Shanghai, a booming city of nearly 13 million, is C'hina's leading industrial and financial center.

Dynamic, sophisticated and a pacesetter for China and much of Asia, Shanghai has both cultural and commercial riches.

The two best stops for a glimpse of old Shanghai are the Jade Buddha Temple and the Yu Garden. Managed by robed monks, the temple's main attraction is a six-foot Burmese Buddha carved from a single chunk of white jade.

The l 6th-century Yu Garden is a sprawling complex of fish ponds, pavilions and pagodas bordering what is called the Old Town. Visitors should be sure to stop for lunch at the charming Huxinting Teahouse and then walk along the narrow alleys surrounding the garden for a glimpse of typical Shanghai neighborhoods.

In the old French conccssion and along the Btmd, a row of European mercantile buildings, built in the 1930s, on the west bank of the Huangpu River, Shanghai has a distinct Art Deco architectural profile.

Many visitors opt for an overnight harbor sail, viewing from the cruise ship's deck the Bund and Shanghai city skyline bathed in evening light and the locals doing exercises with the sunrise.

Just as the Bund is China's Wall Street, Nanjing Road is rapidly becoming the equivalent of Fifth Avenue.


It is the epitome of Shanghai chic, with all the latest French and Italian fashiotas and cosmetics.

The quintessential Shanghai form of entertainment, incidentally, is a performance at the Shanghai Acrobatic Theater.