Places of Interest - China

"Shanghai"

introduction

Shanghai is the largest city in China and one of the three largest metropolises worldwide. The city that literally means "above the sea" has long been a small, insignificant fishing village with a small textile industry. Now it has the largest port in the world. There laid always a dark blanket over the city of Shanghai that covered up the dark past. The city was known for its many gangsters, whores, gambling halls and adventurers who could do their thing here without interference from the government. If you walk across the Bund, the European part of the city, you feel the old glory of yesterday. Today, the city has grown into a metropolis with a remarkable sky-line; not comparable to Hong Kong, Beijing or Xian and certainly not as Singapore or Kuala Lumpur but with its own charm. Definitely worth spending a few days here although lacking real tourist sites.

highlights

"The Bund":

The biggest tourist attraction (if you may speak of it) in Shanghai must be “the Bund”. The European boulevard, which is currently being thoroughly renovated, exudes an atmosphere of the early twenties of the last century. The Bund, which literally means shores of a muddy waterfront, was the Wall Street of Shanghai and was the place where fortunes were earned, but large losses were also suffered. In the old buildings with large stairs with red velvet was the place for gambling, roped and gagged and many drugs were traded. Today, a hypermodern boulevard has been built where many tourists and local people make a round trip to enjoy the beautiful view of the river, the city’s skyline and the old European buildings. Especially in the evening it is a must to walk along here.

"East Nanjing Street" and "Renmin" square:

The large pedestrian and shopping street "East Nanjing" was long called the golden mile with beautiful department stores (including the famous "Sun Company"). Now it is a great place to do your shopping and enjoy the many “neon” lights. At the end of the street is the "Renmin" square - a place to relax and enjoy the flowers and plants in this nice park surrounded by high giants but also old colonial buildings.

Other attractions:

Shanghai museum and the French concession.

history

The metropolis of Shanghai was a small fishing village for a very long time in modern times. In 1553 a city wall was built which can generally be regarded as the beginning of the city "Shanghai". It is not so remarkable that the British chose this place in 1842 after the first Opium war along the "Yangzi" river. Then Shanghai was still a small settlement that earn some money fishing and weaving. It was an autonomous international piece of land and was larger in 1853 than all other Chinese ports and had many different nationalities. In particular, opium, tea and silk were traded and in addition a lively prostitution and gambling town was created where safety was guaranteed by an international mix (mainly marines). In 1863 the British and American settlements were merged into the International Concession. Between 1850 and 1900 the population of the city increased from approximately 250,000 to around 650,000. After the first Chinese-Japanese war in 1895, the Japanese began to build factories in Shanghai and the industrialization of the city had begun.

There were also many poor workers and hundreds of thousands of opium addicts in the city and perhaps not so strange that it was here in 1921 that the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) was founded. On January 28, 1932, during the Shanghai incident, the Japanese navy bombed the city in an effort to suppress student demonstrations that had started as a result of the Manchuria incident and the subsequent occupation of Manchuria. Shanghai was conquered by Japan in the Battle of Shanghai in 1937 and remained under Japanese occupation until the surrender of Japan in 1945. During the Second World War, Shanghai was a regional center for refugees from Europe. At that time it was also the only city in the world that was open to Jews without any conditions.

After the coup of "Chiang Kasihek" was repulsed, the city was "liberated" by the grub in 1949 and for example, child labor was immediately abolished. On May 27, 1949, Shanghai came under the control of the Chinese Communist Party. Shanghai and Beijing were the only cities independent of the Republic of China, which still retained an independent status. Other cities came under the administration of the local province again. After 1949, most foreign companies moved their offices to Hong Kong, because of the communist government that had now come to power. During the 1950s and 1960s, Shanghai became an industrial center and a left-wing revolutionary stronghold. In spite of this, Shanghai maintained a high productivity and social stability during this time. In the history of the People's Republic of China, Shanghai has almost always made the largest contribution to taxes to the state. Due to the high taxes, the city in the twentieth century increasingly faded away to a financial injection in 1990 when large parts of the city were refurbished and modernized. Now the Chinese government is even thinking of letting Shanghai pass-by Hong-Kong as an ex-colony city.

tips & advice (2009)

Shanghai has several large (international) bus stations - the most useful for travelers/ tourists is the "Hengfeng Road" bus station. You can also travel with a perfectly working metro system and of course by train. Everything is very professional.

Shanghai - Hangzhou: you can book a train ticket for about 35 Yuan - the journey takes about 2 hours.

The specialty of the city is eating "Mizhi Xunyu" (honey smoked carp).

Name: hostel "Ming Town Hiker Youth hostel"

Address: 450 Central Jiangxi Road

Price: 60 Yuan (4 person dormitory)

Phone nr. : 63297889

Content:

This very professional hostel is located near the infamous and famous "Bund" in a narrow side street of it. They have different types of rooms (4 and 6 person dorms but also "doubles") and usually the toilet and shower is outside the room itself. Breakfast is available but is exclusive. In the downstairs hall it looks like a cozy, atmospheric backpacker's hotel with a bar with a pool table. The rooms are a bit on the small side but fine and clean. There is internet, bike rental and you can get all the information you want - there is always someone who speaks English.

The movie "Empire of the Sun" is about the life of the spoiled boy James Graham. His life turns upside down when the Japanese invade Shanghai in 1941. He is separated from his parents and ends up in a Japanese prison camp. Between the diseases and food shortages, Jim tries to pick up his old life again.