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Shanghai is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and 16 hours ahead of United States Western Standard Time. Difference from Hong Kong: +0
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Climate (Temperature and Rainfall)
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Shanghai has a delightful climate with four distinct seasons; the seasons run in the same order as those of North America and Europe.
The average temperature of the year is 15.7 C and the yearly precipitation is 1,200 mm. The winters can become very cold with temperatures often dropping well below zero. In contrast, the summers tend to be very hot and humid.
Spring (Mar - May): 19 C
Summer (Jun - Aug): 31 C
Autumn (Sep - Mid Nov): 23 C
Winter (Mid Nov - Feb): 9 C
Annual Rainfall: 3,325 mm, Rainy Season: Mar � Jun
Shanghai Weather & Weather Forecast
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The currency used in China is Renminbi, abbreviated as RMB. Most credit cards such as VISA, Master Card and American Express are accepted in major hotels and large shopping outlets. It is advisable to carry some cash and exchange for local currency when possible. The exchange rate is approximately USD 1 = 8.3 RMB and EUR 1 = 8.9 RMB
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Mandarin is the official language although there are numerous other dialects. English is an international business language but it is not widely spoken. Interpretation is still needed for most business transactions in China.
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SHANGHAI is one of the world's great cities, with a colourful past, a frenetic present and a future that will see it eventually back on top of the world as a major international financial and trading centre.
The city, whose name literally means "on the sea", is located on the East China coast just to the south of the mouth of the Yangtze River. For the record, the coordinates are 31 degrees north, 121 degrees east, putting on the same latititudinal area as Cairo, Basra, Lahore, Lhasa and Jacksonville, Florida. Shanghai, like the rest of China, is eight hours ahead of GMT. The entire administrative area of the city, including surrounding suburbs, townships and farmland, covers a total area of 6,185 square km (2,383 square miles).
The total population is around 15 million, of which around eight million live in the city. There is a huge floating population of itinerant workers, probably numbering two million. The foreign population numbers around 30,000.
The city has a status equivalent to a province, and reports directly to the central government. It has Jiangsu province to the north and Zhejiang to the south, and includes the third largest island in Greater China - Chongming Island.
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Shanghai is China's largest city, its largest port and its largest industrial base. It has a sophisticated variety of shops and restaurants in the country and the most fashionable people. It is called "the dragon head" of East China, the leading force driving the economy.
Shanghai was the first China port to be opened to Western trade, and in the 1920s and 1930s it was one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. Since the early 1990s, a dramatic re-building programme has been in progress which is changing the face of the central areas, which until 1990 were almost identical to their appearance 40 years before.
Shanghai is well-known both at home and abroad not only for its prosperous metropolitan feature and rich humanistic resources but also for a number of tourist attractions with modern flavour that have been developed in recent years. Varied and colourful tourist festivities, like the Shanghai Torism Festival, the New Year Eve Longhua Temple Bell Striking, the Longhua Temple Fair, the Nanhui County Peach Blossom Festival, the International Tea Culture Festival, the Sweet Osmanthus Festival and the Orange Festival are attracting an ever increasing number of domestic and foreign tourists.
Shanghai is an ideal "shopping paradise"; Nanjing Road, known as "China's No.1 Street", the reconstructed Huaihai Road, Jinling Road, East, North Sichuan Road, the Yuyuan Garden shopping and tourist area, the Ever Bright City Commercial Centre, Xujiahui Commercial Centre, and Zhangyang Road Commercial Centre in Pudong are packed with rows of shops arrayed with large collections of merchandise that are a feast to the eyes and meet the demands of different classes of domestic and foreign customers.
Shanghai is also a paradise for gourmets. There are over a thousand restaurants serving the famous 16 styles of Chinese food, such as Beijing, Sichuan, Guangdong, Yangzhou, Fujian, etc. There are also French, Russian, Italian, English, German, Japanese, Indian and other kinds of foreign flavoured cuisines, genuine Muslim food and vegetarian food. In Shanghai you can have a taste of all the different kinds of food in the world.
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The Bund is a section of riverfront along the Huangpu river in Shanghai which until the early 1800's was undeveloped. The British set up their consulate and other buildings there after the Opium War.
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In the early 1900's the Bund sprouted up with buildings designed by architects from Britain, France, China, America, Russia, Japan, and others including Jews from various countries. The Bund is a record of architecture of the times from around the world, and many of its buildings were the best in Asia for their time.
Now it becomes the favored place for tourists to enjoy the river scene and cultural activities going on along the Bund. Walking up to the dam, you will be fascinated by the sight of forest of masts, the glittering waves, the impressive skyline, and shadowy trees interlacing with beautiful flowers. It is just like a magnificent scroll.
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With a collection of over 120,000 pieces of cultural relics in twelve categories, Shanghai Museum is especially famous for its treasures of bronzes, ceramics and paintings and calligraphy.
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In total, Shanghai Museum has set up ten special galleries of bronze, calligraphy, ceramics, furniture, jades, minority art, numismatics, paintings, sculptures, and seals, together with a special gallery of donated relics and three temporary exhibition halls
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Grand Theatre |
| Since its opening on August 27, 1998 the Shanghai Grand Theatre has successfully staged operas, musicals, ballets, symphonies, chamber music concerts, spoken drama and Chinese operas. It has a high reputation both at home and abroad and has become an important window of cultural exchange between China and the world and a bridge of artistic communication. |
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Yu Yuan Garden � The Garden of Peace and Comfort |
| Yuyuan is a 400 year old classical Chinese garden in the Old Town of Shanghai not far from the Bund and attracts millions of tourists every year. Its exquisite layout, beautiful scenery, and the artistic style of the garden architecture are where the charm of Yu Yuan lies. At the same time, Yu Yuan Garden is often frequented by shoppers who want to purchase traditional Chinese products as well as gold and jewels. |
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Longhua Temple |
| Longhua Temple - the biggest and oldest temple in Shanghai. Its main hall and all other halls are stately and splendidly structured. The chiming of "Longhua Bell" in the monastery is one of Shanghai's eight tourist attractions. The Longhua Pagoda is equally an imposing and splendid structure - with seven storeys, in octagonal shape, with upturned eaves, and the hanging bells on the eaves' corners. |
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Nanjing Road |
| The most bustling shopping centre in Shanghai and enjoying the reputation of "China's No.1 Street". Business hours are from 10 am to 10 pm. Brightly lit Nanjing Road is a wonderful view at night in a sea of lights. Every Saturday afternoon a section of Nanjing Road becomes a pedestrians' walking street. |
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Looking back to the old days and exploring old Shanghai you will be brought by �Shanghai Old Street� through the times-times back to 100 year ago. The rebuilt Shanghai Old Street is 825 m long from Renmin Road to Henan Road, divided into the eastern and Western section. The eastern section runs from Renmin Road to Guanyi Street. Shanghai Old Street is an important east-west passageway for sightseeing in the Yuyuan commercial and tourist area.
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As a re-creation born out of the sprawls of Shikumen housing, which is the architectural symbol of Shanghai in the 20th century, Shanghai Xintiandi is an urban tourist attraction imbued with the city's historical and cultural legacies. Shanghai Xintiandi's Shikumen attraction was created by converting residential blocks into a multifunctional dining, retail and entertainment center flowing with restaurants, boutiques, cafes and bars of an international standard. The Shikumen buildings within Shanghai Xintiandi retain the antique walls, tiles and exterior of the Shikumen housing of old Shanghai, while the internal spaces have been designed and decorated to suit the up tempo lifestyle of the 21st century urbanites, with infinite details that exude the casual elegance of modern city living. Shanghai Xintiandi is where "yesterday meets tomorrow in Shanghai today."
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