The Streets of Shanghai

I have been to China many times over but never really had enough time to walk around and soak in the cultural waters of one the greatest ancient civilizations in the world. I visited Shanghai, China during my packaging stint when the Global Customization team went to Asia.

Shanghai is a bustling metropolitan city in China, littered with skyscrapers that are headquarters to many regional and global corporate behemoths. But what caught my history loving eye is the blend of old world and new world charm.

I was able to pack in quite a heck of a Shanghai street tour in one morning on the day of my flight back. Here are the interesting places from the Streets of Shanghai...

The Oriental Pearl Tower was the tallest structure in China from 1999-2007 before it was surpassed by the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Jin Mao Tower, both in Shanghai. The ground floor serves as a Museum of the History of Shanghai. I definitely did not skip the opportunity to tour the museum.

The Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower.
The ground floor serves as a Museum showcasing the History of Shanghai. 

Further down town is The Bund (or a Quay) which is a section of Shanghai facing the mile long stretch of the historic Huang Pu River. On one side you can view the Shanghai skyscrapers while the other side are historic buildings with breathtaking Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque and Neo-classical architecture. If it were not for my flight, I can just stroll there all day long.

View of the skyscrapers overlooking Huang Pu River.
It was mid morning yet very breezy on this side of the town.



This is The Bund. Makes you feel like you are in Paris or Rome (or UST Main Building) in this district.
The Customs House and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank are in the background. This is breathtaking at night.



The Yuyuan Garden was built in 1559 during the reign of Emperor Ming Jiajing as a private garden of the Sichuan province administrator. This is an enclosed area of about two hectares and you can find various Pagodas and cultural relics. There area also Pearl shops within the area and I was able to buy one at a very good bargain!

One of the Pagodas at Yuyuan Garden

The Museum of History of Shanghai is a joy to explore (if you are a history buff). It showcases a wax museum for a lifelike rendition of life in Shanghai from early civilization and pre-colonial days, the British colony period when electric cars and horse drawn carriage ruled downtown, and finally the modern world.



3D exhibit of The Bund

Once a fishing and textile town in the east coast of China, Shanghai is now dubbed as one of Asia's Global City-- the center of finance, commerce, business and technology in Asia. A walk along the streets of Shanghai made me feel that despite the grandeur of being a modern world city pretty much like Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore, the ancient traces and spirit of this genteel city remains tenacious and alive!