Shanghai Night Group Tour with Huangpu River Cruise from buzai232's blog

Shanghai Night Group Tour with Huangpu River Cruise

Your tour begins with Nanjing Road: When people mention Shanghai's Nanjing Road,they're probably talking about East Nanjing Road,a pedestrian shopping street running for blocks between the northeast corner of People's Square and the Bund. Nanjing Road, 5.5 km in full length, enjoys the reputation as China No. 1 commercial center. It was the earliest commercial street in Shanghai since the city opened to the outside world.On both sides of the street, there are more than 360 malls, department stores, specialized shops, restaurants and cultural and recreational facilities, which receive more than 1.5 million customers everyday. In the day - time, the street is crowned with visitors and when the night falls, the colorful neon lights make the street more attractive.To get more news about Shanghai travel advice, you can visit shine news official website.

Then head to The Bund: For many years, the bund is the face of Shanghai. On the Bund is group of building known as "A Gallery of world architecture" of different architectural styles including Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism and the Renaissance. These buildings were built respectively during the 20s and 40s of the 20th century with different architectural styles but were well harmonized. The buildings are all decorated with floodlights. At night, the Bund is brightly lit, glittering and dazzling to the eye. It is the symbol and mark of Shanghai.

The Bund is also an epitome of Shanghai's history. Dating back to the time from the 1840's to the 1930's, many foreign businesses snatched the prime area in Shanghai, namely the Bund, to establish concessions, banks, headquarters, consul houses and so on. Hence, Shanghai, a small seaside town one hundred years ago, became the largest city in Asia. It also earned the reputation of "The Oriental Wall Street". Even today, visitors can still feel the prosperity of the old Shanghai, when looking at those old buildings at the bund.
Afterwards, Night Boat Cruise on Huangpu River: The 'mother river' of Shanghai, the Huangpu River is the symbol and embodiment of Shanghai, just like the Thames of London, the Seine of Paris and the Danube of Budapest. This river is synonymous with the History of Shanghai, being inextricably intertwined with the social and economic life of the city and having nurtured its prosperity and witnessed its honors and disgraces. The Huangpu River is a must for travelers to Shanghai. The Huangpu River divides Shanghai into two parts – east and west.

Sailing down the river, along the way you can enjoy the beautiful scenery on both sides including such sights as the Yangpu Bridge, the Nanpu Bridge, and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. In addition, the varied western architecture on the west bank of the Huangpu River and the towering modern buildings on the east bank present a spectacular contrast, increasing the beauty and magnificence of the river.

Today, you will be greeted by your private guide at the exit of Shanghai Cruise Port, your guide will hold a welcome signal "Shanghai Private Tour". It's very easy for you to find him/her.

Upon arrival, your knowledgeable guide will lead you to explore the Xitang water town. It is a beautiful town that seems like a completely different world from the hustle and bustle of Shanghai. The quiet water, handsome bridges, and the reflections in the early morning and the rosy sunset, fishing boats and the glistening lights in the evening, form an amazing picture full of a sense of poetry which can only be seen in the south lower reaches of the Yangtze River. People in Xitang, whether local residents or travelers, feel that this is fairyland. They even have no idea as to whether people are wandering in the picture or the picture is moving in their hearts. This is Xitang, a charming, ancient water town. It truly is a world away.

Then bridges: makes Xitang so special. There are 104 in total, built in varying styles spanning the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some looks like rainbows over the river and others like long flutes. Life for Xitang locals is calm and easy, full of comfort and peace, no difference from the lifestyle of their ancestors thousands of years ago. The elderly play with their grandchildren on the bridges and in the lanes, and women wash vegetables and clothes in the rivers running beside their houses. If you need a break from the stresses of Shanghai, there's really no better place to chill out and experience the quieter side of Chinese life.

The Corridors: The covered corridor is the most well-known scene in Xitang. It is also the most distinctive feature this historic town offers compared with other water towns. Consisting of many sections, the whole covered corridor is more than 1,000 meters (about 1094 yards) long, attracting visitors from all over the world with its particular charm. Mostly, it is tile-roofed and built along the riverside, providing shelter for people to avoid either the baking hot sun or the rain. One section of the corridor is the most elegant, with its carved decorative patterns that are praised by tourists as being the height of artistic perfection. High-back davenports are situated on one side of the covered corridor, along the river, where passersby can rest. Walking along the corridor, watching the boats in the river, you will feel drawn into the meditation of the past.

The lanes: The lanes here are a must-see. There are many lanes here, long and short, wide and narrow. Some are dark all the year round; some are simply the drain of two families; most of them were the main artery of the town in the old days. Among all the different lanes, the narrowest is about 80cm (about 31 inches) wide and provides space for only one person to pass through at a time. The lanes are like ropes connecting the whole town into an organic net and no matter from which point you start, you can find any other place in the town.

The Houses: In the old town of Xitang, people who live there are not rich, so no newer modern houses have been built there. That's maybe one of the reasons why the old constructions are preserved as a whole almost without damage. In those archaic houses, besides the culture and value of the houses themselves, there are also displays of cultural relics or woodcarvings or eaves tiles collected by the house owner. To this day there are exhibitions of the ancient rare books of the owners passed down from generation to generation or rubbings from a stone inscription of a famous calligrapher.