One of the most cosmopolitan cities in Asia is Shanghai. If a few weeks ago we talked about Hong Kong and the number of people who live there Shanghai is not far behind and It is one of the cities with the largest number of inhabitants in the world.
Port, financial center and cultural center of this part of the world is a great travel destination. You may think that its notoriety is new but in reality Shanghai has been shining for more than a century, which is why it has a lot of history. 72 hours is not a long time but sometimes it is all we have so here is one guide of what to do three days in Shanghai.
Day 1 in Shanghai
The city is divided into two parts: on one side of the Huangpu River is puxi And the other Pudong. Puxi is in the west and Pudong in the east. The most striking thing from the modern urban landscape is the Lujiazui area, in Pudong, where the most emblematic buildings are: the Shanghai World Financial Center, the Jin Mao Tower, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the Shanghai Tower, for example. Also here is the Tourism Tunnel, an underground tunnel with a light and sound show that is worth visiting.
- Oriental Pearl Tower: It is 468 meters high and was the tallest structure in the city between 1994 and 2007. It is a radio and TV transmission antenna with fifteen observation platforms, among which the space capsule stands out at 350 meters. It has a revolving restaurant, between the two spheres, and of course, great views.
- World Financial Center: It is the eighth tallest building in the world and is 492 meters high. The observatory has a glass floor and windows that provide 360º views.
- Jin Mao Tower: Everything here revolves around the lucky number, 8, because in Mandarin Chinese, eight sounds like the word "prosperity." 88 floors and a jazz bar.
- Tunnel waitingan: is the 647 meter high tourist tunnel that passes under the Huangpu River connecting the Bund with Lujiazui. A striking and bizarre site.
Here you can walk a bit, feel very small at the base of these monstrous buildings or, better, climb the observatory of the financial center to take photos from a good height. This is the most classic postcard of Shanghai and if you know the city before then it is surprising because in the 80s this area was hardly developed ... If you do not stay in the area you can get there by subway.
Speaking of accommodation, if you go to visit the most recommended area is the one adjacent to the Huangpu River because it is from there from where you have fabulous views of it. skyline from Shanghai. The old areas are picturesque, for example the French Concession, but it all depends on what you are looking for.
Day 2 in Shanghai
Is the day for walk the bund, an area with a lot of history. The landscape has early XNUMXth century buildings, by the river. If you open your eyes, you have the XNUMXth and XNUMXst centuries in the same panoramic view, because Luhiazu's profile is there, on the other side, if the weather is good or there is not much pollution.
You can walk around here, sit down for breakfast in a cafeteria and walk around for a while. Then you have the East Nanjing Road subway station a few steps away. You get on Line 10 and get off at Yuyuan Gardens. You can lose a while walking between Chinese buildings or trying the local gastronomy, which is wonderful. The gardens were created at the end of the 20th century and occupy XNUMX thousand hectares.
Admission costs CYN 40 or 30, depending on the time of year, and opens between 8:30 am and 4:45 pm. If you stayed for lunch you can return to the subway later and go to West Nanjing Rd to visit the Jing'an Temple, originally from the XNUMXrd century but rebuilt and very beautiful, nestled between skyscrapers. The French concession It is a good place to spend the afternoon, find a charming restaurant and see those contrasts between East and West.
Finally, you can take the subway again and go to the Town square. If you are interested in visiting the Shanghai museum , Do not close you! When the sun goes down the street nanjing road it is a good place to be. Mainly the east sector, which is where there are bars and restaurants and lots of light.
Day 3 in Shanghai
If you fell in love with the city you may not want to leave it but if you want to cover more then On the last day you must travel a little further from the center. There are historic cities, like Suzhou o hangzgou (one hour from Shanghai, on the coast of lakes and very beautiful), is the Anji Bamboo Forest, where you arrive by train or taxi and where it was filmed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and there is also the Chongming Island Nature Reserve.
You can get to Anji by subway, using Line 1 or 3 to reach the Shanghai South Railway Station. Next to it is the terminal Bus and the earlier the better, before 9 am because afterwards there are no buses. At the box office you buy the ticket and then the trip lasts about four hours round trip. The trip will not excite you, but the destination will. You arrive in the city of Anji, leave the station and rent a taxi or a tuk-tuk to reach the forest in half an hour.
Admission is about 55 yuan. There are some restaurants at the entrance and you can eat bamboo, what do you think? Inside you can get lost in beautiful landscapes and you can even climb a roller coaster for 50 yuan more to fly among the little trees. The return is just as easy. If you arrive and there are no more buses to Shanghai, you can go to Hangzhou and from there to Shanghai by train or bus.
Obviously throughout these three days there are many corners of Shanghai to visit (museums, temples, markets), but as a backbone this 72-hour tour is very useful.
Hi, I'm Carlos, I live in Monte Grande, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The information they provided is very valuable for my next trip to China. Thank you