Happy to be there to share my recent discoveries in Shanghai, like some good places to watching ginkgo, night cruise, praying....I like hanging out on my days off, here is my collected treasure places. Hope it can help readers to explore Shanghai from different views.

1, One temple, three city gods, and delicious vegetarian noodles | Shanghai City God Temple

Are you like me, confused about Yu Garden, Yu Garden Mall, and City God Temple?

Shanghai girls never seem to say "Yu Garden", they only say they go to the City God Temple to buy small commodities and go to the City God Temple to see lanterns... In fact, the place where we went to see lanterns was Yu Garden Mall. Yu Garden - it is really a garden, you need to buy a ticket to enter, it is next to Yu Garden Mall. City God Temple - it is really a temple, you also need to buy a ticket to enter, it is inside Yu Garden Mall (the entrance is on Fangbang Middle Road).

The Shanghai City God Temple is said to have been built by Sun Hao, the King of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. It was rebuilt into the City God Temple during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. It is one of the "Three Great Temples of the Yangtze River" and a famous Taoist temple in Shanghai. It is a quiet place in the bustling city with a long history of praying. Most of the City Gods enshrined in the City God Temple did exist in history. In ancient times, people regarded the City God as the protector of the city, and the common people hoped to be protected by him. Therefore, the City God was served by some loyal and upright people. Many cities have City God Temples, which basically enshrine a City God, but this one is very special: the City God Temple was rebuilt from the Jinshan Temple, retaining the original sea defense god Huo Guang, and the back hall enshrines the Shanghai City God Qin Yubo. In 1937, people enshrined Chen Huacheng, a national hero of the Qing Dynasty, forming a unique pattern of "one temple and three city gods", as well as various gods such as Guanyin, the God of Wealth, and Yue Lao... So although this place is small, it is extremely popular.

It was lunch time when I went there. I happened to see the vegetarian food in Chenghuang Temple, so I ordered a grilled gluten noodle (20r), a vegetarian noodle (22r) and two vegetable buns. It was really eye-catching. The soft and tasty toppings were large and genuine, and the noodles were twisted. Among the vegetarian noodles I have eaten, Qibaojiao Temple, which was originally ranked first, now ranks second.

And you can first enter the vegetarian restaurant from the small gate on Fangbang Middle Road to eat vegetarian noodles, and then go out from the main gate to Chenghuang Temple, saving the 10r ticket (I found it too late...).

Info:

Name: Shanghai Chenghuang Temple

Address: No. 249, Fangbang Middle Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai

Time: 08:30-16:30

Ticket: 10rmb

2, 2rmb ferry, the most cost-effective way to visit the Bund

I happened to pass by the Jinling East Road Ferry after watching the exhibition that day. I took the ferry again after many years. I was still as excited as when I first took a boat when I was a child. Highly recommended to tourists who come to Shanghai

I didn't expect that the Shanghai Ferry has been running on the Huangpu River for 111 years since 1911! And now there are 17 lines, among which the most classic and most suitable for sightseeing is definitely the "Dongjin Line (Dongchang Road-Jinling East Road)".

Jinling East Road Ferry, next to the Bund Sightseeing Corridor where tourists gather, looking back is the International Building, get the modern style of the ten-mile foreign land in minutes, and you can enjoy the Oriental Pearl Tower and the three-piece suit of Shanghai from here. After arriving at the Dongchang Road Ferry, get off the boat. There is a pier nearby. It is recommended to go up and walk. There you can quietly enjoy the scenery on the other side. This is also the closest pier to Lujiazui. Then you can take the boat back the same way and enjoy the scenery of the Bund. In this way, you can see the scenery of Pudong and Puxi. Although the time is only ten minutes, it is much more cost-effective than the hundreds of yuan Pujiang tour, isn't it? 

Dongjin Line Tips

Time: 07:15-18:30 (see Figure 9) 2022.12.31-2023.1.2 Temporary suspension from 12:00-18:30 every day.

Buying tickets: All payment methods are ok, you can swipe the Shanghai bus card

Ticket price: 2 yuan/person

Go straight to the second deck after boarding the boat, and the sightseeing position will be gone if you are slow.

Because I got on the boat on a whim, I missed the most beautiful scenery under the sunset. It is recommended to check the sunset time before departure. The Bund sunset scenery from Pudong is beautiful. Of course, you can also choose to wait until the lights are turned on at six o'clock, which will be another beautiful scene of flowing light.

3, New ways to play in Shanghai | Real experience of Suzhou River water route

As a Shanghai native, I was very happy to see the news that Suzhou River launched a new project "Water Route" from December 15. I have experienced cruises on the Seine River in Paris, the Thames River in London and the Hudson River in New York. This time I can experience Suzhou River cruise in Shanghai, and I am looking forward to it~ I booked a "Bund Source Loop" (30 minutes) and talked about the experience.

Overall evaluation: If the full score is 100, I will give it 80 points.

The starting point of this project is good, awakening the city's memory and feeling the city's development and changes through the water route, but I originally wanted to take pictures of the night view on the boat, but the closed cabin of the "Time and Space Shuttle" has a serious reflection, plus a super bright LED screen (there will be animations to introduce some attractions), it is basically impossible to take pictures.

I thought the Bund Source Loop Line would be full of colorful scenery at night, but it wasn't. Except for the Postal Museum, you can only see the illuminated bridge tunnels for half of the voyage. The lighting in the Sihang Warehouse and Yanqingli section is not enough to see clearly.

Personal suggestion

Two types of boats: The "Shanghai Impression" small cruise ship reproduces the shape of the Shanghai brand car, with an open convertible design, suitable for taking pictures but may be cold. The "Time Shuttle" medium-sized cruise ship is fully enclosed and equipped with panoramic glass. It is not suitable for taking pictures but it is not cold. So the children should weigh which one they prefer. The latter is recommended for those with children, and the former is definitely recommended for those who take photos.

There are 4 piers and multiple routes. They are Bund Source Pier, Sihang Warehouse Pier, Changhua Road Pier, and Changfeng Park Pier. I don't recommend the Bund Source Loop Line (at least not at night). If you want to see the night view, you might as well go directly to the nearby Master Bridge. Or I suggest taking it during the day. I looked at the longest route (the one with the best value for money) from Sihang Warehouse to Changfeng Park, which takes 75 minutes (100r). I decided to try the "Shanghai Impression" when the weather gets warmer.

This project is very suitable for taking children out for a walk. Those with children should try it.

It is really beautiful to take a photo of the Magic City Artifact and the Suzhou River Cruise on the Zhapu Bridge.

Info:

Name: "Leisurely Tour Suzhou River" Water Route

Tickets: 60r and 100r for adults, half price for children aged 7-14, free for children under 6, and reservations are required for free tickets.

Reminder: "Leisurely Tour Suzhou River" reservation. When buying tickets, you are reminded to bring your ID card. You don't actually see it on site. It is recommended to take a photo or an electronic version of your ID card for preparation.

4, The cats in Jing'an Sculpture Park are more attractive than ginkgo

The weather in Shanghai has finally cleared up. I hurried to see the ginkgo. After all, there is not much time left for the leaves. Maybe the next rain will come soon... As a patient with advanced laziness, I would not consider going far to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the suburbs if I can see the same style or "substitute" in the city.

Today I went to Jing'an Sculpture Park, which is the only sculpture park in the city center with sculpture as the theme and modern garden style. The park is based on the mobile display corridor, connecting 6 landscape spaces such as the central square landscape area, the white magnolia petal landscape area, and the plum garden landscape area. Sculptures with different creative ideas are placed in various landscape areas of the park, which are very distinctive. Coupled with the atmospheric natural museum, the whole park is still quite filmy. BUT Recently, the area in front of the natural museum is turning the soil (the cute thing is the bronze bull sculptures next to it, which look like they are turning the soil by pulling a plow), which has a shadow effect to a certain extent.

What attracts me more than the ginkgo trees here is the "master of the house" cats that roam around freely. They are not afraid of strangers and look rich and comfortable. It seems that caring people feed them well. When you squat down, they come over to see if you have brought any delicious food. If you don't have any, they will mutter and turn away. I like the little white cat in the plum garden very much. It is really good-looking and will act coquettishly with the yellow cat next to it. It is really an unexpected dog food.

Things to visit nearby:

Shanghai Natural History Museum

Shanhaiguan Road Wall Painting

Bohua Square

Former site of the Labor Union Secretariat, etc.

Info:

Name: Jing'an Sculpture Park

Address: No. 128, Shimen 2nd Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai

Transportation: Metro Line 13 Natural History Museum Station

5, A real investigation of the Internet celebrity Ju Men Lu | Ginkgo is beautiful, but personal safety is more important

Recently, I have seen a lot of ginkgo trees in Ju Men Lu on the Internet. Yesterday, I was once again at by netizens, so I took some time out of my schedule to take some photos.

Important reminder:

Be sure to bring a telephoto lens! There are too many people taking photos. There are at least a dozen people carrying cameras on the road. In addition, there are a constant stream of people taking photos and being photographed, and the traffic... The background is very complicated, so using a telephoto lens will give a better sense of compression. Mobile phone users are welcome~

Safety reminder:

Many people who take photos ignore the honking of cars behind them and stand in the middle of the road to take photos in order to capture the feeling of walking in the ginkgo forest. This is really dangerous. You cannot ignore your personal safety for the sake of taking beautiful photos. Drivers driving on this road must be very nervous.

To be honest:

My level of skill is not good enough to directly output the original picture, so I brightened it and raised the saturation in post-production. But anyway, this place is more beautiful than the ginkgo trees on Huangjincheng Road. The beauty lies in the neat yellow of the ginkgo trees, which shows a sense of teamwork (the ginkgo trees on Huangjincheng Road are half yellow and half green, and the beauty lies in the small distance between the trees, which makes them dense and easy to take pictures.

It is recommended to avoid rush hour, walk back and forth on this short road several times, and choose a suitable camera position. I took 20 minutes because I was in a hurry. You can refer to the third floor of the Creative Park and the South Park Riverside Green Space.

6, Jing'an Temple, the first of the four famous temples in Shanghai

Jing'an Temple, known as the first of the four famous temples in Shanghai, has a history of more than 1,760 years. As early as the Three Kingdoms period when Sun Wu ruled Jiangnan, Jing'an Temple was already located on the banks of the Suzhou River today. At that time, it was called Hudu Chongxuan Temple. In the Song Dynasty, it was renamed Jing'an Temple and moved to the current temple site. Outside the temple is a bustling city. Inside the temple is quiet and solemn, with incense flourishing. The thousand-year-old temple built with tens of billions of yuan in gold is in the same frame with the modern city, which is very unique.

It's November now, and the ancient ginkgo trees in Jing'an Temple should gradually turn yellow. The golden ancient temple is blessed by the golden ginkgo, and every photo is really beautiful.

In addition to gold and ginkgo, what else is there to see?

Jing'an Pagoda, cast in bronze and covered with gold

The 15-ton white copper incense burner in the center of the temple

The 180-ton Ashoka pillar at the entrance of the temple with the inscription "Long Live the Dharma"

The 15-ton pure silver Sakyamuni Buddha statue in the main hall

The thousand-year-old camphor tree Guanyin statue

... If you have anything else, please feel free to add

Info:

Place name: Jing'an Temple

Address: No. 1686, Nanjing West Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai

Transportation: Exit 1, Jing'an Temple Station, Metro Line 2/7

Time: 07:30-17:00

Tickets: 50 yuan (pay by scanning the QR code at the door)

Reminder: Please do not take photos of the Buddha statues or pilgrims.

7, The end of the ginkgo season in Shanghai | A real visit to the popular photo spots

The cold wave and strong winds the day before not only made Shanghai citizens cold, but also made the ginkgo trees in Shanghai "very bald". Because it was on the way, I visited 4 places: found158, Yanzhong Green, Concert Hall and Yu Garden, let's take a look at the actual situation

FOUND158

It can be said that "not a single leaf was left", all fell off, and the ground was full of thick golden ginkgo leaves, which attracted children to play.

Reminder: Ginkgo leaves are mixed with debris such as cigarette butts. It is recommended to pay attention to hygiene when throwing leaves for photos and choose clean ones, especially for children.

Yanzhong Green Space

Are there ginkgo trees here? I only saw a few leaves in the stream. The maple leaves are indeed beautiful, but there are only one or two camera positions that can produce good photos (or maybe I don’t know how to find them). Maybe the photos taken by netizens are too beautiful, which makes me have high expectations.

Shanghai Concert Hall

On the square, only 5% of the ginkgo trees are still healthy and hanging on the branches, just like our "chosen workers". There is another ginkgo tree near Gate 8 of the concert hall, which actually has many leaves, but the result of being too outstanding is that it is isolated from the group and does not produce good photos.

Yu Garden

I have been to Yu Garden many times. It was only when I went to Huabao Tower to see the exhibition that I noticed that there was a strong and vigorous ginkgo tree in front of me! The lush branches and leaves seemed young, and there were many wishing cards hanging below. The details of the leaves in front of the window lattice are more beautiful when taking a telephoto shot.

8, Enter the real Yu Garden | The most beautiful garden in Jiangnan

Yu Garden was first built in 1559 during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. It is the only well-preserved Jiangnan Su-style garden in Shanghai. It was once the private garden of Pan Yunduan, the governor of Sichuan. It took more than 20 years to build. Because "Yu" means "peace" and "safety", it was named "Yu Garden".

The day we went there happened to be during the National Day holiday, and the high temperature of 35 degrees was back. It took nearly 20 minutes to queue up at the gate to enter the garden. All of them were tourists who came here for the reputation. At first, I was still complaining about the long queues under the hot sun, but when I walked into the garden, I was immediately healed by the beautiful scenery in front of me. Of course, compared with several big-name gardens in Suzhou, it is still a little far away, and when I went there, there were still several areas that were fenced off and under renovation, which was a little regrettable

The park has many pavilions and lakes, and is quiet and beautiful (except for the fact that there are too many people). It is divided into six scenic areas: Sansui Hall, Wanhua Tower, Dianchun Hall, Huijing Tower, Yuhua Hall and Inner Garden, each with its own characteristics. The main attractions include the large rockery, Yulinglong, Dianchun Hall, Deyue Tower, ancient stage, etc.

Info

Name: Yu Garden

Address: No. 168, Fuyou Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai

Time: 09:00-16:30 (closed on Mondays)

Tickets: 40 yuan

9, Designed by Wu Daqian | The only Byzantine Catholic church in Shanghai

Xiyan Church, built in 1929, is the first church designed by the famous architect Wu Daqian for Shanghai. Its full name is "Assumption Chapel of the Virgin Mary in Xiyan Cemetery". It is low-key and hidden at the junction of Hami Road and Kele Road in Changning District.

The whole church is very small, with a construction area of only 239 square meters. It is a typical Byzantine-style building and the only Byzantine Catholic church in Shanghai.

The dome of the church is in a curved wave shape, covered with copper plates, and the surface presents a unique copper green after oxidation over the years. The plane is a regular cross, and the central hall is directly connected to the semicircular altar facing the river in the south. The pumpkin-shaped dome surrounded by 14 pointed arch windows presents a curved shape like a moon surrounded by stars. The exterior walls of the church and the bell tower are painted with earth-yellow cement mortar to form fish scale patterns.

Add:

Another church designed by Wu Daqian for Shanghai is called "Muen Church", located in the luxurious People's Square. The public can visit by appointment (but you cannot take photos inside the church)

Where to go

Zhongxinjing Park (known as "Xiaohong Village in the Magic City")

Fuyuan Zen Temple

Shanghai Zoo

Info:

Name: Xiyan Church

Address: No. 17 Kele Road

Time: Mass time Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 07:00 Saturday 19:00 Sunday 08:00

10, This niche place is actually quite good for filming | Jinting Manor

In Shanghai, there are many free places where you can film, but there are not many places that are free, have good filming, drink afternoon tea, and pet small animals, right? Check out Jinting Manor. This castle-style manor hotel combines lakes, lawns, forests, and villas. You can enter for free even if you don't stay.

Highlights:

The white carousel at the entrance opens a girl's dream in minutes.

A small zoo, 2 alpacas, 1 white horse, 1 proud blue peacock, 1 cool white peacock, and 1 group of white pigeons. Although the number is small, these small animals are enough for preschoolers to walk around. Adults and children are not tired, and the children are having fun~

After passing the wishing station and a giant bird cage, you can see a blue and white building at the end. Experts can take a big picture of "pretending to be in Santorini" (reminder: it only looks like it from a distance, and you can't bear to look closely when you get closer, so you still need to rely on post-production)

There is a large horse farm, and occasionally you can see knights riding horses passing by.

Reminder:

This is not the kind of place you will regret if you miss it. The scenery is certainly not comparable to that of large parks, and the facilities are a bit old, but as a free green space adjacent to residential areas, it is very popular with nearby residents. Friends who live far away don’t have to go there specially~

Info:

Name: Jinting Manor

Address: No. 1 Xiehe Road, Changning District, Shanghai

Transportation: Bus No. 88 to the terminal of Xinjing Road

11, What would Guilin Park look like without osmanthus?

I saw the beautiful photos of osmanthus taken by my friends in Guilin Park a few days ago, and I hurriedly took my camera to take photos during the flowering period. As a result... I was still a step too late, and all the early osmanthus had fallen. There are nearly 1,000 osmanthus trees of more than 20 varieties, including golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus, red osmanthus, and four-season osmanthus, but I only saw dozens of fallen flowers on the ground. BUT, it is said that the osmanthus that will take over recently has bloomed one after another, so hurry up, friends, hurry up, or you will miss it in a hurry~

Since you can't see the osmanthus, just quietly appreciate this private garden in the city center. Guilin Park, built in 1931, is also known as the "Huang Family Garden". It was formerly the private residence of Huang Jinrong, a legendary figure in the Shanghai Beach Green Gang. It is now more than 90 years old. It is said that after being renovated, it has just reopened recently, so the park is full of tourists. After all, even without osmanthus, the garden scenery here is still uniquely elegant and beautiful.

Guilin Park is divided into four areas, the main garden, the south garden, the west garden and the east garden expanded in the 1980s. Each area has a wall as a dividing line. The main attractions of the park are concentrated in the main garden, which is the original site of the "Huang Family Garden".

It has a unique Jiangnan classical garden temperament. The buildings in the park are antique, pavilions, small bridges and flowing water, winding paths, four teaching halls, eight immortals, mandarin ducks, Guanyin Pavilion, Prajna Boat, Feixiang Hall... Any place is a beautiful scenery. Of course, it would be more perfect if there is a garden full of osmanthus (fragrance). Remind you again: Osmanthus does not wait for anyone.

Info:

Name: Guilin Park

Address: No. 128, Guilin Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai

Transportation: Metro Line 12/15 Guilin Park Station

Time: 07:00-19:30

12, The most beautiful maple scenery in the city of Shanghai is here

Recently, I have seen many beautiful photos of maple leaves in Yanzhong Greenland on the Internet. I am so attracted to it that I decided to go and see it on my day off.

About Yanzhong Greenland

The large public green space of Yan'an Middle Road (referred to as Yanzhong Greenland) is located at the central junction of the "Shen"-shaped elevated road in Shanghai. It has a total planned area of 230,000 square meters and consists of 19 neighborhood green spaces. It is the largest public green space and urban green lung in the center of Shanghai.

"Little Kyoto in Shanghai"

Many netizens call this place "Little Kyoto in Shanghai". Indeed, the beautiful maple leaves in the forest are really a bit like "Kyoto". Although there are not many desirable scenes, it is not easy for a city green space to be so beautiful. And there are not only maple leaves here, but also ginkgo (all fallen), crape myrtle, cedar, beech, camphor... There are many tree species, and the colorful leaves are very beautiful~

My hiking route

found158 (the ginkgo has fallen, you can take pictures of the fallen leaves) → Yanzhong Green Square Park → Shanghai Concert Hall (the square is also full of ginkgo) → continue to stroll around Huaihai Road...

Reminder: 

Tourists are not allowed to take pictures on the shore in the square park. The security guy will remind you, probably because he is afraid of accidents. Please be aware of this. In addition, try to avoid weekends. The day I went was Sunday, and there were really a lot of people.

13, The hand-painted 3D alley style street on Shanhaiguan Road is really amazing

Shanhaiguan Road between Datian Road and Chengdu North Road in Jing'an District is only 200 meters long, but it has become an Internet celebrity in recent years. The walls of the entire block are covered with hand-painted Shanghai alley style, like a complete colorful century-old painting. When I went to the Natural History Museum for the second time recently, I also visited this Internet celebrity street.

There are rickshaw pullers, mothers wearing cheongsams taking their children out, and energetic children jumping rubber ropes upstairs. The mother calls them home for dinner... Interestingly, the basket hanging from the upstairs to buy wontons is a real basket... It gives people a feeling of "naked eye 3D" that is indistinguishable from the real thing.

From the graffiti of "Lei Yunshang Pharmacy" at the corner of Datian Road to "Zhang Zhenkang Sauce Garden" at the corner of Chengdu North Road, the wall paintings not only condense the old Shanghai style of the past, but also the current shared bicycles, marathons and other modern citizen life and entertainment scenes. The alley stories on the wall are integrated with the surrounding street scenes and passers-by, as if traveling through time and space.

Info:

Address: Shanhaiguan Road

Transportation: Metro Line 13 to Natural History Museum Station

14, Wintersweet exhibition under high-voltage lines | Zhenru Park

It is the wintersweet season recently, so I went to Zhenru Park to enjoy the flowers on the last sunny day of this year (because it is relatively close to home, and other flower-viewing spots are farther away).

You can see the "Zhenru Wintersweet Exhibition" when you enter the main gate.

Walking in the park, you can see wintersweets in full bloom or about to wither everywhere, and there are also many old wintersweet bonsais placed along the road. There are actually many wintersweets whose leaves have not fallen yet. You should know that wintersweets generally "flowers and leaves do not meet each other". It is a relatively rare phenomenon that flowers and leaves are on the same branch. Usually, wintersweets start to bloom after all the leaves have fallen off. This phenomenon is mainly related to the temperature. Since winter, the low temperature weather has lasted for a short time, resulting in the old leaves on the trees not falling off, and the flower buds gradually open due to the stimulation of low temperature, resulting in the phenomenon of "flowers and leaves on the same branch".

Info:

Name: Zhenru Park

Address: No. 1894, Daduhe Road, Putuo District, Shanghai

Time: 06:00-20:00