Located at the center of the mainland's coastline, Shanghai has long been a major hub of communications, transportaion, and international exchange. The municipality covers an area of 6,341 square kilometers and has a population of more than 13.5 million. Shanghai is China's largest economic comprehensive industrial base, and a famous historical and cultural city.

The city consistently attracts investment and is seen as an ideal venue for business gatherings. It is also a must on any agenda during a tour of China. Shanghai has fostered a comprehensive transportation network that incorporates land, sea, and air travel, as well as a convenient urban transportation system. More than 300 airlines serve the city, proving direct flights to more than 20 countries and regions. The addition of the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which went into operation in 1999, is expected to increase the annual passenger volume to some 20 million.

Special tourist trains running between Shanghai and the neighboring provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as tourist bus routes along newly-constructed expressways, offer great convenience for regional travel. Shanghai has more than 400 travel agenties to assist visitors, and the 127 star-rated hotels offer a total of 40, 000 guest rooms.

Visitors to Shanghai are not only dazzled by the modernmetropolis and gateway to a developing China, but are also able to immerse themselves in the unique Shanghai culture, a combination of Chinese and Western elements. Colorful festivals and cele-brations dot the yearly Shanghai activities calendar, such as the Shanghai Nanhui Peach Blossoms Festival, Shanghai International Tea Culture Festival and Shanghai China International Art Festival.

Shanghai has also introduced special tour packages aimed at the different interests of visitors, such as bicycling tours, hiking tours, gourmet tours, rehabilitation and health care tours, study tours, Japanese young women's tours, honey moon tours, and convention and exhibition tours.

The Yuyuan Garden on the road of the same name in downtown is perhaps the best example of classical gardens of Shanghai. Built in 1559, or the 38th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Ming, the garden is laid out in an intricate manner, with buildings out in an intricate manner, with buildings spaced providently and courtyards mutually containing, and all the components of the complex zare cunningly grouped to camouflage a rather camped space. As a paragon of the south Chinese landscaping style of the Ming and Qing dynasties, it is a MUST for all visitors to Shanghai. The neighboring Yuyuan Bazaar, known among old-timers as "Old City God's Temple Market", is a rising tourist and shopping center where visitors loitering among a cluster of shops, restaurants and recreation facilities invariably find themselves making a tour of discovery of local folklore and Ming and Qing architecture.

The Yangpu and Nanpu bridges are, at 7,658 and 8,346 metres respectively, among the longest bridges of the world. Both are of the double cable-stayed suspension type with a long span. Open 8:30-17:00.

Flanked on both sides by famed shopping centers, department stores, specialty stores, exotic restaurants and cultural and recreational facilities, the 5-km-long Nanjing Road is the most sophisticated shopping and tourist complex in Shanghai. Every day it is thronged by more than 1 million visitors.

The "Oriental Pearl" TV Tower is a new landmark of Shanghai which faces the Bund across the Huangpu River at Lujiazui, the busiest part of Pudong new Area. At a height of 468 metres, it is the tallest TV tower in Asia. An elevator whisks visitors to the tower's observational deck at a height of 263 metres, where they can feast their eyes on a panoramic view of shanghai. The tower is equipped with tourist service facilities, including eateries, shops, recreational including eateries, shops, recreational centers and a hotel. Open 8:30-21:30.

The well-known Bund is a must for visitors to Shanghai. Fifty-two buildings lining the narrow shoreline of the Huangpu River offer a living exhibition of Gothic, Baroque,Roman,Classic Revival and Renaissance architectural styles, as well as combinations of Chinese and Western styles. They are also a condensation of the recent history of the city. The wide embankment offers ample room for strolling and is used by locals for morning exercises and evening gatherings. In the evening, colorful lights illuminate the area and create a shimmering image deserving of the name Pearl of the Orient.