Shanghai Tour with Hangzhou

Welcome to our Shanghai visa free tour! As one of the most developed cities in China, Shanghai not only has countless high-rise buildings but also has a profound history. Hence, Shanghai has become one of the must-visit cities in China. Our guide will pick you up at the airport and escort you to the hotel. Please take a good rest and prepare for tomorrow’s trip to Shanghai!

Speaking of Shanghai, Jing’an Temple, located between the tall buildings, must be mentioned. According to legend, the history of the temple can be traced back to 247. From south to north of the temple, there are Shanmen Bell Tower and Drum Tower, the Precious Hall of the Great Hero, and Dharma Hall. And the most spectacular of them is the Precious Hall of the Great Hero. Topped with copper tiles, the hall is 26 meters high, with 46 teak pillars with a diameter of 0.72 to 0.8 meters, and more than 3,000 cubic meters of wood were used for construction. A 15-ton sterling silver statue of Sakyamuni is enshrined in the hall. The underground of the main hall is a library of 1,000 square meters with Buddhist scriptures, which will store 130,000 stone-carved Buddhist scriptures. When you stand here, there are high-rise buildings in the distance and a thousand-year-old temple nearby. I believe you will definitely feel the wonderful combination of history and modernity.

After visiting Jing’an Temple, we will head to Yu Garden (closed on Monday). As a classical garden in the south of the Yangtze River, Yu Garden was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The garden covers an area of more than 12,0000 square meters and has a history of more than 400 years. In addition to being a famous garden, it can also be called a museum. Here, you can see more than 4,000 collections. Among the many collections, the most famous one here is painting. In recent years, Yu Garden has been vigorously collecting the paintings of modern Shanghai celebrities, such as Autumn Chicken Picture by Ren Bonian, Pine Chrysanthemum Picture by Wu Changshuo, and Listening to the Spring Picture by Zhang Daqian. If you are very interested in Chinese painting, don’t miss it!

After lunch, we will head to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. As a landmark of Shanghai, the tower attracts countless tourists with its unique charm. The most attractive is its lighting. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower’s artistic lighting system was designed by a French lighting designer, and the artistic lighting part has 7 basic broadcasting methods. The lighting can show three-color and multi-color effects, and there can be more than 1,000 changes under computer control. Even if you look at a specific lighting every day, it may take more than three years to see all the lighting effects here! Even if you look at one kind of lighting every day, it may take more than three years to see all the lighting effects here!

After visiting the tower, we will head to Nanjing Road. Nanjing Road is the first commercial street established in Shanghai after it was opened as a commercial port. The commercial buildings on both sides lined up one after another, fulling with prosperity. Therefore, it is also one of the best places for shopping and sightseeing in Shanghai. There are marble stools everywhere along Nanjing Road, which is very convenient to rest when you are tired. In Zhejiang Road (one section of Nanjing Road), there is Century Plaza in the east, and Yongan Company, which has just been reconstructed and restored to its old appearance, in the west. You can also enjoy a saxophone performance on the second floor of the Yongan Company, which is very interesting.

In addition, we will go to the Bund. Here you can see the various buildings around while strolling along the Huangpu River. Since the Bund was once a British concession, the architectural style here also incorporates features from all over the world. Among all the buildings, the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank deserves additional attention. This building costs 8 million taels of silver and is known as “the most elegant building from the Suez Canal to the Bering Strait.” The three bronze gates in front of the building and the copper lions on both sides were cast by the British people. It is said that the copper molds were destroyed immediately after casting, and the lions became out-of-print treasures. After entering the lobby, you will find 8 colorful mosaic murals on the top of the hall, depicting the architectural styles of 8 major cities including Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Bangkok, and Kolkata at the beginning of the 20th century. After visiting the Bund, our tour guide will escort you to the hotel.

Yu Garden

The Bund

Today we will drive to Hangzhou. Hangzhou is 200 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, and it takes about three hours to drive. West Lake may be one of the most famous lakes in China, and its fame comes from a well-known legend in China. According to legend, Bai Suzhen (a thousand-year-old snake spirit) fell in love with the mortal Xu Xian but was blocked by a monk at that time. The lovers failed after many years of struggle with the monk. And Bai Suzhen was also imprisoned by the monks under the Leifeng Pagoda by the West Lake. Nevertheless, their love story still touched countless Chinese people. And the West Lake and Broken Bridge that they visited have attracted tourists from all over the country for thousands of years. In addition, we will also take the West Lake Boat to visit the West Lake just like the two of them used to be.

After lunch, we will head to Lingyin Temple. Lingyin Temple is an ancient Chinese Buddhist temple. It was built in 326 and covers an area of about 87,000 square meters. The most famous attraction here is Feilai Peak. As the head of the five mountains of Zen Buddhism, Feilai Peak is famous for its grotto art. These Buddha statues carved on limestone span from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-979) to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Among the more than 470 magnificent and precious statues, 335 are preserved intact and relatively complete. After visiting Lingyin Temple, we will head to Six Harmonies Pagoda. The pagoda occupies an area of 890 square meters and is 59.89 meters high. There are 104 iron bells hung on the eaves of each layer outside the tower. After entering the tower, you will find various images carved in the corridor, among which flowers include pomegranate, lotus, treasure, peony, and hibiscus; birds include phoenix, peacock, parrot, mountain magpie, crane, and so on. In addition, Emperor Qianlong (the sixth emperor of the Qing Dynasty) wrote inscriptions for each layer of this tower, which demonstrated the noble identity of this tower. After visiting the pagoda, the tour guide will drive you back to Shanghai.

Lingyin Temple

Six Harmonies Pagoda

Today we will go to Zhujiajiao Water Town. The town is located 47 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, and it takes about an hour to drive. This is also one of the four famous historical and cultural towns in Shanghai. In here, people love books most. In Zhujiajiao, even the common people enjoy reading and collecting books. And the popularization rate of family collections in this town is over 50%, and the total number of private collections exceeds 100,000, which is 10 times the total collections of those in the town. In addition, you can also taste the specialties here. The sea bass here is famous for its tender and delicious meat. While the hairy crabs have hard shells and full flesh. If you come here, you must do not miss these delicious foods!

After visiting Zhujiajiao Water Town, we will head to Tianzifang Market. The feature of the market is that it still has many residents living here. The green mailbox decorated with the logo in the 1980s is still in use here. When you walk in the alley, you can see creative shops and galleries, photography exhibitions, and cafes. In addition, if you are very interested in Chinese pottery, you can go to the pottery studio opened by American potter Jamie to learn pottery techniques. In the afternoon, you can enjoy the breeze in the alley, the bright sunshine on the ground, with the air full of the smell of coffee. I believe you will love this place!

Zhujiajiao Water Town

Tianzifang Market

Today we will go to the Shanghai Museum (closed on Monday). The Shanghai Museum, with a total construction area of 39,200 square meters, was founded in 1952. The museum has 11 special halls, 3 exhibition halls, with an exhibition area of 2,800 square meters. It has nearly one million cultural relics, including 120,000 fine cultural relics, especially bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy, and paintings. Among them, the bronzes here are the most exquisite. After coming here, you must see a very precious bronze, Deding. This bronze was produced in the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC-771 BC). It is 78 cm high and weighs 84.86 kg. Besides, it is one of the few large bronze tripods left in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The tripod pattern still uses an animal face pattern, but the composition tends to be brief, showing the unique simple fashion of the Zhou people. I believe that when you see this treasure in person, you will be impressed by the skills of Chinese craftsmen three thousand years ago.

After visiting the Shanghai Museum, we will head to Xintiandi. Xintiandi covers an area of 30,000 square meters, with a building area of 60,000 square meters. It is a European-style place for leisure and entertainment with Shikumen buildings (buildings inhabited by old Shanghai people, and most are two-story buildings of brick and wood structure) as the main body. When you come here, you will find that buildings here are all old-fashioned Shikumen. But when you enter the building, you will be surprised to find that it is all modernly furnished, with various bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. During the day, you can see many Chinese and foreign tourists come to Xintiandi for sightseeing and taking pictures. As the evening approaches, the place is full of romantic European style. The open-air bars and coffee bars are most popular with young people and foreigners. After you come here, you might as well take this opportunity to relax and enjoy the fun and charm of living in modern Shanghai! After the tour, our tour guide will send you to the airport in advance according to your boarding time. I hope you enjoy this trip to Shanghai!

Shanghai Museum

Xintiandi

Author: Zhang Ziyang