Day one: The Bund and Nanjing Road
Your first stop should be “The Bund” – which is a well-known harbor area with many tall buildings along the promenade. The area has been seen as a symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years. It was here that the European trading houses and banks held, and one can say that the Bund was Shanghai’s Wall Street.
The financial district has now moved towards the other side of the river, in the Pudong area.
A view of the Shanghai Pearl tower from the bund. This is “on the other side of the river”, in the Pudong area.
Next stop is Nanjing Road which is one of the longest shopping streets with more than 600 upscale stores and fine restaurants. This is Shanghai’s main shopping street and one of the busiest streets in the world. It is 6 km long and is visited by more than 1 million people daily.
Day two: Yu Garden and Jade Buddha temple
The next day you should visit Yu Garden, which is a peaceful place in the heart of bustling Shanghai. Pan Yundan, a very famous Chinese person, spent almost 20 years and all her savings to build this wonderful garden. Yu in Chinese means peace and health. The garden was finished in 1577 and has since undergone several changes.
Yu Garden is an amazing place for tourists in Shanghai.
After seeing the beautiful garden you should visit the Jade Buddha Temple. It was built in 1882 to guard the two Buddha statues brought from Burma by a monk called Huigen. The temple was destroyed during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately, the Buddha statues were rescued and the temple was rebuilt in 1928.
Day three: French Concession and Xintiandi area
The last day should be used to take a walk around the French Concession, which is a foreign concession in Shanghai. The European people throned this area from 1849 to 1946. After you have seen most of the French Concession, I would suggest that you travel to Xintiandi area which is not far away – a beautiful area with expensive restaurants and good shopping opportunities. It is often referred to as the “entertainment district” in Shanghai.
