Streets squares and districts to visit China

This is the emblematic location of Shanghai and the ideal place to discover the history of the city.

A large number of buildings also deserve to be visited. Ancient palaces, large banks seats, some of the Bund buildings are mythical.

The Peace Hotel, which has just opened its doors after a long renovation period, is a masterpiece of Art Deco signed in 1929 by the most famous architectural agency of the time: Palm and Turner. The building illustrates the power of a family of entrepreneurs from Baghdad: the. Victor Sassoon, nicknamed the King of Real Estate, left behind a formidable architectural heritage. In addition to the peace hotel, which originally opened its name (the Sassoon House), it also built the Broadway Mansion, north of the Bund, the Embankment House which overlooks Suzhou River and the complex of the Jinjiang Hotel in the former French concession. The Peace Hotel will be distinguished by its large pyramid of green copper which once housed the apartments of the Sassoon family.

The Astor House, the oldest palace in Shanghai, has hosted great names such as Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin… Built in 1910, you can visit its corridors, borrowing its old wooden flooring over time. His ballroom hosted the first trading of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (in 1990) before it was relocated to Pudong. Deposed by the Peace Hotel in the 1920 s, he kept his charm.

Also, in the centre of the Bund throne the customs building, easily identifiable thanks to its clock tower and its Art Deco architecture of 1927, was built in replacement of a brick structure of the late th century. It is the only Bund building to have retained its function. The clock tower always walks the walk with its Westminster carillon.

Finally, on the left of the customs, is the former Bank of Hong Kong and Shanghai (HSBC) building, an imposing building with a central dome. This building, which was at the time the largest bank in Asia, is the work of the British architects'firm Palmer & Turner, craftsmen of the principal Bund buildings. The building had been requisitioned after the Communists took power to host the Shanghai City Hall, which will remain there until 1995, before moving to the modern buildings of the People's Square.

The Bank of Hong Kong and Shanghai tried to reintegrate its former head office, but in vain: the local authorities demanded such an exorbitant price that its original owner had to abandon it and finally settled at Pudong. It was the Pudong Development Bank that took over the building to make it its head office.

This fishing village occupies the west coast of the island. Once surrounded by salt marshes transformed into fish parks, this village does not lack charm. It is one of the last villages on Hong Kong stilts. It was built and is populated by the Premiers, the first inhabitants of Hong Kong. This community of nomadic fishing for centuries in the waters of the territory. The site is a very pleasant step for lunch. We follow the main street in the heart of the stalls of dried fish and shrimp blocks before access to Kwan Tai temple, right in Kut Hing Hou Jie. It dates back to the th century and is dedicated to the god of War and Droiture. Small altars erected along the street are dedicated to the god of the soil. This practice has been going on for 1 500 years. We turn right on this street (No. 47) to see the temple Hau Wong, dated 1699, dedicated to a hero who mortgaged the last emperor Song of the Mongols. Take right after the bridge and continue up to the roundabout of small houses. Everyone knows everyone here. Houses, which are aluminium-covered to maintain freshness, are transmitted from generation to generation.

A particularly atmospheric market, with stands occupying the pavement and full of ready-to-wear men, gadgets, watches, sunglasses, luggage… The whole thing is cheap and negotiable: the opportunity to buy souvenirs, between the «I love Hong Kong» T-shirts and other local admirers.

Formerly the international concession field. Only the galleries built in 1933 remain standing today. In the north, some of the most prominent buildings were built: Parc Hotel de 1934, a red brick building was the first skyscraper in Asia. The Grand Cinema, designed by a young Czechoslovak architect in 1933, is characterized by tiled facade. The Hotel Pacific, a central dome building, was the old China United apartment building. The former YMCA of Shanghai, a Byzantine madness designed by an American architect, parallels him. There is nothing left of the race field, transformed into a People Park of 12 hectares after liberation in 1949. Nowadays, local authorities have made Renmin Square the new administrative and cultural centre in Shanghai.

The new Shanghai City Hall occupies the old seat of the Shanghaien Party in the centre of the People's Avenue. In contrast, Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Shi Bowuguan), renamed the «Basket» by the Shanghaiens, is a vanguard structure with one of the world's finest collections of ancient art.

Suzhou has also made new skin and the most spectacular change is evident in the renovation of the entire Pingjiang district. Now, the canals and the lanes are lavishly highlighted and if there are not yet many stores, this is not possible. So it's a magical place to walk through the canals and even why not by allowing a walk on the canals (many boatmen offer their service for a short walk). A visit over time. 

Faced with the cultural center, marked by Hong Kong's movie stars (see the statues of Bruce Lee, Anita Mui or mcdull) in the image of Los Angeles, it runs along the seafront. It offers a spectacular panorama of Hong Kong Bay, more at night, and leads to the Hung Hom area east. Every night, at 8 p. m., a show of sound and light is organized along the seafront. The tourist office named it The Symphony of Lights. Laser rays emerge from skyscrapers on both sides of the harbor. This magnificent spectacle is all the more remarkable since it was very difficult to grant all participants and owners of competing buildings each other.

By leaving Prince Edward Station, the flower market brings flowers from all over the world. It is the pleasure of orchids and bonsai lovers. As for the photogenic garden of birds, residents of a certain age expose their beautiful strains. The amateurs also come to get supplies of giant grasshoppers or buy finely kk cages.

A time specializing in women's clothing, unlike Temple Street that sold only for men's clothes, this market now resembles its Homologue Ma Tei counterpart. It focuses on cheap clothing, fantasy jewellery and accessories, and plays elbows early in the afternoon.

Reduced as a matter of grief by the onset of concessions in the th and early th centuries, the old Chinese city remained static in past years. A travel guide published in 1934 stipulated that «Shanghai was not China, but it had to go to Nanshi, (the city of the south) in the old Chinese city…». If, at the time of concessions, the Chinese were forced to stay in the Chinese area, then a majority of them settled there, with a tax for that. They had no right to vote in the municipalities. Nanshi remained a purely Chinese ghetto, without faith or law, crucible of the gangsters and revolutionary parties hiding in narrow streets, lined with tripots and fumeries. Foreigners, except missionaries, avoid places. During the th century, the old town underwent several devastating fires, but retained its architecture. Only the ramparts of the city, erected in 1553 were demolished in 1912 and replaced by the Renmin Lu, the circular avenue today the ancient limits of the Chinese city. Since 1949, the old town has been the subject of great work, which began in 1994-1995. The Yu Garden area has been redesigned. Important imitation architectures have been built in place of old traditional houses. Go under the traditional Chinese Portico at the crossroads of Henan Nanlu and Fang Bang Lu to arrive at the old Bazaar, formerly known as the Temple Bazar of the City Protector, at the heart of which is the famous Yu Garden dating back to the th century. There are numerous jewellers: according to tradition, gold bought near temples is supposed to bear happiness.

From the Huangpu Park turn the Bank of Indochina (built in 1914), the Glen Line Building (1922), the Matheson Garden (the first to settle in Shanghai in 1848, the Neoclassical building dates back to 1920), the Yangtze Building (a building building built in 1916), the old Yokohama Bank in a neoclassical style enhanced by details of the Banque. Asian art built in 1924. Separated by an alley of the famous Peace Hotel, at No. 23 of the Zhongshan Dongyilu, the Bank of China, built in 1937 by a famous Chinese architect on the site of the Baroque building of the ancient German Club, requisitioned as a result of the Treaty of Versailles, reflected by its intriguing modernity.

The Peace Hotel, a landmark of the skyline skyline, was the seat of the Sassoon family. Victor Sassoon, one of the richest foreigners in Shanghai at the time, the Iraqi Jewish tycoon, had made fortune in opium and weapons.

Founded in 1929 by the famous design firm of Hong Kong, Palmer & Turner, the building included offices and commercial agencies on the ground floor, a hotel with extravagant rooms on the floors, and relaxation and leisure spaces in the upper floors (restaurants, bars, terrace). The businessman housed in the last three floors and had a balcony with a magnificent view of the Huangpu. Today, the Peace Hotel is in full renovation and closed to the public for some time. The exterior of the building with pollution needs good cosmetic. The interior, however, still retains very beautiful Art Deco ornaments: hopefully they will be kept by the new owners of the places, allegedly Saudi investors.

If you pass Nanjing Lu, the former Palace Hotel (now the South Wing of Peace), designed by two British architects in 1906, is one of the oldest Bund buildings. To build it, we used modern methods (steel structure), we installed the first elevator of the city (20 years later, when Shanghai fell under the onslaught of Communist troops, it stir the curiosity of the troops who had never seen it, no more than toilets). Further afield, the fortified building of two turrets was the former headquarters of Shanghai's first foreign newspaper, the North China Daily News.

The Customs House (Customs House), characterized by its Clock Tower, reflects a massive Art Deco architecture dating back to 1927. On the left, the famous Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, a stately structure culminating in a central dome, was Asia's largest banking building at the time. The building, along with all the Bund buildings, was the work of the famous Palmer & Turner firm (already cited above).

To the south, in the centre of the Quai de France, is the Maritime courier building, a Art Deco structure, where the flow of the company's luxurious ships was managed. A raised walk replaces the ground where eye, croisant rickshaws, went back between commercial warehouses and ships at dockside. The latter, moored along the Bund until the early 1990 s, were displaced. A dike was built to control the waters of the river. The mythical British public gardens were installed in the present Huangpu Park.

Tonglu is a city of water. There are boats along the very animated docks. The city centre is characterized by small streets lined with traditional houses with black tiles and white walls. The city is a fairly large river port. Many fishing boats, jonques and boats are covered by the site. Many boatmen live and work on these rudimentary boats.

You can take a boat from Tonglu to Meicheng. On this section, we saw the bank where Yan Ziling was fishing, a senior official of the Han dynasty who decided to pursue a hermit existence there. His descendants made a temple in his honour. The river gradually narrows, draped between bare rocky hillsides in dark grey color. The currents are still very strong.

This former small village dates back to the days of the Fighters (453-221 BC). Under the Ming River (1368-1644), Meicheng provided itself with ramparts and five main doors: The village has preserved its charm and a very picturesque typical architecture.

This small village has a quiet atmosphere and a little over time. A number of interesting sights can be found in the alleys of the village.

The main city of the district is a pretty small town of canals lined with traditional roof roof houses overhanging walls of pristine white. A multitude of small round bridges cross the canals. Besides walking in the streets, the city offers tourists an interesting garden: the Qushui garden (曲水园).

A village located 8 km north of Lijiang, where many frescoes were painted by artists Naxi and Tibetan during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). A Naxi orchestra occurs in the first Glazed tile temple building (琉璃殿, liuli convex). In front of the entrance, the main fresco represents the unity of the different religions: the group of characters from the top is Tibetan Buddhism, that of the middle embodied Taoism and the bottom, Han Buddhism. The whole is centered around a representation of Sakyamuni.

The part of the village located in the immediate vicinity of the temple is overrun by the merchants of souvenirs. There is also a cultural centre (entrance: 10 RMB) to the very limited interest if it is the pleasure of a cup of tea in the yard. On the other hand, the rest of the village remained very authentic by its architecture and atmosphere.

The village of Lei Yue Mun is a former lair of pirates and smugglers, partly built on piles. Situated on the seafront, this village has become a must for fish and seafood lovers. Here you can stroll between the stalls of the market, choose fish and seafood and bring them to a restaurant for cooking at its convenience. Lei Yue Mun has been able to preserve the atmosphere a little villains of the small fisherman villages of Hong Kong's past.