Shanghai
 Throughout
the past century, Shanghai has had numerous
name tags attached to it; the "whore
of the East", the "Paris of the
Orient" and the "Pearl Of China".
Images of Shanghai more than any other Chinese
city, are bountiful in the west. A visit
here therefore, is naturally tainted to
some extent, with a preconception of how
the city will be.
As the largest and most prosperous
city in the nation, Shanghai is the economic,
financial and cultural center of China,
where Beijing is the political heart. And
this image of Shanghai as a fast and modern
metropolis is certainly the one that most
visitors take away. Those old preconceptions
of Shanghai as the home of crime vice and
prostitutes are wiped away, as the city
successfully projects an image of itself
as young, vibrant and cool.
 Shanghai
is a modern and fast paced city, rich in
history and culture and with a wealth of
areas and sites just waiting to be explored.
One of the nicest aspects of Shanghai is
that the crowds here are much more manageable
than in a city like Beijing. This is largely
because there are no great ancient sites
which people flock too. Rather, this is
a city to be walked, wandered, explored
and discovered in your own time and, in
your own style.
What makes Shanghai particularly
attractive are the many different styles
of architecture and design throughout the
city. Shanghai was once divided up into
different "Concessions" or districts
and the boundaries of these areas still
remain today.The famous, Bund was home to
the "British Public Park" and
this boulevard has a plethora of colonial
structures to visit, all reminders of Shanghai's
days of decadence. The Japanese and the
French Concessions too, are fascinating
areas to explore. The French quarter is
a particularly charming district to wander,
and there are many former residences to
look at and discover something about old
Shanghai and the people who lived here.
The area known as the "Chinese City"
is also worthy of a visit. Take a break
from the tourists around the Yuyuan and
do some serious antique shopping or just
lose yourself amidst the old alleys and
streets.
 But
perhaps most of all today, Shanghai is a
spectacularly modern city. The pace of development
here is unbelievable. Currently, seventeen
percent of the world's cranes are in the
city and developers boast that the city
is changing at a rate incomparable to anywhere
else in the world ever. The newest area
of the city, Pudong, has just celebrated
its 10th anniversary and is almost unrecognizable
from the way it was when development began
here. Two of the most impressive city structures
can be found here, the Jinmao Tower and
the Oriental TV Tower.
For any visitor to China,
perhaps the most attractive thing about
this city is just how fashionable it is.
Museums, galleries, restaurants and bars
have emerged in the past few years. This
cosmopolitan cultural scene which harks
back to the heydays of the 1920s and 30s
and the new found wealth in the city are
helping to reinvent Shanghai as a place
with a fabulous and optimistic style and
attitude.
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