One of the three
municipalities under the direct jurisdiction of the Central
Government, Shanghai is situated in the middle of China's
coastline, bordering on the East China Sea in the east,
lying at the
month of Changjiang (Yangtze) River and
covering a coastline of about 200 kilometers. It has a total
area of 6,200 square kilometers and a population of 18.88
million (including
Han,
Hui,
Manchu and other
nationalities). It is China's most populous city and one of
the largest in the world.
Video: On the Bund: New
Shanghai (by the Guardian)
Shanghai Climate
Shanghai has a
humid temperate climate with four distinct seasons. The
average temperature of January—the coldest month is about 3
ºC (37 ºF), and that of July - the warmest month about
27ºC (81ºF). The average annual precipitation is over 1,100
mm, of which 40 per cent is in summer.
Shanghai is often
affected by typhoon between July and September. Even in the
mid-summer days, Shanghai's warmest spell of the year is
rather short.
Brief History of Shanghai
Shanghai
became on inhabited area more than 5,000 years ago after
land had taken shape there. Its earliest days, it was a
desolated fishing village. By the 17th century, it had
become a flourishing port. After the Opium War, Shanghai was
forced by the colonialist to open as a" trade port" and had
remained so since 1843.
In the ensuring century or more, the imperialists had vied
with each other in establishing " concessions" in Shanghai
and in carving out their respective spheres of influence,
turning the city into a stronghold for their aggression
against and plunder of China. They called Shanghai the
"paradise of adventure".
The First National Congress of
Chinese Communist Party was held here in July 1921.
In 1921, the First
National Congress of the Communist Party of China was
convened in Shanghai, proclaiming the funding of the Chinese
Communist Party. Chinese communist got control of Shanghai
(libration) in May 1949.
Shanghai Local Cuisine
As a major city
developed in modern times, Shanghai has become a gastronomic
centre of all the major cuisine of China, having more than
2,000 restaurants and snack houses. And through years of
culinary practice, it has absorbed the art and skills of
other major styles of cuisine and created a style of cuisine
peculiar to its own.
Shanghai
dishes are mellow in flavor, rich in sauce, original in
gravy and agreeable to the taste. Shanghai cooking noted for
its art of braising, stewing, simmering, pickling in rice
wine, stir-frying and deep-frying. Shanghai is particularly
renowned for its vegetarian dishes.
Taking vegetable,
bean products, dried mushrooms, agarics and bamboo shoots as
main ingredients, chefs make savoury dishes resembling meat
or fish in color, fragrance, shape and flavor but devoid of
the unpalatable fishy and greasy taste. Shanghai also has a
number of western-style restaurants offering English,
French, German, Italian and Russian cuisine to suit the
palate of tourists.
In Shanghai: five cuisines to tempt your palate
- By Elise Fu
Cuisine Original offers authentic Shanghai, Sichuan, Hunan,
Huaiyang and Cantonese dishes, as well as Western fine
dining, an excellent wine list and fine cigars.
The spacious three-floor restaurant near Lujiazui in the
Pudong New Area serves dishes prepared by chefs from
different regions.
The owner, a gourmand, took a long tour, chose the best
restaurants and then invited top chefs of five renowned
cuisines to work for him in Shanghai.
"Our restaurant provides the most authentic local food in
Shanghai," says Ma Hua, vice general manager of Cuisine
Original.
The spacious minimalist interior has a relaxing ambience.
Guests can enjoy pre-dinner drinks and appetizers.
On the Sichuan cuisine menu, Sauteed Diced Chicken with
Chili (38 yuan/US$5.56) is the most popular dish. The
colorful dish has a very heavy aroma of chili and pepper,
all imported from Sichuan Province, and tempts the appetite.
The chicken is crisp outside and tender inside. It doesn't
taste that hot at first, but the flavor remains and tingles
on your tongue, getting hotter and hotter. Then you can
appreciate the true power of Sichuan pepper.
Lion's Head: Double Boiled Meatball with Crab Meat (18 yuan)
represents the height of Huaiyang cuisine characteristic of
Jiangsu Province.
Without the extra chili, pepper or garlic used in most of
the Sichuan and Hunan food, this dish is light and fresh.
You can smell the aroma of the meatballs and they virtually
melt in your mouth.
The soup containing the meatballs doesn't have that common
layer of oil on the top, and the fresh vegetables are
delicious.
The 5,000-square-meter restaurant covers three floors, seats
1,000 people and offers 30 private dining rooms.
On the first floor guests can savor the five cuisines. The
second floor is multi-function banquet hall with an open
terrace ideal for weddings and birthday celebrations.
The third-floor V3 wine bar offers an extensive wine list
and selection of handmade cigars from Cuba.
Guests with World Expo 2010 tickets receive an 8-percent
discount (Cigarettes, wines, seafood and other specialties
excluded). They can choose to receive a bottle of imported
red wine if they spend 1,000 yuan and more.
Address: 63 Miaopu Rd (near Pudong Ave)
(Source: Shanghai Daily, May of 2010)
Shanghai Local Products
The perch
from Sangjiang County of Shanghai has been as the "delicacy
of southeast China": the juicy peaches from Longhua are the
best quality among peaches: the crabs from Chongming Island
at the mouth of the Changjiang River and from the Dianshan
Lake are fleshy and tasty: the bamboo shoots from Sheshan
Hill are famous for their orchid like fragrance.
In
addition, there are the fermented bean curds for the
Capital; the Pear Syrup Cubes from the City God's Temple,
Spiced beans of shanghai flavour, and Dried Duck Gizzard
from Daoxiangcun Delicatessen shop, etc. Shanghai is also
one of the main centers of arts and handicrafts in China.
These products may be ware, etc. With ingenious design and
exquisite workshop, they have a distinctive local flavour
and above all the best qualities, ancient and modern,
foreign and domestic. Needlepoint tapestry, knitwear and
embroidery, silk fabrics and garments are even more
outstanding in reputation.
Shopping in
Shanghai
Shanghai is the
most flouring commercial city of China, known as a paradise
for shopping in China. Apart from it's over 24,000
department stores, large and small, it has a number of
antique shops, art and handicrafts shops for the service of
foreign visitors and seamen as well as a shop serving
overseas Chinese. All kinds of goods that appeal to foreign
guests are available at the bustling streets of Shanghai,
ranging from articles of daily necessity of souvenirs and
works of art. Commodities and handicrafts articles from
Shanghai are known for their exquisite workmanship, high
quality, beautiful design, novel style and deluxe packing.
The Nanjing(
Nanking) Road is a world-famous street covering a length of
10 li and dotted with over 350 shops, large and small,
serving nearly a million customers every day. Among the
large shops are the No.1 and No. 10 Department Stores, the
No. 1 Food Company and the Shanghai Clothing Store, etc.
Besides, there are a number of specialised shops, each
having something special offer.
Shanghai Tour:
Places of Interests inShanghai
Apart from
its metropolitan elegance, Shanghai has also many scenic
spots, places of historical interest and tourist attraction
and Shanghai tours
can not miss the below spots,
are worth seeing.
The Yu Yuan Garden which can be traced back to the past two
feudal dynasties of Ming and Qing is renowned as "the best
scenic spot in the south of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River".
Covering an area of only 20,000 square meters, the Garden
has an exquisite designing, meticulous lay-out and artistic
spacing, characterized by broadness of view in a small area
and a distinctive style of the garden architecture of
southern China in Ming and Qing Dynasties. What appeals to
the visitors are the 40 or more scenes in the garden which
are divided into seven scenic areas by five dragon walls,
each bearing its unique characteristic.
Yuyuan Garden
A famous
Buddhist temple is in southern China, the Jade Buddha, which
is 1.9 meters high, glittering and translucent, and solemn
in facial expression. In addition, there is a reclining
white jade Buddha, which is 0.96 meter tall looking natural
and vivid.
There is
also the Longhua Pagoda which was built more than a thousand
years ago.
Boat
excursions can be arranged between the Bund (water-front of
Shanghai) and Wusong Mouth. A two-way trip covers some 60
kilometres and enables you enjoy the magnificent scenes on
both banks of the Huangpu River and watch the majestic view
of the Changjiang River. Elegantly-shaped and well-equipped
excursion boats of various sizes are available for pleasure
sailing. The large ones have chairs and tea-tables on their
decks, cabins for artistic performances, photo studious,
dining rooms, retail shops, etc. A boat excursion along the
Huanpu River makes you fell refreshed and relaxed at a a
floating club.
Foreigners score with taxi
hotline Shanghai Daily July 3, 2009
The
Shanghai government information office said yesterday
that notices on a special hotline which helps foreign
passengers communicate with cabbies will be put on in
local taxis tomorrow.
The
government Foreign Service Hotline (962288) will offer
the service in a campaign initiated in preparation for
the increase in foreign visitors to Shanghai when World
Expo starts next May, city government spokesman Chen
Qiwei said yesterday. "Most local cabbies do not speak
English and the situation will not improve in the short
term," Chen said.
Foreigners could ring the hotline on their mobiles or
make the connection via the taxis' radio system.
The
hotline has been in service for some years and workers
can speak a number of languages including English,
Japanese, French and German. Some staff will also be
trained to learn short cuts on Shanghai roads to help
foreign taxi passengers.
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Chinese Cities and Province Information
Shanghai
dishes are mellow in flavor, rich in sauce, original in
gravy and agreeable to the taste. Shanghai cooking noted for
its art of braising, stewing, simmering, pickling in rice
wine, stir-frying and deep-frying. Shanghai is particularly
renowned for its vegetarian dishes. 
