Shanghai China May 2005 - 48 photos - 1262 views

Shanghai is the largest economic and trade centre in the country. It is a famous historical and cultural city. Visited the the Jade Buddha Temple (玉佛禅寺), which is one of the most active temples in China. The Temple was built in 1882 and has 2 jade statues of the Sakyamuni Buddha, one seated and one reclining, brought from Myanmar. The seated Buddha is 1.9 meters (6ft) tall and was carved out of a single piece of white jade and is wearing a robe inlaid with precious jewels. The temple also houses a number of ancient sculptures, rare paintings and Buddhist scriptures. I visited the Shanghai Museum (上海博物馆) - The biggest museum in China, with a collection of over 120,000 pieces of Chinese art and archaeological findings. Permanent exhibits feature bronzes, ceramics and paintings, among other artifacts. Other facilities include a library with 20,000 books, a conservation laboratory and a lecture room. The building itself is an architectural showpiece, resembling an ancient tripod when viewed sideways. The rooftop with glassed dome is modeled on a Han Dynasty mirror.  
 
Also went to Yu Garden (豫園), located to the south of the Bund. The Garden used to be the old Chinese city of a walled fishing town when the British arrived in 1843. It used to be a maze of tiny alleys. At the center of the Old City are the Chenghuang Temple and the Yu Garden, in which stands the Huxining Teahouse, said to be the model for the design on the willow-pattern plates much loved by Europeans in another era. The Bridge of Nine Turns zigzags to make it difficult for evil spirits to get across (since, as is well known, evil spirits have problems with corners). The Yu Garden is a classical Chinese garden with over 30 pavilions linked by a maze of corridors and bridges over ponds.  
 
The interesting part of the Shanghai trip was the visit to Zhouzhuang (周庄), an ancient town located between Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou, dates back to AD 1086. Surrounded by water, the town features classical bridges, a waterway transport system and the traditional architecture of a bygone era. It is known as the No. 1 Water Town in China. With its profound historical inheritance and unique cultural heritage, Zhouzhuang is renowned for its typical Southern Chinese riverside scenery, elegantly-crafted bridges, murmuring streams and classical dwellings, as well as its distinctive local traditions. It has been shortlisted as a possible UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site and was officially recognized as a ‘Town of Rich Historical and Cultural Heritage in China’. It is among the first towns to be rated Grade AAAAA Tourist Destination in China.