Shanghai city guide 3e
Damian Harper

....From People's Sq metro station (exit No 2), start by walking west up Renmin Ave. Immediately on the right is the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, completed in 2000. In addition to the sign urging citizens to 'keep pace with the times' (no problem there), there's also a countdown clock for the 2010 World Expo above the entrance. The symbolic circle-within-a-square (heaven and earth) Shanghai Museum can be seen on the other side of Renmin Ave. Designed by local architect Xing Tonghe, who also had a hand in the Jinmao Tower, the museum's existence is largely due to its two directors who had the foresight to create a building worthy of its collection and the diplomatic know-how to clear the enormous bureaucratic and fundraising hurdles. Directly opposite the museum is the staid, anticlimactic Shanghai Government Building. Continuing down Renmin Ave, it's possible to glimpse one of the entrances to D-Mall, marked by a glass awning across the street. This was originally one of China's many bomb shelters, built after the Sino - Soviet split in the 1960s. It was transformed into an endless maze of consumerism in the 1980s. Across from D-Mall is the elegant Shanghai Grand Theatre, incorporating traditional flying eaves into the modern glass design. The building's architect, Jean-Marie Charpentier, also laid out Pudong's Century Ave and Century Park. Continue past the theatre and cross North Huangpi Rd at the intersection, heading north towards the sky-grasping claws of Tomorrow Square. Turn left on Jiangyin Rd to momentarily leave the present in exchange for some old shikūmen houses, and turtles and crickets at the Bird, Flower & Fish Market. Don't miss the ivy-smothered middle school at No 101. Backtrack to Huangpi Rd, where you'll soon come upon the nefarious 60-storey Tomorrow Square, the most daunting structure west of the Huangpu River, and its cantilevered transformer companion across the road, Ciro's Plaza. If you have no qualms about posing as a hotel guest, take the Tomorrow Square lift up to the JW Marriott's lobby on the 38th floor for great views over Renmin Sq. Turning right here onto West Nanjing Rd brings you to one of the city's favourite juxtapositions, the beautiful 1930s race club, now completely overshadowed by Tomorrow Square. Today housing the Shanghai Art Museum, the club was originally built on the site of the old racecourse grandstand, and is the sole reminder of the pre-Liberation days when Renmin Sq was a horse racing track (from 1862 to 1941). On the roof of the museum is the restaurant Kathleen's 5. Turn right into Renmin Park (just past the museum entrance) to replenish your oxygen supply before heading back to West Nanjing Rd. Along the way you can stop for a rest at Barbarossa, beside the pond. Leaving the park, cross Nanjing Rd for the unmistakable Park Hotel, built as a bank in 1934. It was once the highest building in Asia. The roof of the top-floor restaurant originally slid back so that guests could dine al fresco. The nearby Grand Theatre was the best theatre in Shanghǎi in the '30s with 2000 sofa-style seats equipped with earphones for simultaneous translation. Further east along Nanjing Rd is the Pacific Hotel, formerly the China United Apartment Building. The lobby has some lovely details. Approaching the pedestrian East Nanjing Rd, you'll see the Shanghai No 1 Department Store formerly known as Sun Company. Opened in 1936, Sun Company was one of East Nanjing Rd's big department stores (with Wing On, Sun Sun and Sincere) and the first with an escalator. East Nanjing Rd has long been known in China as the place to shop, and has a reputed 1.7 million visitors on weekend days, even if it's since been superseded by Huaihai Rd's department stores. Cross under the intersection and walk along the east side of Central Xizang Rd, passing the Moore Memorial Church. Not far from here is the Raffles City mall, where you can eat at the 6th-floor food court or get a juice in the basement food court. From here, East Nanjing Rd awaits! Energy, excess, glamour: discover what today's Shanghai is all about. Rub shoulders with taichi experts and ballroom dancers along the historic Bund. Explore Shanghai's traditional temples and the coveted French Concession. Treat yourself to first-rate fusion cuisine and countless boutiques and markets - or just gobble dumplings by the dozen. This smart and streetwise guide will show you Shanghai's best-kept secrets. PICK UP THE PULSE of the city - we show you minimalist bars, hard-to-find clubs, acrobats and Chinese opera FIND IT WITH EASE - clear, user-friendly maps and Chinese script take you where you want to go ESCAPE AND EXPLORE - excursions to the gardens of Suzhou and the Southern Song capital, Hangzhou FEAST LIKE A LOCAL - opinionated reviews uncover the flavours of Shanghai, from the cheapest xiaolongbao to the most decadent fine dining INDULGE in retail therapy - we show you Shanghai's best market bargains, boutiques and bazaars

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Wydawnictwo: angielskie
Data wydania: b.d
Kategoria: Podróżnicze
ISBN: 978-1-74059-909-2
Liczba stron: 0