Top Shanghai sites in a nutshell

Just like the expats and Chinese fleeing Beijing because of Olympics overload, every Shanghainese person I've met is totally over Shanghai's tourist sites. In fact, one of our guides even threatened to go get breakfast while we were in the Jade Buddha temple. So I'll make this brief, but impressionable.

Yuyuan Gardens: Built by the Pan family during the Ming dynasty, the Yuyuan Gardens begin with these pictures of the floating tea houses. The gardens are typical of Ming garden design, with ponds and swimming, orange carp, winding paths and plants growing out of cliff-like rockeries, according to my Lonely Planet guide book to China. It's an essential site to see in Shanghai, but the weekend crowd is overwhelming and your guide is like mine, he'll say, "If you see anyone who looks like they're from Xinjiang, watch your bag. They're always thieves." Stereotypes are an obstacle.

Jade Buddha Temple (Shown in the lower right picture with the ribbon-bound dragon): One of Shanghai's few active temples, the Jade Buddha Temple is an example of a Disney-ized Chinese landmark. Fortunately, this one's only about 100 years old. The temple was decked out in its Olympic best, complete with Chinese and Beijing Olympics flags waving everywhere, including the main worship hall. Donations made to the deities seemed to be oranges, fruits, 7-Up and Fanta.

Oriental Pearl Tower (cloudy picture bottom left): This Jetson's looking tower is the TV tower in Pudong, the new area on the East side of the Huangpu River. The observation deck is great, but only on sunny days. At 100 kuai, it's only worth it if you go to the historical museum inside. The language used on the museum signs (describing when Shanghai was a "metropolis infested with foreign adventurers") provide useful insight into party lines and stereotypes.

East Nanjing Road (in the video): Nanjing Road is a long pedestrian mall that dead ends at the Bund. This video shows the intersection of West Sichuan Road and East Nanjing Road, at the bicycle crossing. The flood of bicycles and motorbikes is still an unmatched characteristic of China. For a good clip of the Bund, Pudong and the nighttime look of Nanjing Road visit the YouTube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GRn8Y3NaxQ