hotel and take you to our first destination – Jade Buddha Temple.

Jade Buddha Temple is seated at the intersection of Anyuan Road and Jiangning Road in northern Shanghai. On the central axis of the temple, there are the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Grand Hall, and the Jade Buddha Chamber. On the left and right side of the temple stands the Reclining Buddha Hall, Buddhism Goddess Guanyin Hall, Bronze Buddha Hall, and Dining Hall. They are all well arranged. On the first day and the fifteenth day of the lunar new year, believers come here one after another to burn joss sticks and pray for blessings. Jade Buddha Temple has also cultivated many young monks and enriched the team of Buddhist teachers. This temple is in Shanghai’s prosperous urban area, but it preserves its unique tranquility and provides a pure land, which is extraordinary.

Then, you will visit Yu Garden(closed each Monday). In China, gardens are divided into three categories: royal gardens, private gardens, and temple gardens. Yu Garden belongs to private gardens. It was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). About 200 years later, it was damaged during the Anglo-Chinese Opium Wars (1839-1842). In 1956, Yu Garden was properly protected and began to be restored by the Shanghai government. Yu Garden’s pavilions, pagodas, and other buildings have all been restored to their original sizes. Yu Garden has been officially opened to the public since its restoration. Over the past 30 years, it has attracted numerous Chinese and foreign tourists with its beautiful sceneries and numerous cultural relics. On October 15, 1986, Queen Elizabeth II of the UK visited Yu Garden. Today, you can go to the Huijing Tower to get a panoramic view of Yu Garden. With water on its three sides, this tower is surrounded by camphor trees, pomegranate trees, red maples, crape myrtles, and other trees. If you are a plant enthusiast, you will be impressed by the greeneries of Yu Garden.

Next, you are going to Shanghai Old Street. This unique street is in the commercial tourist area of Yu Garden. With a total length of 825 meters, it is a multi-functional street, integrating tourism, shopping, entertainment, and cultural inheritance. Its architectural style and layout from west to east demonstrate the historical and cultural evolution of old Shanghai. The winding alley here, where many tiled houses stand, is still inhabited by many residents. There are many Chinese time-honored brands on the Shanghai Old Street: Songyue Restaurant, Huxin Pavilion (teahouse), and Green Ripples Restaurant.

After lunch, you will go to Tianzifang Market, a landmark and an influential creative industry cluster in Shanghai. Seated on lane 210, Taikang Road, Tianzifang Market is also a work base for many creative artists. There are over 40 art and crafts shops on Taikang Road, with more than 20 studios and design rooms. Many exquisite goods are available here, including massage combs, sachets, silver accessories, and crystal ornaments. You can also pay the artists here to draw a cartoon portrait for you. Here, you can find many famous snacks, such as Snowflake Flaky Pastry and Soup Dumpling (a steamed dumpling or bun filled with minced meat and gravy).

Then, you will visit Shanghai Tower, a modern skyscraper with a total height of 632 meters. Its spiral structure enables itself to withstand the test of a severe typhoon (about 50m/s), adding a new skyline to Shanghai. Here, you can take the world’s fastest elevator up to the 118th floor. Standing on this 546-meter-high observatory, you can appreciate the lovely curves of Suzhou Creek and the Huangpu River. Come here to explore more about this charming place if you want.

After that, you will be sent back to the downtown hotel.

Shanghai Tower

Yu Garden

This morning we will drive southwest from Shanghai’s downtown area to Zhujiajiao Water Town for about an hour (50KM). In this town, places of interest can be found everywhere. Nine long streets stretch out along the crisscrossed rivers, where thousands of buildings of the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1636-1912) Dynasties stand. Thirty-six stone bridges still preserve their ancient glamor. Among them, Fangsheng Bridge has drawn many travelers’ attention because it is the longest and tallest bridge in Shanghai. Fangsheng means to set life free in Chinese. There are many stories about this bridge, and let me tell you one of them. About 450 years ago, a monk saved a sum of money by begging for alms here and there. He planned to build a bridge to help local people cross the Dianpu River more easily. But he worried about one thing: there is no suitable place in the Dianpu River to drive the bridge piles into the riverbed. Luckily, a beggar said to the monk, “Only where there are reeds in the river can the bridge piles be driven into the riverbed.” The monk asked, “But there is not a single reed in this river. What can I do?”. The beggar did not answer and took out a handful of jujubes from his bag. He chewed these jujubes, spat out jujube seeds on his hands, and threw them into the river. Suddenly, four clusters of reeds rose from the river, and grew up in seconds. The monk was surprised. He wanted to ask the beggar how he did it, but the beggar had disappeared. The beggar turned out to be an immortal. The bridge could be built finally thanks to this immortal. After that, the monk decided to thank the kind-hearted immortal and contribute to society. He required that people should set fish free under the bridge on the first day of each month of the lunar calendar in the name of the immortal. In this way, the kindness of the immortal would be remembered. Later, this bridge got its name, Fangsheng Bridge. If you are interested in this story, you can get more details from your guide.

After lunch, we will drive back to the downtown area of Shanghai.

In the afternoon, we will go to the Bund, which is next to the mother river of Shanghai – the Huangpu River. The Bund is also the seat of the Exotic Building Clusters of Shanghai. There are 52 classic and modern buildings with different styles, including Asia Building, Shanghai Club, Waitanyuan 33, Shanghai Customs House, and Yangtze Insurance Building. Standing on the Bund sightseeing platform, you can see the famous Exotic Building Clusters in the west. Walking through the long corridor with greeneries in the north, you can see Huangpu Park and Shanghai People’s Heroes Memorial Tower. Huangpu Park, the earliest European-style garden in Shanghai, witnesses the thrive of the Bund. And in this park, Shanghai People’s Heroes Memorial Tower is built to remember the revolutionary martyrs who gave their lives to liberate Shanghai since 1840. More intriguing places are waiting for you to discover on the Bund!

Next, we will leave for Nanjing Road. Stretching for about 5 kilometers, Nanjing Road is a premier shopping street of Shanghai, which is just like Ginza in Tokyo. On both sides of Nanjing Road, there are over 400 stores and boutiques. The most famous shops and restaurants are concentrated between the Peace Hotel and the Shanghai No.1 Department Store. For example, on the East Nanjing Road, you will find many famous and popular brands, such as Dior, Chanel, and Levi’s. Besides, Shanghai Fashion Store is famous for its first-class clothes with novel styles, gaining popularity among many young ladies. You can buy some lovely clothes here in your free shopping time. If you want to know more about Nanjing Road, your guide will help you.

After the visit, we will return to the downtown hotel, which means it’s time to wind up your 2-day Shanghai tour package. I bet you will have a lot of fun in these two days if you choose our sincere services.

Zhujiajiao Water Town

Nanjing road

Author： Yan Weiran

Proofreader: Lexie