Shanghai

“Pearl of the Orient”, “Paris of China”, Shanghai is the biggest city in the biggest country on Earth. It is also China’s capital of commerce, industry, and finance. The city has a rich colonial past and its legacy is visible in every facade of its buildings.

From a small fishing village in the 11th century, Shanghai became by the mid-18th century an important area for growing cotton. Foreigners came into Shanghai due to foreign trade. The British, along with the Americans and the French, were allowed to live in certain territorial zones without being under Chinese law. As a result, Shanghai became greatly influenced by Western culture in the early 1900’s.

After the Communists took over, the Chinese government was given control of the city and the foreigners had to leave. After the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping’s open door policy allowed foreign investment back and the city recovered as an international force in business and finance. Shanghai is now a city that embraces harmoniously its past and the modernity of the 21st century and has once again become a leading trendsetter in fashion, design, culture, and arts.

To discover this city of contrasts, we recommend:

  a stroll around the Huang Pu District: People’s Square, Grand Theatre, Art Museum, buildings facades on the Bund and the bookstores on Fuzhou Lu.
  a promenade in the ancient French Concession: former residences of General Zhang Xueliang, Zhou Enlai, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Cite Bourgogne on ShanXiNanLu
  a discovery of contemporary Shanghai at Xindiandi district or the luxury shops of Nanjing Lu
  a few kilometres away, the quiet and peaceful “Venice of the East” (Suzhou) or the noble city of Huangzhou are also worth a visit whilst in Shanghai.
  Shanghai Museum which showcases centuries of Chinese art, the First Communist Congress (where the revolution started)...