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Took a heavy breakfast in the hotel, and after which walked towards the bund along Nanjing East Road (南京东路); taking about 10 -15 mins.
The Bund (外滩)
The bund area occupied on a section within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing Pudong. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road, as well as some adjacent areas (left photo below). The Bund is now one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai.
Peace hotel (和平饭店) was the first building I saw along the Bund (right photo below). The atmosphere inside this hotel does feel like those settings in Shanghai movies. This 5-star hotel has now become a pre-eminent luxury hotel in China; equivalent to Raffles hotel in Singapore.
Prominent buildings such this Union Building (Bund No. 3) and NKK building (Bund No. 5) could be seen (left photo below). The Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC - 汇丰银行) building of Bund No. 12, built in 1923, and the Customs House (海关大楼) of Bund No. 13, built in 1927, are the two more famous buildings along the bund (right photo below). The HSBC building used to be the headquarters for the HSBC but now was occupied by Shanghai Pudong Development bank. Do take time to stop and listen to the chimes of "Dong Fang Hong" (东方红) resonating from the clock tower of the old Customs House at the hour.
At the northern end of the Bund along the riverfront is where Shanghai Monument to the People's Heroes (上海人民英雄记念塔) is situated (left photo below). It is a tall, abstract concrete tower which is a memorial for the those who died during the revolutionary struggle of Shanghai, dating back to the Opium Wars. Due to the hazy weather, the Oriental Pearl tower opposite the bank could not be seen clearly from the bund (right photo below).
The Bund had become so touristy that you will be pestered by photographer touts or kite-sellers as you strolled along the walkway.
Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (外滩观光隧道)
This touristy tunnel, with a total length of 646.7-meters, crosses the Huangpu River from the Bund to Pudong (left photo below). Initially wanted just to take a single trip but after looking at the attractive packages from the ticket counter (right photo below), I then decided to take up the return way package with admission to two special exhibitions for RMB 65.
The normal single way will cost RMB 40, while the return way costs RMB 50. Separate admission to Special exhibitions can cost RMB 20 to 30 per person. Operating hours of the Bund Sightseeing tunnel is from 0800 hrs to 2230 hrs (weekdays) / 2300 hrs (weekends & public holidays).
Visitors have to board the slow-moving powered trams which travel along the tunnel, with light effects projected onto the walls of the tunnel. Do not have high expectation on this "sightseeing" tunnel since there is no transparent glass to see through the Huangpu river. Judge for yourself by looking at the following short clip I've captured using my camera during the tunnel journey (video below).
China sex culture and sex health exhibition (中华性文化和性健康教育展)
This was one of the special exhibitions inside the bund Sightseeing tunnel, located at the Pudong side. Over 200 sex-related cultural relics, including pornographic objects and various phallic symbols, from ancient China and rest of the world were exhibited (photos below).
Being influenced by Confucian for thousands of years to have subtle attitude towards sex, it was interesting to see some of the exhibit items, such as those ancient erotic paintings, could date back to Ming Dynasty (photos below).
Overall this was a good exhibition on topics that is not openly discussed. Note: as this blog can be accessed by anyone, therefore the pictures posted here had been "censored" with black boxes.
Rarities of the Deep sea exhibition (深海珍奇展)
This was another special exhibition inside the bund sightseeing tunnel. There were some live ornamental fishes in tanks, but majority of the exhibits were preserved specimen caught from the ocean (photos below).
One interesting observation that money were thrown onto those "auspicious" specimens such as this 'eight-hundred years' old turtle and even lobsters; probably it was some kind of wishing practice (left photo below).
Among all the specimen, what caught my attention was this Chinese sturgeon (中华鲟). Considered to be endangered in China, this large specimen weighing 320-kg was even rarer to be caught in recent year 2002 (right photo below). Don't know what is a sturgeon? Its European cousin has been fished to near extinction for its roe to make into the famous caviar.
Overall this exhibition was very much like those natural history museum.
Super Brand mall (正大广场)
Walked towards Super Brand Mall located at the Pudong, which is within 5-mins walk from Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, and Shangri-la hotel is beside it. This mall is also opposite one of the exits of Lujiazui Metro Station (陆家嘴站). One could easily spend hours of shopping in this huge mall.
Kungfu (真功夫)
Was searching for lunch in the Super Brand mall (left photo below) and this Kungfu fast-food (真功夫) caught my attention (right photo below).
Probably saw this appealing poster (left photo below), decided to order this 'Mushroom Chicken Pot' for RMB 29 and a milk tea for RMB 7 (right photo below). Simply like the way food was served in those aluminum-like container. Taste was good especially the soup; however there were too many small bones in the chicken meat.
Shanghai Ocean Aquarium (上海海洋水族馆)
Shanghai Ocean Aquarium (left photo below) is largest in Asia and has the longest underwater tunnel (168-meters) in the world. The aquarium is made up of 9 major climatic zones with 28 large-scale theme marine life exhibition areas, displaying the 300 species and 10,000 more rare fishes from all over the world. Some of them are most unique freshwater and marine life; others are rare aquatic life unique of China. All these give tourists a pleasant impression of "experiencing the wonders of the five continents at the bottom of the sea" with exhibits of world-class standard (right photo below).
The animal descriptions are explained in two languages: Chinese and English with clear illustrations (photos below).
Besides the top-notch aquatic exhibits, efforts were also put into their signages and displays (photos below).
What impressed me were the exhibitions of many rare sea-creatures. Didn't expect the Chinese Alligators to be so small and the Japanese Giant Spider crabs to be larger than I thought.
Definitely worth a visit to this aquarium. Here's the clip I had captured on some of the exhibits during my visit (video below).
Admission was RMB 120 per adult and opening hours from 0900 hrs to 1800 hrs.
Oriental Pearl Tower (东方明珠塔)
At 468-meters high, the Oriental Pearl Tower is the tallest completed tower in Asia, and currently the third tallest tower in the world after the CN Tower and the Ostankino Tower.
The base of the tower is supported by three 7-meters wide slanting stanchions (left photo below). Surrounding the eleven steel spheres that are 'strung' vertically through the center of the tower are three 9-meters wide columns. There are three large spheres including the top sphere, known as the space module. Then there are five smaller spheres and three decorative spheres on the tower base (right photo below). The entire structure anchored on greenish grassland which gave the impression of pearls shining on a jade plate.
The observation decks are at 90-meters (Space City), 263-meters (Sightseeing Floor) and 350-meters (Space Module). View from the observation deck was great, almost similar to the experience I had at the New York Empire State building, except most of the viewing galleries are indoor (photos below).
Clear illustrations, such as current height (left photo below) and distance & direction of major cities (right photo below) can be found on the window panels.
Two other tall buildings can be observed from the Oriental Pearl Tower, namely the Jin Mao Tower (金茂大厦) at 420.5-meters tall with a tiered pagoda design and Shanghai World Financial Center (上海环球金融中心) at 492-meters tall with a design that looked like a "bottle opener" (left photo below). There are many photo opportunities at the Space City such as this cute display of 'Hello Kitty' with the tower (right photo below).
The elevator speed of the tower can reached 7-meters per second, which can give a trilling experience to some (video below).
Personal Experience:
- Several admission packages were available depending on how high you want to go up to the tower. The admission ticket I bought at RMB 150 includes all three observation spheres, the Space City and the Shanghai History Museum. After going through three observation decks, I realized there isn't much difference between the Sightseeing Floor (middle sphere) and Space Module (highest sphere) just for that extra RMB 50 I paid.
- Choose a clear day to visit and the best timing is before sunset so that both day and night view could be seen. Opening hours from 0830 hrs to 2100 hrs.
Shanghai History Museum (上海城市历史发展陈列馆)
Founded in 1983, the Shanghai History Museum is located at the ground floor of the tower (left photo below). It is an excellent glimpse into Shanghai past and present through images and figures (right photo below).
Interesting exhibits, including some outdated life-size trams and cars, old photos and miniatures of Shanghai streets / buildings (photos below).
Wax figures of some vanishing trades were also on display (photos below).
It is an excellent way to understand development history of Shanghai. If ticket bought solely for this museum, it would cost RMB 35. For me, the admission was part of the Oriental Pearl Tower package. Opening hours of this museum is from 0830 hrs to 2100 hrs.
Lisboa Restaurant (葡京茶餐厅)
Went back to the Super Brand mall to have dinner in this Lisboa Restaurant (left photo below). Ordered two egg tarts (one with egg yolk, other with only egg white) at RMB 4.50 each as appetizer (right photo below).
As for the main, I ordered a Fried Rice at RMB 32 (left photo below) and ice coffee at RMB 15 (right photo below).
The fried rice was good and the egg tarts were great, definitely worth a try.
Binjiang Avenue (滨江大道)
The best view of the bund (photo below) is from the opposite shore at the Binjiang Avenue (滨江大道) on Pudong, especially at night. The avenue is 2,500-meters long, along the bank of Huangpu River.
Strolling along the river bank at night has become a dating activity for couples. Several cafés can also be found along this avenue, such as Starbucks Coffee, Haagen Dazs ice-cream and even Hong Kong's Hui Lau Shan (许留山). Went into the Hui Lau Shan restaurant (left photo below), which has a more 'high-class' look compared those outlets in Hong Kong, and ordered a 'jinzhiyuye' (金吱玉叶) for RMB 33 (right photo below). Was disappointed with this dessert as the mango wasn't sweet and the Pomelo pulp was bitter. However from my friend's feedback, other desserts were as good as those sold in Hong Kong outlets.
Night view of Pudong
Took the sightseeing tunnel back to the Bund. The night view of Pudong (photos below) is equally fascinating as the Bund. Looking at the buildings on both sides of the river, it did give an amazing contrast between western classical and modern architectures.
