Reasons to visit the amazing Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest metropolis in China, where East meets West. If you are looking to view some of Chinas most famous traditional small houses in the shadow of an ultramodern city full of skyscrapers and luxury department stores and restaurants, close to shopping snack then Shanghai is definitely the place for you.

The city of Shanghai is growing and below are some reasons why you should plan a trip to this great metropolis.

The skyscrapers of Shanghai
The Shanghai Tower is a skyscraper of 632 meters, next to Jin Mao and the Shanghai World Financial Centre. The Shanghai Tower is currently under construction and will be officially completed in 2014 and according to the architectural firm in charge of the project, the building will reach the maximum height of Chinas skyscrapers and overtaking Shanghai World Financial Centre (also known as building “bottle opener”) by 80 meters.

Best Metro network
If you have not yet decided whether to go to Beijing or Shanghai, consider this: the Network of Shanghai Metro is the largest in the world. It is fast and safe and can take you anywhere in minutes. If you decide to travel to Beijing know that it has a total of more than 70 stops.

Exhibition of Shanghai Expo
The Shanghai Expo Memorial exhibition takes place at the former pavilion Expo. The 12,000 square meter exhibition features more than 2,000 objects from different participating countries. The exhibits include “giant baby”, a giant robot baby who welcomed guests to the Spanish pavilion in 2010, the skeleton of the Australian monkey Lucy and of course, copies of the mascot of Shanghai Expo, Haibao.The exhibition opened to the public almost 1.5 years ago and is expected to last until 2014. After the exhibition, most items will be transferred to the Museum of Shanghai Expo, the first such museum in the world. The construction of the museum will begin this year and the site is expected to open in 2015.

Shopping, shopping and shopping
The euro crisis and the economic recession can stop the optimism of Shanghai and the fury of consumption. Shopping Malls opening nonstop, one after another, in order to satisfy shoppers with … heavy wallets. It is worth mentioning the shopping centres ”art shopping mall” and the ”New World”.

Shanghai First Food
By reforming the shop Shanghai First Food, Shanghai will retrieve a piece of culinary history in 2013. Before the end of 2013, the Shanghai First Food will acquire the original look of 1920, the pedestrian Nanjing Dong Lu. The mall food will become one of the largest food retailers in the world. Try jiaxin binggan (biscuits) and jinhua huotui (type of meat).

X Games
If you love extreme sports, do not miss X Games Asia, one of the biggest sporting events of extreme sports on this side of the planet. The event of 2013 will be held in April for the sixth consecutive year in Shanghai’s historic Jiangwan Sport Centre (kic-jwsc.com) in Yangpu District. The organizers aim to repeat the successful hosting of last year (approximately 200 athletes competed and 62,100 spectators), with newly designed tracks and with the participation of the best athletes in the world of skateboarding, BMX biking and many more..

International Literary Festival
Almost a decade after the launch in 2003 of the International Literary Festival (SILF) of Shanghai, is the largest festival of its kind in China, attracting a huge number of artists, many of whom have been shortlisted or won major literary awards - Man Booker, National Book Award and Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize.

The World Chocolate Wonderland
Three delicious words: chocolate theme park. If this is not enough to convince you to go to Shanghai, what else can we say? The world’s First Chocolate Wonderland in Shanghai will be open until February. You will see amazing artefacts made of chocolate and of course you can eat your favourite dessert. Guests are invited to try their luck in the manufacture of chocolate and take their candy they made themselves.

With all these amazing places to go, see, and visit in Shanghai it might be worthwhile to go all-inclusive at Virgin Holidays in order to book a package holiday enabling you to make the most of your trip to Shanghai. 

This Article was brought to you by John. A travel blogger who loves sharing travel information and experience on travellers-stories.com and totaltravelblog.com