China
On clear days, it's hard to beat the view from the Nanpu river in the South of Shanghai.
Tickets cost 68RMB to go up the elevator to the start of the bridge's arch. From there it's some 360 steps to the observatory deck at the top.
From this point you can see the Expo site (opens in June 2010), and the city laid out like a map as far as the eye can see: The Pearl Tower, the Financial Centre, People's Square, and miles of skyscrapers in every direction.
Ticket office at the very end of Lujiabang Lu (near Xietu Lu).
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ispyshanghai.com
The Grand Hyatt is within easy reach of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and World Financial Centre, and is the highest hotel in the world. It occupies the 53rd to 87th floors of the Jin Mao Tower and has good desks in its rooms, as well as high-speed internet access and a 24-hour concierge. There is also secretarial support and a translation service available from the communications centre.
If you get some down-time, go to the Huxington Tea House in the Yu Yuan Garden. This is apparently Shanghai’s oldest tea house and they perform a traditional tea ceremony every evening from 8.30pm to 10pm. Be sure to get a table on the top floor looking out over the lake. And for something livelier to do in the evening, The House of Blues and Jazz gets a good range of international acts and is an intimate venue with a music-loving crowd.
When in Shanghai, why not live the high life. Try out the Sky bar from the top of the Grand Hyatt Shanghai Pudong, located some 90 floors up. You can get views of all of Shanghai... just make sure it's clear on the day!
Guilin Park provides a haven of tranquility in this busy city, ideal for spending a quiet hour between business meetings and experiencing an authentic tourist-free Chinese park. It's a beautiful place where you can walk in peace, sit sipping green tea, or watch people practice tai chi in the mornings. It's located in a suburb about 20 minutes by taxi from the Bund.
Address: No. 128 Guilin Road (E), Shanghai, Zipcode: 200233
This hotel is an absolute gem of colonial history. For about £40 the Richard Executive Suite makes you feel like a visiting diplomat!
The building has a rich history and is located on the edge of the bund - within easy walking distance of Shanghai's main attractions.
It really made our visit to Shanghai, I can't imagine there is a better place to stay in the city.
I would also recommend a cocktail at M on the Bund - if you want to continue the glamorous feel.
www.pujianghotel.com/
15 Huangpu Road Shanghai,China ZIP:200080
TEL:008621-63246388
FAX:008621-63243179
E-mail: sales@pujianghotel.com
www.m-restaurantgroup.com/ for cocktails.
Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi epic broke the cinematic mould with its bleak depiction of early 21st Century urban dystopia. But Blade Runner is already with us. Drive through Shanghai some night after a cloudburst; take one of its elevated highways and soar above the streets below. With the neon fireworks of distant skscrapers reflected in the wet tarmac, you'll see what I mean.
Available on DVD across Europe and North America, yet strangely hard to find in Shanghai's pirate DVD stores. "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain..."
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