– SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

Shanghai is a very modern and beautiful city with a well developed waterfront (its like Vancouver in many ways).  The Bund or Waitan is a waterfront area in the central city core.  The word “bund” means an embankment or an embanked quay.  The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing the highly modern skyscrapers of Pudong, in the eastern part of Huangpu District.  The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road, as well as some adjacent areas. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai.  Building heights are restricted in this area.

 

Yu Garden is an extensive Chinese garden located beside the City God Temple in the northeast of the Old City of Shanghai.  The bamboo garden is a great place to get lost from the hustle of the big city.

The City God Temple or Chenghuang Miao is a temple located in Shanghai, within the old walled city.  Today the “City God Temple” not only refers to the large temple complex, but also the traditional district of commerce in the city, surrounding the temple. There are over a hundred stores and shops in this area, and most of these store buildings are nearly a century old.  The temple connects to the Yuyuan Garden, another landmark of the old city.

The temple is colloquially known in Shanghai as the “Old City God Temple“, in reference to a later “New City God Temple“, which no longer exists.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the old city was occupied by the Japanese while, initially, they left the foreign concessions alone.  As a result, worshippers from the concessions were cut off from the temple.  As a response, local merchants built a new temple and attached market place near what is today Yan’an Road and Jinling Road, in the Shanghai International Settlement.  This was known as the “New City God Temple“. After the end of World War II, the New City God Temple waned in popularity as worshippers shifted back to the Old City God Temple.  The new temple and markets were demolished in 1972.  However, the “New City God Temple” remains in use referring to the locality around the site of that temple.

It’s a bit nuts that areas that are to be of historical significance have a McDonalds, KFC or Starbucks built into them.  Is this historic or is it a cash grab for tourists and fast food?  A question you find yourself asking many times over in China.

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For more photos of our adventure go to our flickr account here.