ITB China News 2019 - Preview Edition

21
© King of Hearts
Shanghai
Sightseeing
Longhua Temple
LONGHUA TEMPLE
Shanghai’s largest and most active temple
has as its centerpiece a seven-story, eightsided
pagoda. While the temple, which
made a cameo in Spielberg’s Empire of
the Sun, is thought to have been built in
the 3 rd century, the pagoda dates from the
10 th century; it’s not open to visitors. Near
the front entrance stands a three-story bell
tower, where a 3.3-ton bronze bell is rung at
midnight every Lunar New Year’s Eve. Along
the side corridors you’ll find a room filled
seven rows deep with small golden statues.
The third hall is the most impressive. Its
three giant Buddhas sit beneath a swirled
red and gold dome.
Longhua Temple
2853 Longhua Lu, Shanghai,
Shanghai Shi, 200232, China
www.longhua.org
© Stefan Fussan
PEOPLE’S SQUARE
The geographical center of Shanghai,
People’s Square is an enormous public
square in which Shanghai denizens hang out
all day, every day. Residents stroll, practice
tai chi, and fly kites. Grandparents sit,
drinking tea from thermoses and gossiping.
Come evening, ballroom dancers hold group
lessons.
The subway station below people’s square
is the intersection of metro lines 1, 2, and
8, and is estimated to be the busiest metro
station in China, handling some 700,000
people every day. People’s Square is home to
Shanghai Museum and the Shanghai Urban
Planning Exhibition Center. For kids, there’s
a tiny amusement park with inexpensive
rides. Weekends here are extremely busy,
particularly on Xizang Road.
© Lienyuan Lee
Shopping
People’s Square
NANJING LU
Shanghai’s main shopping street, Nanjing Lu
(lu means road) runs in two sections—East
Nanjing Road, from the Bund to People’s
Square, and West Nanjing Road, from
People’s Square to Jing’an district. A walk
along Nanjing Road in either direction is a
walk through the city’s history. East Nanjing
Road is the Times Square of Shanghai,
pedestrianized and lit by the blaze of neon
signs. It has long been Shanghai’s high street,
and at the turn of the century had eight posh
department stores and a slew of smaller
shops. West Nanjing Road ran through the
International Settlement and was called
Bubbling Well Road. It was quiet and treelined,
a popular place for expats to stroll and
home to a few residences. It was home to
Bubbling Well Cemetery, which is now Jing’an
Park, and all that remains of its past is a row
of imported London planes. Today, West
Nanjing Road is a busy upscale street, lined
in gleaming malls, shops, offices, and hotels.
Nanjing Lu
© MiLu24
TIANZIFANG
A labyrinth of alleyways run between the red
brick lanehouses of the former residential
district that makes up Tianzifang.
The narrow alleyways are packed with
restaurants, cafés, galleries, and shops.
You’ll find everything from the ubiquitous
Obamao T-shirts to leather journals and
shoes, tea, and vintage photographs of
Shanghai. Tianzifang has a much more
traditional feel than Xintiandi, though like
Xintiandi it is packed on weekends. You can
enter Tianzifang from the front, on Taikang
Lu, or on the back side at 155 Jianguo Zhong
Lu.
Tianzifang
For more information or a plethora of other ideas,
go to the Official Shanghai Tourism Website:
http://www.meet-in-shanghai.net/