People's Square and Park, Shanghai (must see)

People's Square is home to world-class museums, the Grand Theater, luxurious five-star hotels, a large ornamental fountain, and the imposing Shanghai City Hall. Most of these landmark buildings were constructed in the late 1990s and serve as architectural symbols of Shanghai's economic and cultural development.

The area is unique in China for its remarkable concentration of major attractions and its impressive skyline, making it a popular meeting place and a venue for public celebrations and events. Today, few visible reminders remain of People's Square's past as Asia's premier racecourse, where the city's wealthy elite once gathered to watch horse races. During the Japanese occupation in World War II, the racecourse was used as a detention facility, and after the war, the Chinese Nationalist government converted it into a sports ground.

In 1952, the new Communist government abolished horse racing and gambling, and part of the former racecourse was transformed into a public recreational area now known as People's Park. Both the square and the park are meticulously maintained, with numerous benches providing places to rest. The park features attractive landscaping, tree-lined walkways, and peaceful ponds. Beneath the park lies an extensive underground complex filled with shopping arcades, colorful stores, a metro station, and a food court.

From the center of People's Square, look southeast across the landscaped park to spot the distinctive dome of the Shanghai Museum, while to the east, among the trees, stands the Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai. As you face the Shanghai Museum, turn in the opposite direction and you will see the sweeping curved roof of the Shanghai Grand Theater on the left. Directly behind it rises the soaring, futuristic Tomorrow Square tower. On the right side stands the imposing Shanghai City Hall, facing the open plaza and its large ornamental fountain, which becomes a popular gathering place throughout the day.