Shanghai Classic City Tour

 

In the morning, your private English-speaking guide will pick you up at the hotel lobby in the city center as agreed with you the night before. Our first stop on our Shanghai city tour today is People’s Square, a city landmark surrounded by important buildings, including the Shanghai Museum, Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, and Shanghai Grand Theatre.

Then we head to the famous Yu Garden. As a model of classical gardens in Jiangnan, the garden features exquisite pavilions, winding ancient bridges, unique rockeries, and tranquil ponds. This Ming Dynasty garden, which was first built in 1559, was originally built by Pan Yunduan to for his parents to enjoy the old age. After more than 400 years of vicissitudes, the Yuyuan Garden was abandoned due to the death of its owner. After several large-scale repairs, it was finally reopened in 1961, becoming an important window to show the traditional Chinese garden art.

The Yuyuan Market adjacent to Yu Garden is always full of people. A variety of stalls display exquisite Chinese style handicrafts, ranging from bamboo chopsticks, round silk fans to Jingdezhen porcelain, and authentic snacks such as Xiaolongbao, Shanghai Hairy Crab, ribs rice cakes, etc.

Our next stop will be the Former French Concession, which covers an area of 1.98 square kilometers and was once the largest and busiest concession in modern China (1849-1943). Strolling through it, you will encounter nearly a hundred well preserved neoclassical buildings, with Baroque style porticos and Art Deco style window frames. Your guide will take you through time and interpret the ethnic memories carried behind these buildings.

After lunch, continue to explore the Nanjing Pedestrian Road. This “First Commercial Street of China” starts from the Bund in the east and ends at the intersection of Jing’an Temple and Yan’an West Road in the west. Nowadays, this place has become a pilgrimage site for global fashionistas, with international brand flagship stores and century old brands complementing each other.

Afterwards, stroll eastward along Nanjing Road to the Bund. This 1.5-kilometer-long riverside corridor is home to a group of 52 historical buildings with distinct styles, known as the “World Architecture Exhibition Group”. From the neoclassical HSBC building to the Art Deco style Customs building, these architectural masterpieces that blend Gothic spires, Baroque reliefs, and Roman colonnades have witnessed the tremendous changes that Shanghai has undergone over 170 years since its opening as a port.

Then, we go to Pudong Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone, which is a landmark area of Shanghai’s modern development. As one of the most influential financial centers in China, there are many world-class skyscrapers, the most eye-catching of which are the 468 meter high Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the 420.5 meter high Jinmao Tower. We will take the elevator directly to the observation hall on the 88th floor of Jinmao Tower. From this 340 meter high observation platform, you can enjoy a 360 degree view of the magnificent scenery on both sides of the Huangpu River.

After the visit, we will drive you back to the hotel, marking the end of our classic Shanghai day tour.