Audio Guide: Shanghai Introduction Walking Tour (Self Guided), Shanghai

Perhaps more than any other Chinese city, Shanghai deserves to be called the “face of modern China.” Despite its modern appearance, the city first appeared on the map as far back as 751 AD. Shanghai County was established during the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century, although the city’s character, as we know it today, began to take shape after the First Opium War in 1842. The post-war treaty opened Shanghai to international trade, bringing an influx of cosmopolitan adventurers from around the world in search of easy fortune. Many of them found it in Shanghai, prompting the city’s rapid development and leaving behind the glamorous sheen still visible today in the opulent façades along the famous Bund and throughout the downtown area.

This wave of migration led to a construction boom, leaving its mark on Shanghai’s architectural landscape. The mix of colonial, Art Deco, and postmodern influences has made Shanghai an architectural wonder, appreciated by both casual wanderers and cultured professionals.

Over the years, Shanghai has inspired many associations and nicknames, such as the “Paris of the East,” the “Paradise of Adventurers,” the “Queen of Eastern Settlements,” the “New York of the Far East,” the “City of Palaces,” and the “Yellow Babylon of the Far East,” to name just a few. Each nickname contains some truth, reflecting the city’s outstanding trading location at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Centuries later, trade remains as important to Shanghai as ever, especially now that the city is undertaking one of the most ambitious development programs the world has ever seen. China’s economic rise since the mid-1990s, echoing Shanghai’s construction boom of the 1930s, has refreshed the city skyline with thousands of brand-new high-rises and some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, including Shanghai Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center, and Jin Mao Tower. Shanghai’s fondness for high-rise projects shows no sign of stopping, with many more developments planned.

This introductory walk highlights some of Shanghai’s glitziest as well as most traditional sights, including People’s Square, the famous Bund promenade, the lovely traditional Yu Garden, and the timeless Shanghai Confucian Temple.