Once, the principal financial hub of China and the Far East, the Bund forms part of Zhongshan Road in Shanghai. The major institutions of the former international settlement stood here and the 52 buildings along the waterfront have an array of European architectural styles. The Bund comes from the Indian word for embankment. The Bund of Shanghai is on the western bank of the Huang Pu River starting from the Waibadu Bridge to the Nanpu Bridge. When Shanghai was a major trade centre, European banks and financial institutions were located at the Bund. It was also the location of the consulates of Russia and Britain, an English club and a Masonic lodge. A 771 meter retaining wall runs along the bank of the river. Railings were placed on top of the wall and a promenade was designed alongside. The embankment had many statues of prominent colonial and European statesmen before the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War. Today, there is a bronze statue of Chen Yi, the first mayor of Shanghai after the communist takeover at the Nanjing Road intersection and a Monument to the People’s Heroes at the Northern end. The Bund area was restored to attract tourism in the 1990s and today visitors can walk along this stretch of Europe in Shanghai and take in views of the Huang Pu River.

Nanjing Road in Shanghai is the world’s longest and busiest pedestrian shopping street. It attracts over a million visitors every day and has all types of stores from the upscale to the quaint.
Nanjing Road begins at the Bund in the East and ends at the People’s Square in the West. It was established in 1845 by the British and was called Park Lane. In the 1900s, eight big stores were located here and later franchises of many major British stores set up shop. The road saw little development after the international settlement in Shanghai was annulled. In the year 2000, the local government converted it into a pedestrian street when Shanghai was modernized to attract tourists.
Today, Nanjing Lu is a hub of activity in Shanghai. 600 international business establishments offer a range of products including upscale fashions and well known brands like Tiffany and Mont Blanc. There are also franchises of food chains, open air bars and fine dining restaurants. Street musicians add to the festive atmosphere of the street. Visitors can take a relaxed trip on a trackless train enjoying the sights and sounds of the busy street by day or taking in the neon signs and illuminated skyline by night.

The Urban Planning Exhibition Hall has a museum dedicated to the future of Shanghai. It shows visitors the history of the city and what it will look like, based on a master plan, in the year 2020.
The Urban Planning Exhibition Hall has six floors and two basement levels that house the museum. It was designed by architect Ling Benli of the East China Architecture Design and Research Institute. The exterior is covered with white aluminium and the roof has a modernized traditional Chinese design. The shape is that of a white magnolia, the official flower of Shanghai. The structure has received the White Magnolia Cup and the China Luban Cup which is the highest award for architectural design in China.
The highlight of the exhibits in the museum is a life like model of the City of Shanghai in the future. One can see the model close up or look from the gallery above for a better view. A small theater with a 360 degree screen shows a video giving visitors a feeling that they are being taken to the Shanghai of the future. The museum also has a large archive of photographs and exhibitions dedicated to wastewater management and other civic issues.

The Shanghai People’s Square is a large open space which was once the Shanghai Race Course. Today it is a parade ground and public square adjacent to the headquarters of the municipal government of the city.
The Shanghai People’s Square is on the site of what was once the finest race course in Asia. The ruins of the grand race club are still visible and some buildings now house the Shanghai Art Museum. In 1949, the communist government banned racing and gambling. It was converted it into a public square and spectator stands were erected for viewing parades. Part of the race track became a large open green space called the People’s Park.
The Shanghai People’s Square covers an area of 130,700 square meters. It is surrounded by many important buildings and hotels including the Shanghai City Hall, the Museum, the Grand Theatre, the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, the Park Hotel Shanghai and the Radisson. There is an underground shopping mall with major departmental stores and a large underground garage and a 320 square meter water fountain at the centre. The Shanghai people’s square is an important sightseeing landmark of the city and venue for important cultural, political and commercial events all year through.

The Shanghai Museum has the best display of Chinese art and cultural exhibits in China. It has a collection of over 120,000 exhibits from almost all the dynasties that added to the vast culture and history of the country.
The first Shanghai Museum opened in 1952 in the club house of the former Shanghai Race Course. The present building located in the People’s Square was inaugurated in 1996. The museum has five floors and an area of 39,200square meters. It was designed by local architect, Xing Tonghe in the shape of an ancient Chinese cooking vessel called the Ding with a round top and square base.
The museum has eleven galleries and three exhibition halls. The exhibits are grouped as ancient, bronze, ancient ceramics, paintings, calligraphy, ancient sculpture, coins, seals, furniture and artefacts from Minority Nationalities. There are over 400 objects from Bronze Age China, a wealth of ceramics from every Chinese dynasty, paintings and calligraphy from different eras in Chinese history and Buddhist sculpture. It also has an impressive coin collection that will interest numismatists because China was once of the first countries to use coin and paper currency. A notable rare object at the museum is one of the last three existing transparent mirrors from the Han Dynasty.

The Shanghai Grand Theatre is the venue of most major Chinese and international music performances and art shows in the City. The modern structure with a unique curved roof resembles a crystal palace when lighted at night.
The Shanghai Grand Theatre has 10 floors and is located at the northern end of the People’s Square. It was designed by French architect, Jean-Marie Charpentier, and inaugurated in 1998. It has three large auditoriums. The largest is the Lyric Theatre where ballets, concerts and operas are performed including traditional Chinese opera performances by the China National Peking Opera Company. The smaller auditoriums are used for chamber music performances, to stage plays and for fashion shows. The lobby has an area of 2000 square meters with a Greece Crystal White marble floor. The theatre has one of the world’s largest automatic stages with advanced lighting and stereo equipment.
The theatre has hosted performances by world famous opera singers, ballet companies and European Symphony orchestras. It is also the venue for many art festivals and events including the China Shanghai International Art Festival and the SCO Members Art Festival. The Shanghai International Film Festival takes place year and the theatre is the venue for many international culture shows.

The Shanghai Art Museum is housed in the former clubhouse of the race course. It has more than 8000 collections of Chinese and international artworks.
The Shanghai Art Museum was opened at its present location in the year 2000. The building was constructed by the British in 1933 in neoclassical architectural style with a distinctive clock tower. It has five floors and the interiors have exquisite teak woodwork with marble staircases. The building housed the Shanghai Museum and later the Shanghai Library before it became the art museum. Today, the 5th floor has a fine dining American restaurant called, ‘Kathleen’s 5’.
The 12 exhibition halls showcase artwork from traditional Chinese oil paintings from the Qing Dynasty to modern pop art by contemporary Chinese and international artists. There are also colourful Chinese New Year pictures, serial paintings and bronzes. It is also a centre for the study of art and Chinese art history. Lectures and seminars are held in addition to showcasing art at the museum. Temporary international art exhibitions take place here from time to time. From 1996, the art museum has hosted the Shanghai Biennale that has become the most important world renowned cultural event in the city.