Shanghai: "Pearl of the Orient" and "Paris of the East" (Part 3)

PUTOU, JING'AN & HUANGPU AREA

Jade Buddha Temple

Overview

The Jade Buddha Temple is an active place of worship with 70 resident monks. The two precious jade statues are rare cultural relics. Both the Sitting Buddha and the Recumbent Buddha are carved with jade.

Interesting Facts

The Jade Buddha Temple was founded in 1882 when the two Buddha statues were imported from Burma.

Contact

Phone (021) 6266-3668

170 Anyuan Road, Putou, Shanghai, 200060

Changshou Rd Metro Station exit 5 (Line 7)

Visitor Info

Opening times: 8am – 3.30 pm

Price: 20 RMB

Jing’an Temple

Overview

The Jing’an Temple is the most famous landmark in the Jing’an District. The small, brightly  decorated temple is a very popular atrraction and often busy with visitors.

Interesting Facts

• ·         It’s the oldest landmark in the city, its origin dating back to 247 AD. This means it was built more than 1000 years before the official establishment of Shanghai in 1292.
•            Originally located beside Suzhou Creek and named the Hudu Chongyuan Temple, it was relocated to its current site in 1216 during the Song dynasty (960-1279 AD).
•             A famous calligrapher renamed is’s Jing’an Temple in 1945. Unfortunately, the temple was burnt down to ruins in 1972. Reconstruction only began in 1984 and the whole temple was finally reopen to the public in 1990.
•            It’s name Jing’an means “peace and tranquility”.

Contact

Phone (021) 6256-6366

1686 West Nanjing Rd, Jing’an District, Shanghai

Jing’an Temple Metro Station (Line 2 & 7)

Visitor info

Opening times: 7.30 am – 5pm every day

Price: 30 RMB

Nanpu Bridge

Overview

The Nanpu Bridge is one of the largest bridges in the world and spans the Huangpu River, connecting the Puxi and Pudong Districts. With 10 lanes and 150m towers, the Nanpu Bridge is a very impressive structures and dominate the river.

Interesting Facts

·         To accomodate the large ships that travel up and down the Huangpu River, the bridges central span is 423m wide and 46m high. It’s probably most famous for spiral approach on the Puxi side of the river, where over 1 km of 10 lanes highway winds up into the sky.

Contact

Nanpu Bridge Metro Station (Line 4)

The 2010 Shanghai World Expo

Overview

Expo 2010, officially Expo 2010 Shanghai China was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions, the first since 1992. The theme of the exposition was "Better City – Better Life" and signifies Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as the "next great world city". The Expo emblem features the Chinese character 世 ('world', Chinese "shì") modified to represent three people together with the 2010 date. It had the largest number of countries participating (192 countries) and was the most expensive Expo in the history of the world's fairs. The Shanghai World Expo was also the largest World's Fair site ever at 5.28 square km. By the end of the expo, over 73 million people had visited – a record attendance – and 246 countries and international organizations had participated. On 16 October 2010, the expo set a single-day record of over 1.03 million visitors.

Expo Axis

The main building - called "Expo Axis" – has the world's largest membrane construction and was built by SBA (architects) and Knippers Helbig (structural engineers). The building consists of some steel-glass funnels with a 1,000 m long membrane construction. The main construction was completed at the end of 2009.

China Pavilion

The China pavilion at Expo 2010 (Chinese: 中国国家馆; pinyin: Zhōngguó guójiā guǎn) in Shanghai, China, colloquially known as the Oriental Crown (Chinese: 东方之冠; pinyin: Dōngfāng zhī Guān), was the largest national pavilion at the Shanghai Expo and the largest display in the history of the World Expo. It was also the most expensive pavilion at the Shanghai Expo costing an estimated US$220 million. The pavilion showcased China’s civilisation and modern achievements by combining traditional and modern elements in its architecture, landscaping and exhibits. After the end of the Expo 2010, the building was converted to a museum. On October 1, 2012, it was reopened as the China Art Museum, the largest art museum in Asia.

Mercedes-Benz Arena

The Mercedes-Benz Arena (Chinese: 梅赛德斯-奔驰文化中心; pinyin: Méisàidésī-bēnchí Wénhuà Zhōngxīn), formerly known as the Shanghai World Expo Cultural Center, is an indoor arena located on the former grounds of Expo 2010 in Pudong, Shanghai, China. It is owned and operated by the AEG-OPG joint venture. The arena is sponsored in a ten-year deal by Mercedes-Benz and was officially renamed the Mercedes-Benz Arena on January 15, 2011.

The facility seats 18,000 people and includes a smaller venue, The Mixing Room & Muse, which is a more intimate live-music venue. The arena hosted the opening ceremony for the Expo 2010, during which it was known as the Expo Cultural Center.

The arena was opened for concerts since late 2010. Notable concerts: Usher, James Blunt, Akon, Maroon 5, Elton John, Jennifer Lopez, Adam Lambert, Simple Plan, Metallica, Owl City, Pitbull, Tony Bennet, Justin Bieber, Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Bruno Mars, The Rolling Stone, Taylor Swift, and many more.