The Jade Buddha Temple is identified by its warm, brown wooden walls and classic, curved roofs that rise against the surrounding modern skyline. Founded in eighteen eighty-two, the temple exists to house two white jade statues that were…
Essential Shanghai
This tour traverses Shanghai's defining landmarks, connecting historic temples, colonial waterfront architecture, and the futuristic skyline of Pudong. It's the perfect introduction to the city's remarkable transformation from a Ming Dynasty trading port to a global megacity.
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1. Jade Buddha Temple
2. Jing'an Temple
Jing'an Temple is marked by the brilliant, golden-tiled roofs and intricate wooden structures that contrast sharply with the modern skyscrapers and heavy traffic surrounding them. This Buddhist temple complex on Nanjing Road West traces…
3. Tianzifang
Tianzifang is a dense, labyrinthine maze of narrow alleyways characterized by Shikumen architecture, where heavy wooden doors and stone-framed entrances from the nineteen thirties now open into small craft shops, art galleries, and cafes.…
4. Xintiandi
Xintiandi is a pedestrian district defined by its rows of restored shikumen houses. These traditional residences, which first appeared in the mid-nineteenth century, feature distinctive stone-framed doorways and wooden gates that blend…
5. Shanghai Museum
The Shanghai Museum is distinguished by its unique architecture, featuring a circular top set upon a square base. This granite structure, designed by local architect Xing Tonghe, is modeled after an ancient bronze cooking vessel known as a…
6. Yu Garden
Yu Garden is defined by its undulating dragon walls, which curve and flow through the grounds, topped with tiled ridges and dragon heads. This classical garden in the Huangpu District began as a project in fifteen fifty-nine by a local…
7. The Bund
The Bund is a mile-long stretch of early twentieth-century architecture facing the Huangpu River. You can pick it out by the dense, varied row of stone buildings on the river’s west bank, which feature styles ranging from neoclassical and…
8. Oriental Pearl TV Tower
The Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower stands out for its eleven spheres of varying sizes that appear to be suspended along three massive support columns. Rising to four hundred sixty-eight meters, the tower was designed by Jiang…
9. Shanghai Tower
The Shanghai Tower defines the Lujiazui skyline with its distinct spiral shape, twisting one hundred twenty degrees from the base to the top. Standing six hundred thirty-two meters tall, it is the tallest building in China and one of the…