Doorways of Shanghai

Temple guardians at the doors
of Shanghai's City God Temple, located within  
the Yuyuan Garden and Bazaar  complex.

Just thought of a photographic theme for this blog posting: some views of doors, doorways and archways of Shanghai, just to reflect on the diversity of architecture and design to be found in this most interesting and absorbing of cities. I've selected a few of the classical Chinese doors and entrances together with the more modern Edwardian and art deco designs for contrast.  

The carved stone entrance to the
famous Yuyuan classical gardens.

Two doorways of the HSBC
(now Pudong Development Bank)
Building on the Bund. 

Two more solid cast iron doors of the
Edwardian HSBC Building on the Bund,
and a window in between.

The imposing doorway of
Customs House on the Bund,
just north of the HSBC Building.

Art deco lattice work on the
gates and fences of the Jinjiang Hotel. 

An archway at Longhua Temple,
looking into the Bell Tower,

Moon-shaped gate to
Longhua temple garden.

A  gateway along a
busy street in Zhujiajiao.

Entrance to the famous
Covered Corridor Bridge (Lang Qiao)
which spans a canal in Zhujiajiao. 

Simple is beautiful.
A shop house on the
streets of Zhujiajiao.

Panoramas of Shanghai

Shanghai's Bund is always a major tourist attraction, with stunning views of the modernistic Pudong skyline juxtaposed with the older buildings on the Puxi side. 

So I visited Shanghai, China in November 2012 to attend a piano competition, but that also gave me ample time to do some sightseeing away from the keyboard pyrotechnics. Here are some panoramic views of Shanghai at its environs, taken with my trusty cheap Fujifilm camera.

The view of Pudong's skyscrapers from the Bund at night is a true spectacle. The lights come on at 7 pm  and  promptly go off at 10 pm.

The neoclassical buildings on the Bund itself are also quite a sight.

The Yuyuan Bazaar in the heart of old Shanghai is more than just a tourist trap. The Huxinting  Teahouse  built over a pond  and reached by the Nine-sectioned zigzag bridge is one of Shanghai's most photographed sites.

The Stalinist splendour of the Shanghai Exhibition Centre, previously known as the Sino-Soviet Friendship Centre. Socialist realism at its most hysterical.

 

The humongous scale model of Shanghai's urban landscape on the third floor of the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre.

 

A view of the suburbs that
seem to go on forever.
From the Longzimeng Plaza
near Zhongshan Park.

A short rail trip takes one to the
ancient water town of Qibao.
Its small, extremely crowded and touristy.

A better bet if one ventures
further afield to Zhujiajiao,
another Ming dynasty ancient river town.
Here is the view from the Fangshen Bridge,
the longest stone bridge
south of the Yangtze River. 

Intersected by canals and bridges,
Zhujiajiao is one of a number of ancient 
Chinese river towns which have been dubbed
the "Venice of the East".