Known
throughout the world as "Pearl of the Orient" Shanghai is a
modern and fast paced city, rich in history, culture and with a wealth
of areas and sites just waiting to be explored. One of the nicest
aspects of Shanghai is that the crowds here are much more manageable
than in a city like Beijing.
This is largely because there are no
great ancient sites which people flock to. Rather, this is a city to
be walked, wandered, explored and discovered in your own time and, in
your own style.
One approach however, is to investigate
Shanghai's former Concession areas and the wealth of treasures they
hold. What makes Shanghai particularly attractive are the many
different styles of architecture and design throughout the city.
Shanghai was once divided up into different "Concessions" or
districts and the boundaries of these areas still remain today. The famous, the Bund was home to the "British Public Park" and this boulevard has
a plethora of colonial structures to visit, all reminders of
Shanghai's days of decadence.
The Japanese and the French Concessions
too, are fascinating areas to explore. The French quarter is a
particularly charming district to wander, and there are many former
residences to look at and discover something about old Shanghai and
the people who lived here. The area known as the "Chinese
City" is also worthy of a visit. Take a break from the tourists
around the Yuyuan and do some serious antique shopping or just lose yourself amidst the
old alleys and streets.
But perhaps most of all today, Shanghai
is a spectacularly modern city. The pace of development here is
unbelievable. Currently, seventeen percent of the world's cranes are
in the city and developers boast that the city is changing at a rate
incomparable to anywhere else in the world ever. The newest area of
the city, Pudong,
has just celebrated its 10th anniversary and is almost unrecognizable
from the way it was when development began here. Two of the most
impressive city structures can be found here, the Jinmao
Tower and the Oriental
TV Tower.
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