Best of Shanghai Muslim Tour: Yu Garden, Xiaotaoyuan Mosque, Museum & the Bund

Yuyuan is the most famous garden located in the heart of Shanghai's Old City. The garden was constructed in 1577 by a government officer of the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644) named Pan Yunduan. It took him almost 20 years to construct the garden in an attempt to please his parents for them to enjoy a tranquil and happy time in their high ages. Yuyuan Garden 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 a nice place built in typical Chinese architecture style with lots of shops, bars and restaurants.

Located at Xiaotaoyuan Street in southern Shanghai, the Xiaotaoyan Mosque, also called the Xicheng Mosque, is one of the famous mosques in Shanghai. Shanghai Xiaotaoyuan Mosque was established in 1917 and rebuilt in 1925. Shanghai Xiaotaoyuan Mosque features the Islamic architectural style. Inside the gate there is a rectangular courtyard. On the west side of the hall stands the great prayer hall of 500 square meters, which can hold 200 prayers. The prayer hall has two storeys. In its center there is a vault dome, with minaret on the top. A three-storied hall building stands on the eastern side of the courtyard, and there is a library and a reading room on the second and the third floor respectively, and a sermon room on the first floor. There are the Imams’ rooms, reception room on the southern side of the courtyard.

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 from the former HSBC Building. More recent additions include the Shanghai Grand Theater and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.

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.

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.

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.