People's Square - Shanghai Landmarks Puxi

People's Square - Shanghai Landmarks Puxi

People's Square Public transport:　People's Square can be reached by taking Shanghai Metro Line 1, Line 2 or Line 8 to People's Square station.     People's Square is a large public square just off of Nanjing Rd. in the Huangpu District of Shanghai. People's Square is the site of Shanghai's municipal government building, and is used as the standard reference point for measurement of distance in the Shanghai municipality. Prior to 1949, People's Square was a part of the horseracing course of Shanghai. After gambling and horseracing were banned, a part of the race course became the People's Square. In the 1990s, major changes were made to the square. The Shanghai Municipal Government was moved from the former HSBC Building, and the Shanghai Museum was also moved away from its previous site in a former office building. More recent additions include the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. Other parts of the race course still remain today. The clubhouse buildings became the Shanghai Art Museum, while part of the race track became People's Park, a public park. Prominent landmarks on and around the square include JW Marriott, Shanghai, Shanghai City Hall, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center and People's Park. Major department stores on and around the square include Raffles' City, Shanghai No.1 Department Store and Shanghai New World Department Store.     Shanghai Urban Planning Exihibition Center Add:　100 People Avenue Tel:　+86 21 63184477 Opening:　Monday to Thursday: 9 a .m.-5 p.m. ; last entry at 4 p.m. Friday to Sunday: 9 a .m. - 6 p.m. ; last entry at 5 p.m. Public transport:　No.1 Metro, No.2 Metro and No. 8 Metro (at People Square Station) Website: 　www.supec.org     The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center is located on People's Square, adjacent to the city's municipal government building. The Exhibition Center is a 6 story building, with two basement levels, which displays Shanghai 's urban planning and development. Exhibitions include models of planned and recent developments, as well as Shanghai 's history. The centrepiece of the exhibition is a huge scale model of the city of Shanghai, showing all existing and approved buildings. Visitors can view the model at "ground level", or ascend a gallery running around it for views from above. The model is intended to represent the entire city, including all planned developments. However, a few stout pillars, necessitated by the building design, penetrate the scale model. This means certain areas are missing from the model, and views of the model are sometimes obscured by the columns.     Shanghai Grand Theatre Add:　300 People's Boulevard, Huangpu District Tel:　+86 21 63868686 Websitesite:　www.shgtheatre.com     The Shanghai Grand Theatre is located at the intersection of People's Boulevard and South Huangpi Rd. in northern part of the People's Square in Huangpu District, Shanghai. The building was designed by French architect Jean-Marie Charpentier and covers a floor area of 11,528 m² . Interior design was by Studios Architecture. It was opened in 1998. With its unique style and beautiful outlook, the theatre has become a representative building in Shanghai, whose existence renders the People's Square virtually the city's center of politics and culture. The Shanghai Grand Theatre has 10 storeys, two for underground, two for lofts and six on the ground. It looks like a crystal palace in the light at night as the white arc-shaped roof joins coherently with the light-sensitive glass curtain wall. The lobby of Shanghai Grand Theatre is approximate 2,000 square meters with the white as its main tone, which signifies elegant and pure. A large chandelier, formed by six pan-pipes shaped lamp, is suspended in the lobby. The floor is made of a rare marble called "Greece Crystal White". The patterns shaped like piano digital, together with the pillar and the stairs, are full of rhythms. While being inside, it's really like staying in a musical world.     Shanghai Museum Add:　201 People's Avenue Tel::　+86 21 63723500 Hotline:　96968686 Opening:　open everyday ( 9 a .m.-5 p.m. ); 　　　 　　last entry at 4 p.m. , 　Sat. at 7 p.m. Website:　www.shanghaimuseum.net     The Shanghai Museum is a museum of ancient Chinese art, situated on the People's Square in the Huangpu District. ● 1952: Museum founded and first open to the public in the former Shanghai Racecourse club house, now at 325 W. Nanjing Rd.. ● 1959: Museum moved into the former Zhonghui Building at 16 S. Henan Rd., which previously housed insurance companies and bank offices. ● 1992: Museum allocated a piece of land on People's Square by the Shanghai municipal government, as its new site. Construction of the current building started in August 1993. It was inaugurated in October 12, 1996. It is 29.5 meters high with five floors, covering a total area of 39,200 m². Designed by a local architect, the new museum building is designed in the shape of an ancient, bronze, tripod cooking vessel called a ding. It is said that the inspiration for the design was specifically provided by the Da Ke Ding, now on exhibit in the museum. The building has round top and a square base, symbolising the ancient Chinese perception of the world as "round sky, square earth". The museum has a collection of over 120,000 pieces, including bronze, ceramics, calligraphy, furniture, jades, ancient coins, paintings, seals, sculptures, minority art and foreign art. It has eleven galleries and three special temporary exhibition halls. The permanent galleries are: ● Gallery of Ancient Chinese Bronze ● Gallery of Ancient Chinese Sculpture ● Gallery of Ancient Chinese Ceramics ● Gallery of Ancient Chinese Jades ● Gallery of Ancient Chinese Paintings ● Gallery of Ancient Chinese Calligraphy ● Gallery of Ancient Chinese Seals ● Gallery of Ancient Chinese Numismatics ● Gallery of Chinese Furniture in Ming and Qing dynasties ● Gallery of Arts and Crafts by Chinese Minorities The Shanghai Museum houses several items of national importance, including one of three extant specimens of a "transparent" bronze mirror from the Han Dynasty.     Shanghai Art Museum Add:　325 West Nanjing Rd., Shanghai Tel:　+86 21 6327282, 63272425 Opening:　daily, 9 a .m.-5 p.m. (last entry at 4 p.m. ) Tel:　www.sh-artmuseum.org.cn     The Shanghai Art Museum is an art gallery in the city of Shanghai, China. It is located in the former clubhouse building of the Shanghai Racing Club. Today, it is the home of the Shanghai biennial and stands adjacent to People's Square. The Art Museum also has a conference room for academic exchanges and art appreciation and an academic activity room, turning the museum into a modern art center that integrates collection and research, exhibition, aesthetic education, and art appreciation.     Nanjing Rd. Pedestrian Walkway Nanjing Rd., famed as “No I street in China”, is an epitome of Shanghai's history and culture, the 1,033-m long Pedestrian Walkway lies between the Bund and the People's Square. There are 600 shops on both sides of the walkway, the 100-   year old ones, famous-brand ones, specialty shops of different trades.