Best of Shanghai Private Day Trip to Yuyuan Garden, Silk Store, Peoples Square, Shanghai Museum, Xiaotaoyuan Mosque, the Bund & Nanjing Road

Hotel Pick-up & Transfer to Yuyuan Garden
Your private guide will be holding ICT pick-up sign and waiting for you in your hotel lobby (or other appointed meeting place) at the appointed time. You will be transferred to Yuyuan Garden in a comfortable air-conditioned private vehicle.

Visit Yuyuan Garden & Shopping at Chenghuangmiao Market
Yuyuan is the most famous garden located in the heart of Shanghai’s Old City. The garden was constructed in 1577 and it is a maze of pavilions, elaborate rockeries, arched bridges, and goldfish ponds, all encircled by an undulating dragon wall. Occupying an area of 20,000 square meters (about five acres), it nevertheless appears quite expansive, with room for 30 pavilions. Chenghuangmiao is located outside Yuyugan Garden and it is a nice place built in typical Chinese architecture style with lots of shops, bars and restaurants.

Salat at Xiaotaoyuan Mosque after lunch at local Halal restaurant

Walk Around the People’s Square
The People’s Square is a vast public square surrounded by government buildings. It features manicured greenery and, at its heart, the architecturally impressive Shanghai Museum. Prior to 1949, the People’s Square was a part of Shanghai Racecourse. After gambling and horse racing were banned by the Communist government, a part of the race course became the People’s Square, which included a large avenue and spectator stands for use during parades. Other parts of the race course still remain today. The clubhouse buildings became the Shanghai Art Museum, while part of the race track became People’s Park. In the 1990s, major changes were made to the square. The Shanghai Municipal Government was moved here from the former HSBC Building. More recent additions include the Shanghai Grand Theater and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.

Visit Shanghai Museum
Located in the center of Shanghai in People’s Square, Shanghai Museum is a distinguished architectural combination of traditional culture and modern spirit, making it unique among many museums in the world. Covering a total area of 39,200 square meters, with a height of 29.5m, the round celestial dome and the square earth base which symbolize the philosophy of a spherical heaven and a square earth, form an extraordinary visual effect. The rich and high-quality collection of 120,000 precious works of art including ancient Chinese bronze, ceramics, painting and calligraphy is specially celebrated in the world.

Visit the Bund
The Bund refers to Shanghai’s famous waterfront stretching for 1.6km (1 mile) along the west shore of the Huangpu River. Once a muddy towpath for boats along the river, the Bund was where the foreign powers that entered Shanghai after the Opium War of 1842 erected their distinct Western-style banks and trading houses. From here, Shanghai grew into Asia’s leading city in the 1920s and 1930s, a cosmopolitan and thriving commercial and financial center. Many of the awesome colonial structures you see today date from that prosperous time and have become an indelible part of Shanghai’s cityscape. The colonial-era buildings that highlight the Bund include the former British Consulate, Customs House, former HSBC Building (the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation), former Shanghai Club (now the Waldorf Astoria Hotel), and the Peace Hotel.

Shopping at Nanjing Road
The 3.4-mile-long Nanjing Road starts at the Bund in the east and it is the main shopping street of Shanghai and one of the busiest shopping streets in the world. As a result of the Opium War (1839-1842), Shanghai was forced to open to the West as a port. Importing large quantities of foreign goods, Nanjing Road became the earliest shopping street in Shanghai. Over time, Nanjing Road has been restructured, undergoing significant change. For shopping convenience, its eastern end has an all-weather pedestrian arcade. Today over 600 businesses on Nanjing road offer countless famous brands, superior quality, and new fashions. KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and other world-famous food vendors line both sides of the street. Upscale stores include Tiffany, Mont Blanc, and Dunhill.

Transfer Back to Your Hotel
Your private guide and driver will transfer you back to your hotel after visiting Nanjing Road. Its a busy day, but will also include a visit to the Silk Store for a shopping experience not to be missed.