Shanghai - Shanghai visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Shanghai' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Shanghai.

Shanghai is the largest city in China and one of the largest metropolitan areas on earth, housing over 18 million people. Shanghai started out as a fishing village on the mouth of the Yangtze River but flourished as an essential port after the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. By 2005 Shanghai Port grew to become the largest cargo port on earth.

This virtual tour of Shanghai shows a growing collection of 360 panoramas taken around the city by various photographers. Simply select a pin on the map to begin exploring Shanghai for yourself.

The rich history has also contributed to Shanghai becoming an important tourist destination, rich in both cultural and historical sights, prolific shopping and world class hotels. Among the top attractions are:

• Yuyuan Garden - the largest ancient garden broken into six different areas and buildings built in Ming and Qing styles. The Grand Rockery is world famous, and nearby is the City God Temple of Shanghai. Yuyuan Gardens originated in 1559.
• The Bund - also called 'Waitan' or 'Zongshan Lu', an area on the eastern bank of Huangpu River, rich in architecture from the 1920's. Important buildings here include the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation former HQ, Peace Hotel and Bank of China and The Bund also contains a growing number of boutique shops.
• Pudong - full of 20th century sky scrapers, modern architecture, the People's Square and fantastic shopping along Nanjing Road.
• Chenghuang Temple (City God Temple) - Taoist temple from the 15th century, contains the 'city gods' of Shanghai.
• Jade Temple - the most famous Buddhist temple in Shanghai, it contains tow White Jade Buddhas were brought here from Burma in the nineteenth century and impressive images of the Heavenly Kings.
• Longhua Gongyuan Park - contains a seven-story pagoda temple built in 977.
• Shanghai Museum - reputedly one of the best museums in China, located on the south side of People's Square.
• Confucius Temple of Jiading Description - 13th century in Jiading about 19km northwest of Shanghai
• Dianshan Hu Lake - covering an area of 60sq.km stretching about 31 miles west of Shanghai
• Xingshengjiano si Ta Pagoda (Four-cornered Pagoda Description) - known locally as Fang Ta this 9-storey pagoda dates from the 11th century. It stands in Songjiang, some 30km southwest of Shanghai
• Garden of Natural Beauty Description - known locally as Guyi Yuan, this garden covers 16 acres and was laid out in the 16th century in Nanxiang, a small village 8km northwest of Shanghai

Plane: International flights to Pudong Airport, and domestic flights to Hongqiao Airport.
Train: Shanghai Railway Station and Shanghai South Railway Station, with daily direct services to Beijing and Hong Kong.
Ferry: Ferry services to Hong Kong and Kobe or Osaka in Japan.