Sightseeing in Shanghai

After fully touring the World Expo, our time in Shanghai was almost at the end and so we decided to take a day and tour some of the famous parts of the city. Most of the popular places are actually recently-built skyscrapers and towers as well as modern shopping and eating areas.

The Pearl Tower (Left)

The Shanghai World Financial Center (Right)

In the morning we headed to the new Shanghai World Financial Center. Towering above all the other skyscrapers in the Pudong district, the Financial Center is now the tallest building in China and the second tallest building in the world (coming in right after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.) The view from 474m up on the highest floor is quite amazing.

The view from the top of the World Financial Center

Though the sky was a bit hazy, you can still see the outlying area and even all the way down through windows in the floor! In the same area also stands the Pearl Tower (somewhat futuristic resembling a building constructed by aliens) as well as the Jin Mao Tower, which before the Financial Center was the tallest in China. It is a great part of Shanghai to visit as it offers a view of modern China, as well as shopping at many famous stores!

In the afternoon we stopped at the Yuyuan Garden and Bazaar for some shopping, It has a similar feel to the Khan al-Khalily market in Cairo, yet bigger and less dusty with more people and even Western restaurants in the mix. The gardens and waterfront area in the middle are a nice sight along with the old Chinese style architecture of the buildings.

Pictures from Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar

At night we visited what is maybe the most famous area in Shanghai- a walkway along the waterfront called the Bund. I imagined it very old and traditional, but what I found was a modern, newly-constructed elevated walkway along the river that faced all of the new skyscrapers, including the World Financial Center we had visited earlier. It is quite a sight with everything lit up. We took a river cruise and were able to get a nice (illuminated) view of the whole downtown area. After, we walked down the Bund to the famous pedestrian street Nanjing Lu. There were so many thousands of people everywhere you looked that it was hard to enjoy the street without feeling like you were in a mob leaving New York City after New Years Eve!

Shanghai at night (Top)

Nanjing Lu (Bottom)

Nevertheless, it is fun to see all of the stores and restaurants and get a taste for the nightlife in Shanghai.

The Bund walkway along the left-hand side