It was another nice day in Shanghai. We visited the Urban Planning Museum with its 3D scale model of downtown Shanghai and a 360 degree movie simulating a flyover of the city.

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Shanghai Urban Planning Museum

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We then toured the Shanghai Museum. I walked through seven beautiful galleries featuring sculpture, painting, coins, furniture, and clothing and made purchases at the museum shop. I definitely wished I had more time to spend there.

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Shanghai Museum

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Then we moved on to the French Concession. Lunch was on our own. Several of us decided on a pizza lunch at the Glasshouse Restaurant in Xintiandi, an upscale European-style retail/restaurant/bar area.

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Xintiandi in the Shanghai French Concession

Herb Garden Tea – non-alcoholic, but very exotic-looking

Glasshouse Restaurant

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Our day ended with dinner at Jean-Georges, a French restaurant on the Bund. Unfortunately, I will remember almost getting swept away by the never-ending holiday stampede of people while attempting to get to and from the restaurant more than the meal.

See more photos:

• Shanghai Museum
• Shanghai Urban Planning Center
• Xintiandi

We had nice warm weather for our tour of Shanghai, the largest city in China and a global financial hub. As it happened, this day (October 1st) was China’s National Holiday. Everyone was off work and the factories closed, so the air was relatively clean. We visited Old Shanghai Town, which actually has a mix of old and new buildings, and had a guided tour of Yu Garden, a classic Chinese garden where architecture plays as much of a role as the flowers, trees and shrubs.

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Old Shanghai Town and the Yu Garden

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The market was overloaded with people due to the holiday, so I did not attempt any shopping. Police started barricading the streets, so our tour director said it was time to move on so we wouldn’t get stuck there.

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Old Shanghai Town Market

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Our next stop was the TianHou Silk Factory and Store where we saw a demonstration of how silk was made. And, of course, there was ample time for shopping afterwards.
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TianHou Silk Factory and Store

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The Bund is the waterfront area along the Huangpu River which is noted for its neo-classical buildings. We had lunch (I actually considered it a dinner – and an excellent one) at “M on the Bund”, a European style restaurant overlooking the Huangpu River, that has great views of the modern Shanghai skyline. It is one of the top-rated restaurants in Shanghai. Our day ended with the Shanghai Acrobatic Show – great performances, but unfortunately no photography was allowed.

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View of the Shanghai Skyline from “M on the Bund”

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The Fairmont Peace Hotel, where we stayed, is a Shanghai landmark located in the Bund promenade and built in the Art Deco style. These photos were taken in the lobby.

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See more photos:

• Shanghai City Tour
• TianHou Silk Factory
• Yu Garden