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Had a satisfying breakfast in the hotel and then took metro to People's Square station.
People's Square (人民广场)
The People's Square is a large public square and a political, economic, cultural, tourism center and transportation hub of Shanghai. Famous landmarks surrounding this square include the Municipal government headquarters, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai Grand Theatre (left photo below), and Shanghai Museum (right photo below).
Shanghai Museum (上海博物馆)Established in 1952, the Shanghai Museum is a world-famous museum of ancient Chinese art. Its present building, completed in 1996, is shaped with a square base and a round top attached with arches like a bronze 'ding', indicating the ancient Chinese philosophy of the universe that the earth is square while the sky is round (left photo below). The building is 29.5-meters high with five floors covering a total area of 39,200-square meters (right photo below).
The museum has a collection of over 120,000 pieces, including bronze, ceramics, calligraphy, furniture, jades, ancient coins, paintings, seals, sculptures, minority art and foreign art. It has 11 permanent galleries and 3 special temporary exhibition halls. Descriptions below were some of the galleries I visited:
Gallery of Ancient Chinese Bronze (1st floor)
- Over 400 bronze pieces of unique shapes, delicate décor and superb making techniques present a 1,500-year history of the great Chinese Bronze Age from 18th century B.C. till 3rd century B.C.
Following were some of the food or wine vessels I saw: "四羊首瓿" from late Shang dynasty (left photo below), "小臣系卣" from late Shang dynasty (right photo below), "虎簋" from Western Zhou dynasty (bottom left photo), and "共父乙觥" from Western Zhou dynasty (bottom right photo).
Gallery of Ancient Chinese Sculpture (1st floor)
- About 120 statues including the Buddhist sculptures, cover the sculpture art from the Warring State to Ming dynasty (photos below).
Gallery of Ancient Chinese Ceramics (2nd floor)
- The gallery presents over 500 pieces that can be traced from the Neolithic Age to the late Qing dynasty spanning over a period of 8,000 years of Chinese ceramics history (photos below).
Gallery of Chinese Seal (3rd floor)
- This gallery houses 500 seals which are the best of their time from Western Zhou dynasty till the late Qing dynasty (photos below).
- More than 600 exhibits, including costumes, embroideries, batiks, metal wares, bamboo and wooden works, masks, display the technical virtuosity and artistic creativity of Chinese ethnic groups are showcased in this gallery. Relics such as the "Wooden Fishing Boat with painted and carved motifs" used by the 'Gaoshan' ethnic group (高山族) in Taiwan (left photo below) and the "Wooden Masks for Nuo Opera (儺戲)" used by the 'Tujia' ethnic group (土家族) in central China (right photo below) are presented.
Gallery of Ming and Qing Furniture (4th floor)
- About 100 pieces of furniture exemplify the elegant simplicity of Ming style and the delicate resplendence of Qing style (photos below).
Special exhibition: La Naissance des Beaux-Arts
- Close to 80 works from the "École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris" were showcased in the Shanghai Museum from 05 Nov 2019 till 09 Feb 2020. This exhibition, titled "The Birth of the Fine Arts", presented oil paintings, sculptures, sketches and manuscripts dating from the Renaissance to the Napoleonic era, illustrating French and European art history from the 17th to 19th centuries (photos below).
While viewing these art pieces, I even had the illusion that I was in one of European museums.National Relics
- The museum is so huge that visitors may take several hours just to explore its entire collections. Following are the highlights on some of its 'National Importance' exhibits.
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| Period: Western Zhou (1046 - 771 BC) Material: Bronze Dimensions: 93.1 cm x 75.6 cm Significance: Together with the 'Mao Gong Ding' (毛公鼎) in Taipei Palace Museum and 'Da Yu Ding' (大盂鼎) in National Museum of China, the 'Da Ke Ding' is considered one of the 3 most important bronze vessels from ancient China.
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Period: Western Zhou (1046 - 771 BC) Material: Bronze Dimensions: each bell ranges from 22 to 49 cm in height Significance: Consists of 16 pieces and has an inscription with a total of 355 characters. At present, 14 pieces are kept in Shanghai Museum, and the remaining two smallest pieces are conserved in Shanxi Museum.
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Period: Spring & Autumn (771 - 476 BC) Material: Bronze Dimensions: 18 cm x 45 cm Significance: Fish, frogs and tortoises are carved in low relief of the vessel. Each animal circles around 360-degree axis fixed to the bottom when the vessel is filled with water. Inscription of 32 characters in 6 lines on the vessel citing that it was made by an official for his wife Zhong Jiang. |
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| Period: Warring States (475 - 221 BC) Material: Bronze Dimensions: 18.7 cm x 7 cm x 12.5 cm Significance: Iconic artifacts on the Chinese history and the earliest existing tool used for weights and measures standard.
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Period: Eastern Jin (316 - 420) Material: Paper Dimensions: 26.1 cm x 26.9 cm Significance: One of the representative works of Wang Xianzhi (王献之) who was the son of famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi (王羲之). This piece is a short letter to his friend with only fifteen characters. It is likely a facsimile during the Tang Dynasty era. |
Period: Early Tang (618 - 907) Material: Porcelain Dimensions: 10.8 cm x 32.2 cm Significance: Made from fine clay, and then evenly coated with bright yellowish celadon glaze. This kind of bowl is unique among celadon and reflects the high level of Yue kiln (越窑) porcelain making technology in the Tang Dynasty. |
| 💡Travel Trivia: |
Left the museum at about 12 noon. In general, I was impressed by the enormous number of exhibits in the Shanghai Museum which had exceeded my expectations.
| 🎫 Shanghai Museum (上海博物馆) | |
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| Website: | https://www.shanghaimuseum.net/ |
| Access: | People's Square metro station (人民广场站) of Line 1 |
| Opening Hours: | 0900 to 1700 hours; daily (No entry after 1600 hours) |
| Admission: | Free 8,000 entries per day |
Marugame Udon (丸亀製麺)
Walked towards the Shanghai DMC Shopping Center from the museum for my late lunch. Decided to have the meal in this Marugame Udon restaurant (left photo below). It is a Japanese fast-casual restaurant chain and has many outlets in Asia. Recalled that I even took my dinner in this restaurant chain when I visited Taipei in 2014. Without much decision, ordered a curry udon with a braised egg and sweet potato tempura (right photo below).
Cost for this simple meal was CNY 35 and taste was similar to the one I had in Taipei.
| 🍔 Marugame Udon • Dimei Shopping Center (丸亀製麺 • 迪美购物中心店) | |
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| Address: | B1, Dimei Shopping Center, No. 221 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu District |
| Access: | People's Square metro station (人民广场站) of Line 1 |
| Operating Hours: | 1100 hours to 2200 hours; daily |
After which took metro to the Yuyuan Garden Station.
Yu Garden Commercial City (豫园商城)
Yuyuan commercial city is located outside the Yu Garden, in the heart of Old Shanghai City, and close to the Old City God Temple. The actual Yu Garden was closed for renovation during my visit.
Shop at Old Street
- This street offers various commodities with traditional Chinese characteristics, including home supplies, handicrafts, festive supplies and souvenirs (photos below).
Gold and jewelry industry is also prosperous in this area and the "Shanghai Old Temple Gold" (老庙黄金银楼) shop alone has at least two outlets (photos below).
- Besides the commercial activities, visitors can also admire the traditional Chinese architecture and garden landscaping in this commercial city (photos below).
- Happened to walk past this dumpling shop "Awen Tangbao" (阿文汤包) that looked so tempting (left photo below). Decided to try its famous "Crab Roe Tangbao" (蟹黄汤包) and purchased one at CNY 30 (right photo below).
As compared to the "xiaolongbao" (小笼包), the "tangbao" (汤包) or "soup dumpling" is much bigger in size, with a slightly thicker skin and has more soup, and of course more stuffing of minced meat. To savor the tangbao, one has to "drink" the soup inside using the straw and then use the same straw to eat the rest of the dumpling meat. One reminder is not to get burnt during drinking as the soup is steaming hot.
The Yuyuan Garden and its neighboring market can be reached by 10-mins walk from Yuyuan Garden (豫园) metro station of Line 10 and 14.
The Bund (外滩)
The Bund is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in Shanghai. Purpose of this revisit was to take a good photo of Pudong skyline.
Managed to take a picture on the Pudong skyscrapers and Huangpu River at dusk (photo below) and during the night (bottom photo). Coincidentally a partial full moon hanged close above its famous Shanghai Tower.
The Bund can be reached by walking about 10-mins from East Nanjing Road (南京东路) metro station. Do note that due to the crowd control measures, pedestrians may be restricted to use only one lane to reach the bund while the other lane on other side of the road reserves for those returning from the bund.
Penyet & BBQ (番叶南洋照烧料理)
Decided to have my dinner in the Hongyi Plaza again. Saw this 'Penyet & BBQ' restaurant that served familiar Malaysian and Singaporean penyet dishes (left photo below). Thus ordered a curry chicken set at CNY 31 (right photo below).
Taste was good especially its curry and chili. However, its chicken was rather cold.
| 🍔 Penyet & BBQ (番叶南洋照烧料理 • 宏伊广场店) | |
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| Address: | Floor B1-104, Hongyi Plaza, No. 299 Nanjing East Road, Shanghai |
| Access: | East Nanjing Road station of Line 2 and 10 |
| Operating Hours: | 1100 hours to 2200 hours; daily |
Shanghai Bookstore (上海书城)
After dinner, I then walked from Nanjing road towards Fuzhou road for Shanghai Bookstore. It is currently the largest bookstore in Shanghai.
I then walked to the East Nanjing Road station and took metro back to the hotel to have a good rest.
Day Four
Had a fulfilling breakfast in the hotel and took metro to Shanghai Natural History Museum station.
Shanghai Natural History Museum (上海自然博物馆)
The Shanghai Natural History Museum is a museum dedicated to natural history and one of the largest museums of natural sciences in China. The museum has a collection of 240,000 samples, including over 62,000 pieces of animal specimens, 135,000 plant specimens, 700 specimens of the Stone Age, and 1,700 specimens of minerals.
Unique Architecture
- Opened in 2015, the current building is inspired by the form of the nautilus shell on its shape and internal organization (left photo below). The north wall, which is the group-entry façade along the bus drop-off, suggests the shifting of tectonic plates. The south wall is a living wall plane composed of a metal trellis covered with vines (right photo below).
The structural network and sunscreen that lines the curved inner face of the building is both an abstraction of patterns found in traditional pavilions and a suggestion of animal cell organization (photos below).
River of Life
- By clever artistry, the museum brings together in one space and period formerly past celebrities of the River of Life and star creatures extant in the world today (photos below).
Following is the photo compilation of the various specimens in this exhibition (GIF clip below).
- This exhibition looks back at the major events in the evolution of life, providing a deep analysis of the course and mechanisms of evolution and examining not just the directions of these ways but also their logic. This is where fossils (photos below) and dinosaur skeletons (bottom photos) are displayed.
Besides dinosaurs, fossils and skeletons of prehistoric mammals are also displayed (photos below).
This is by far the most numbers of fossilized mammals I had seen in a museum.Window of Nature
- Dioramas of existing animals in their natural habitats are presented (photos below).
- Animals from the three poles (North and South Poles, together with summit of Mount Everest) are displayed in this exhibition (photos below).
- Visitors can stroll through this African Savannah for the great panorama of pursuit and migration among the many animals in the wild (photos below).
Colorful Life
- The wonderful diversity of the creatures of the natural world can be viewed and admired; by looking at the neatly arrangement of butterflies (left photo below), gazing up at the impressive horns and antlers (right photo below), appreciating the coat pattern of carnivals through the display (bottom left photo), and spotting the difference among the colorful sea shells (bottom right photo).
Museum Admission
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Bought my entrance ticket to the museum just soon after its opening (photo below). Education activities are free, but an admission ticket is required to get into the museum.
| 🎫 Shanghai Natural History Museum (上海自然博物馆) | |
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| Website: | https://www.snhm.org.cn/ |
| Access: | Shanghai Natural History Museum station (自然博物馆站) of Line 13 (Exit 1) |
| Opening Hours: | 0900 to 1715 hours (Tue to Sun); Closed on Mondays |
| Admission: | CNY 30 (adult) |
Fast-food Lunch
Had my late lunch in a fast-food restaurant located in the underground mall next to the metro station (left photo below). Ordered a 'Big Mac' set at CNY 35 (right photo below).
Lujiazui Traffic Circle (陸家嘴交通圈)The Lujiazui Traffic Circle in Shanghai Pudong is a picturesque intersection featuring an elevated pedestrian promenade at 6-meters above street level. It is famous for its contemporary design and has attracted many tourists especially since its opening in 2011 (left photo below). The popular Disney Flagship store is located just besides this roundabout (right photo below).
Skyscrapers of Pudong could also be seen clearly from this pedestrian promenade such as the Oriental Pearl Tower (left photo below) and the two towers of Shanghai International Finance Center with Shanghai Tower in between them (right photo below).
Lujiazui Traffic Circle can be reached from Exit 1 of Lujiazui (陆家嘴) metro station of Line 2.
Gourmet Noodle House (家有好面)
Had my dinner in this Gourmet Noodle House (left photo below). Ordered their famous "braised noodles with small yellow croaker" (小黄鱼煨面) at CNY 36 (right photo below).
Taste was good and the fish meat was actually quite plentiful.
| ✍ Update: |
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| Almost all outlets of Gourmet Noodle House were closed permanently since 2023, except for one outlet currently located in Infinity Plaza. |
Supper
Bought some braised chicken feet at CNY 26 (left photo below) and some snacks from the supermarket (right photo below) in the Sunshine World shopping mall.
Day Five
Had final breakfast in the hotel restaurant. After which checked out from the hotel and then took a cab to the airport that cost CNY 127.
Kangshifu Beef Noodle Restaurant (康师傅 • 私房牛肉面)
Took my lunch in this Kangshifu Beef Noodle Restaurant located on second floor of Pudong Airport Food Market near Exit 2C of domestic arrival floor (left photo below). Ordered a beef noodle set at CNY 53 (right photo below).
Taste was good but as usual was rather expensive since the restaurant was in the airport.Singapore Airlines
The flight took off on time from Pudong Airport at 1350 hours (left photo below). During inflight meal serving, I selected 'braised beef with rice' (right photo below).
The flight SQ 831 landed on Singapore safely at about 7.45 pm. With this, it ended my five days trip to Shanghai.