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Two more Metro routes to start work
Shanghai Shentong Group announced the debut of Line 11 and the second phase of Line 9, at the end of a troubled week for Line 1, the city's oldest, which suffered a series of delays including the longest in its history after two trains collided last Tuesday.
"It's always good to learn of the opening of new lines despite all the troubles with subways," said a passenger, Chen Xi.
Both new lines will operate on a pilot basis, Shentong said, and will begin with a short daily schedule, 9am to 4pm. Within three months, the hours will be extended to 5:30am to 11pm.
The Metro authority said if the lines were to run more hours at the start, it would deny time for testing, "increasing the risk of breakdowns" - the last thing the operator wants to see.
The 6am to 9:50pm operation on the first phase of Line 9, Songjiang to Xuhui District, will not be affected.
The time between trains on Line 9 will be six minutes with a nine and a half minute interval on Line 11.
The second phase of Line 9, connecting with its first phase at Yishan Road Station, runs through city's busy business area, Xujiahui, and ends at Pudong's Century Avenue Station which it will link with three other lines - 2, 4 and 6.
Line 11 will be a 50-minute journey from suburban Jiading District to downtown Changning District's Jiangsu Road Station.
Line 11 will have 12 six-carriage trains which can travel at up to 100 kilometers per hour, the fastest subway in China. Line 9 will have 26 trains with the opening of its second phase.
The Metro authority said passengers will be able to transfer between Line 1 and Line 9 at Xujiahui Station and by next March they will be able to walk underground between the lines after a garage is converted into a station.
The station will have three lines when the second phase of Line 11 goes through by 2012.
Visitors to the 2010 World Expo can go to the Expo site at Line 9's Madang Road Station where ticket and security check points will be set.
From there they can take Line 13 to enter the site both in Puxi and Pudong.
Line 11, 33 kilometers long, will have 16 stations opening on Thursday, with four others on a branch line to open before the Expo, said the operator.
The Metro network will have 330 kilometers of track by the end of this month and 221 stations on its current 10 lines.
Expo To Dominate Souvenir Scene
The Shanghai Travel Souvenir Exhibition Center said half the visitors to the 2010 World Expo will buy souvenirs.
Their market survey showed that visitors willing to buy souvenirs will usually buy two to five pieces.
"The Expo souvenir purchasing peak will last for the whole six months that the Expo is held," said Fan Nengchuan, director of the Shanghai Tourism Development Research Center.
Souvenirs with the theme "tiger" will also be popular because next year will be the Year of Tiger.
Read more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=424249&type=Metro#ixzz0bVxLJrSS
Neighbors open hearts
The neighborhood has recently been designated as an "Expo Family" to welcome foreign guests during the Shanghai World Expo next year.
"We're the first neighborhood to exercise autonomy in Minhang," said Zhou Zhitong, the neighborhood's director.
In preparation for visitors, residents have set up hobby groups, charity foundations and volunteer teams.
Voluntary inspectors, usually retirees, university students and teachers, will hold weekly lectures on public manners and etiquette.
Dog owners must take a piece of paper, a lead and a plastic bag when walking their pets around the neighborhood. A special pet zone has been built for pet owners and larger dogs have to wear muzzles.
At the same time, another five Expo tourism sites have been unveiled showing the district's latest development.
They include Minhang Zizhu Science and High-tech Park, Pujiang Intelligence Valley, Shanghai Institute of Architectural Design and Research, Langrun Neighborhood and Xinqiao Art Park in Xijiao area, home to artists and designers.
The sites focus on the changes to city life brought by technological development.
Shanghai Institute of Architectural Design and Research in the Xinzhuang Industrial Park shows how technology makes the best of natural resources to protect the environment. The eco-friendly buildings are covered with solar battery panels on the roof and superior insulation in the walls.
Jinlin Road to be protected
Jing'an Temple and South Suzhou Road will also be added to the list, Oriental Morning Post reported today.
As one of the busiest commercial streets of old Shanghai, Jinlin Road features many southeastern-style terraces.
However, many of the facades were damaged since they were not protected, the report said.
The typical Shanghai-style shikumen lane houses will be preserved once they are listed.
The buildings will not be allowed to be demolished. More detail regulations are being worked on.
Peach of a time in peach blossom season Mar 28, 2009
THE Shanghai Peach Blossom Festival runs from today through April 12 in Nanhui District. There are not only flowers galore but also a food gala, folk arts, an old town and more tourist lures, reports Tan Weiyun
To Chinese, peaches mean longevity, prosperity and luck in love, so lovers and hopeful who want to improve their odds will be holding hands under blossoming peach trees in Nanhui District starting today.
The annual Shanghai Peach Blossom Festival runs through April 12 and there are 6,667 hectares of peach groves, with trees in full blossom. In Nanhui Flower Port, the multicolored tulips are in full bloom.
Many Chinese folk stories say lovers who meet under a blossoming peach tree will be very lucky in love.
Nanhui District is the largest peach-planting area in eastern China and has several charming villages. Visitors can wander about the countryside, meet hospitable farm families, sample local delicacies, take a lazy boat ride and enjoy demonstrations of folk arts, crafts and music.
"This year's winter was warmer than previous years, which accelerates the blooming," said Song Qingjun, the Nanhui government spokesman. "As the temperature rises, the flowers are coming into their full bloom."
Last year's big snowstorms delayed the blooming.
Nanhui's flower fete is in its 19th year and the festival has become a delightful part of city residents' springtime itineraries. Last year more than 500,000 visitors enjoyed the blossoms; more than 600,000 are expected this year.
In Chinese culture, the peach blossom, with its dainty pink petals, symbolizes longevity, growth and prosperity. The flower is said to protect people from evil spirits. But its mythical love-potion qualities are most endeared it to the Chinese people.
Nanhui has four big peach villages in Datuan, Laogang (Binhai Resorts), Xinchang and Huinan towns where visitors appreciate the rosy landscape and celebrate the return of spring.
But the flower carnival is just part of the fun.
Winter-weary visitors can stroll quiet countryside paths lined with willowy bamboo or take a slow boat on interlaced canals to get a view of towns and villages on the water.
Tourists can also venture into the homes of hospitable farmers and indulge themselves in local delicacies such as the district's famed melons, free-range chicken, and glutinous-rice pastry.
There are lion dances, stilt walking, paper-cut demonstrations and other folksy pastimes on offer by local artists.
In addition to its flowers, Nanhui offers dozens of tourist attractions. There are cultural relics, modern resorts, the thousand-year-old Xinchang Old Town where Ang Lee filmed part of "Lust, Caution." There's the Yangshan Deep-Water Port, Shanghai Wild Animal Park, Shanghai Flower Port, Binhai Forest Park, the 36-hole Binhai Golf Course, among other attractions.
During the flower festival, Xinchang Old Town launches a food gala featuring traditional local snacks and Taiwanese cuisine for gourmets.
At the festival closing, 2010 lighted Kongming Lanterns will express good wishes for the World Expo Shanghai 2010. The ancient-type lanterns are made of paper on a bamboo frame. There's a small candle or electric light inside.
To make visits easier for city dwellers, the festival committee is launching several one-day trips to Nanhui, in cooperation with the Shanghai Tourist-Transport Center and China Spring Tour.
How to get there
1. A20 - Nanliu Road - Nanlu Road - Dongda Road
2. A2 - Daye Road - Dongda Road
3. A30 - Dongda Road
More choices to NY Mar 27, 2009
CONTINENTAL Airlines of the United States yesterday launched the first daily nonstop flight from Shanghai to New York using a Boeing 777-200 jet.
Flights take off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 3:45pm. So far only China Eastern Airlines operates direct flights between the two cities four times weekly.
Another cruise ship port for Shanghai Mar 14, 2009
A SECOND cruise-ship terminal will open in April, 2010, enabling the city to cope with a boom of the industry.
More than 30 luxury passenger liners are scheduled to dock in Shanghai this month - a city record - bringing 25,000 visitors to town, Lu Jun, a media coordinator with Shanghai port immigration police said on Thursday.
About 20 percent of cruise ships now have to dock at the mouth of the Yangtze River because they're too big to fit under the Yangpu Bridge over the Huangpu River, forcing tourists to spend up to four hours on buses getting into the city and back to their ships even though they may only have a 12-hour stopover.
The new terminal is closer to town, located at Paotai Bay in Wusong Port, Baoshan District. It will include three berths, the same as Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal on the North Bund, with a capacity to handle 70,000-ton vessels.
The new terminal will also include ferry services to downtown Shanghai as well as buses.
More than 150,000 foreign and Chinese tourists arrived here on cruise ships last year, 17 percent more than in 2007.
Last year 112 cruise ships stopped in the city, 10 more than in 2007.
According to the port authority, cruise ship arrivals will increase 12 percent this year.
Next year's World Expo is expected to attract even more cruise ships and double the number of visitors arriving in the city on them.
Police also confirmed that construction will be completed next month on the last building at Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal.
Visitors to Expo will be offered tours of China Mar 10, 2009
SHANGHAI will develop three tour packages for visitors who may want to see more of China when they come to the city for World Expo 2010, a local deputy to the National People's Congress said yesterday.
The packages will cover the Yangtze River Delta region and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, local NPC deputy Wang Zhan said yesterday in Beijing.
Although the finer details of each package have yet to be worked out, Wang said the first package will include trips to other cities in the Yangtze River Delta region. The second package will include all the scenic spots along the Grand Canal, the oldest and longest man-made canal in the country.
"The canal was the inspiration for many novels during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties," Wang said.
Wang also said they are considering developing three cruise ship routes departing from Shanghai. The northern route could include stops in Qingdao and Dalian cities, while the southern route could include the cities of Ningbo and Xiamen. A Yangtze River cruise would make stops in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.
Yang Jing, an official with the Shanghai Tourism Administration, said both domestic and international travelers will want to see more than just Shanghai when they come for Expo 2010.
"Last year we started promoting several Expo tour packages within Shanghai, but we knew it was not enough," Yang said. "Expo visitors will want to see more in China."
More than 70 million visitors are expected in Shanghai for the Expo between May and October next year.
Expo tickets set to go on sale Feb 26, 2009
TICKETS for the World Expo 2010 will go on sale for groups on March 27 and for the public on July 1.
The basic ticket price will be 160 yuan (US$22.40). Foreigners will be able to buy tickets from overseas outlets authorized by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.
From March 27 to June 30, group bookings can be made for organizations, institutions and enterprises. The public can buy tickets from July 1, Zhong Yanqun, fulltime deputy director of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai Executive Committee, told a press conference today.
Peak day admission tickets will cost 200 yuan and will cover 17 days including Chinese Labor Day holiday (May 1-3), National Day holiday (October 1-7), and the last week before closing (October 25-31).
Tickets will be discounted from 10 to 30 yuan for those who buy before the Expo opens on May 1, 2010.
People going to the Expo after 5pm (apart from the peak days) can get tickets for 90 yuan but only during Expo.
Three-day passes will cost 400 yuan and seven-day passes 900 yuan.
At least 62 million tickets will be available, said Chen Xianjin, deputy director general of the Expo Bureau.
Discounts will also be offered to the disabled, senior citizens, students with valid IDs and Chinese servicemen and women. Children under 1.2 meters will not have to pay.
The basic price is "affordable" for the majority of people, and amounts to around 1 percent of the Chinese per-capita disposable income for last year, Zhong said, noting that it was common practice to set ticket prices within the 1 to 3-percent range of the host country's per-capita disposable income.
The average ticket price will be 96 yuan taking into consideration the discounts available, Zhong said.
The Expo organizer will encourage people to reserve tickets in advance or buy group tickets in an attempt to control visitor flow, Zhong said. The organizer is expecting 70 million visitors, 5 percent of whom will be from overseas.
The organizer will appoint domestic and overseas agencies to sell tickets and there will be 3,200 sales outlets in China. People will be able to purchase tickets at branches of China Mobile, China Telecom, Bank of Communications and China Post. Online and hotline channels will also be opened.
The first domestic and overseas ticket sales agencies will sign contracts with the organizer on March 2.
During Expo, visitors will be able to buy tickets on site or at kiosks. The Expo Bureau will appoint travel agents to organize group tours.
Sightseeing bus route unveiled Feb 23, 2009
A SIGHTSEEING bus connecting 17 scenic spots in Huangpu District including People's Square, Yuyuan Garden and the Bund will be put into operation in the fourth quarter of this year, government officials has said.
The new route will start from the sightseeing bus center on Waima Road under the Nanpu Bridge in the district and pass by Peace Hotel, the Bund tourist tunnel, People's Square and some other major commercial and cultural tourist areas before circling back to the bus center.
Tourists can get on and off the buses at each of the 17 scenic spots as many times as they like in one day using the same ticket, Xia Juping, an official with the tourist bureau of Huangpu District, said last Friday.
He added tourists with a bus ticket can also enjoy discounts at the scenic spots and some hotels.
The buses will run every half hour and the ticket will cost upward of 40 yuan (US$5.85) per person.
Four double-decker buses with open tops will be used and commentary will be given in eight languages including English, French, German, Italian and Arabic.
Xia had great confidence that the new bus route would be popular among local tourists, although several similar sightseeing bus routes in the city have been closed or fallen into bad repair.
"We have learned a lot about running sightseeing buses from countries such as Italy and Britain," he said.
Discount tickets in 18 Tourist Sites Feb 21, 2009
THE city will offer 50 percent discounts to the admission prices of 18 scenic spots every Tuesday until April 28. Almost all Shanghai's scenic spots will be discounted, including Shanghai Wildlife Park, said the Shanghai Tourism Administration. Meanwhile, an orchid exhibition has opened at Shanghai Botanical Garden featuring 200 orchids.
Food street's final order Feb 19, 2009
ALL snack shops on the east section of Shanghai's Wujiang Road are to be shut by the end of this year and replaced with skyscrapers.
The famous snack street will become home to up-market shopping malls, according to a plan released by the Jing'an District government.
Between Shimen Yi Road in the west and Qinghai Road in the east, the street is part of a relocation program for the Dazhongli area, where HKR International Ltd and Swire Properties Ltd will join to build two tall commercial buildings and three hotels.
The Dazhongli area has been designated for high-end commercial buildings, according to the plan.
The 500-meter-long street is divided into two sections, east and west, by Shimen Yi Road.
The west section of the street reopened last June after two years of renovation with a selection of cafes, restaurants and boutiques on both sides of the pedestrian area.
Relocation work on the street's east section began in the last four months of last year, officials said.
The district authority gave notice to stores last September, asking them to move quickly as they could, according to a store worker in the street.
The Xiaoyang Fried Dumpling Shop and the Ruby Cake Shop on Wujiang Road have opened new shops in the west section.
But unlike these chain stores, most snack shops haven't found suitable or affordable locations nearby.
"I have to find another place to continue my business. So far I haven't found a suitable one. I also worried about how my business will go on in a new environment," said Xu Shouhua, a 42-year-old grocery owner.
The manager of a grilled fish store said his store was likely to close if he could not find a place with the proper rent and location.
The store has been popular with customers since its opening in 2006.
More than 10 snack vendors have already shut their restaurants.
The street has lost many customers during the week, although weekends and holidays were still busy, a security guard said.
Some visitors said they felt sorry about the demolition and that local culture was gradually being lost in the city's fast modernization.
"Wujiang Road not only has many kinds of Shanghai-flavor snacks, but also means a memory of Shanghai style to lots of locals," said Zhang Lei, a university student.
some, however, support the renovation.
"To some extent, Wujiang Road is a window of Shanghai. So it is necessary to improve the environment," said a local resident surnamed Song.
Milestone passed in Bund-area renovation Jan 23, 2009
FUTURE tourists to Shanghai's famed Bund may find their experience freshened by tanks holding tropical fish and special walls that change color as wind conditions change, officials said yesterday.
But the biggest attraction, as always, will be the view: the stately old structures on the west bank of the Huangpu River and the futuristic skyline that seems to be breaking new height records each week on the east side.
The biggest change to that cityscape in decades is an ongoing project to remove the previous exhaust-choked roadway that visitors had to cross before reaching the riverbank and place it underground.
That effort passed a major milestone yesterday with the start of digging for the 1.2-kilometer northern section of the underground roadway. The southern portion, running 2.1 kilometers, was already being built.
When the nearly 5-billion-yuan (US$731 million) renovation project is completed in early 2010, visitors will find a riverfront promenade featuring shops, restaurants and sightseeing attractions. The only traffic will be four unobtrusive bus lanes.
Backed by China's widest digging machine, workers are now creating the tube for a multi-level vehicle passage for the north part of the project, the Bund Passage Project Headquarters said yesterday.
The 14.27-diameter machine started digging at Tiantong Road in Hongkou District and is expected to reach the other end near Fuzhou Road in Huangpu District in June.
For the southern section, which faced a more complicated underground situation, builders are using a different technique. Rather than tunneling underground, they are digging in from above.
"We have already finished nearly two-thirds of the construction for the underground passage on the South Bund," Mao Anji, manager of the project, said in an interview with Shanghai Daily.
"While the machine continues tunneling underground in the north, work in the southern area of the Bund this year will focus on ground level to bring a brand new look to the future tourist walkways along the riverbank."
He said planners are now selecting proposals submitted by top designers from China and overseas to find the best ideas for reconstructing the Bund promenade.
"There will be elevated viewing platforms along the riverside. We are aiming to complete the design with perfect artistic taste," Mao said.
Potential decorative touches include tropical fish tanks alongside the sightseeing platforms, waterfall walls and wind-sensitive walls that change color according to the breeze.
Construction in the North Bund has it own challenges as the powerful digging shield will run near the foundation of two historic buildings: the Astor House Hotel and Broadway Mansions Hotel.
Builders said that they have already taken precautions to protect the buildings' foundations from damage and to avoid land subsidence.
Xintiandi readies for New Year's Eve Party Dec 26, 2008
HONG Kong pop singers Eason Chan and Sandy Lam will sing, dance and play their way into 2009 at Xintiandi's traditional Countdown Party on New Year's Eve.
The party is held at Taipingqiao artificial lake and the ingenious stage features giant laser projections of water, brilliant lights and a spectacular magnolia-shaped countdown device.
The stage on the lake is just meters way from the audience and Chan and Lam can interact with the celebrants.
This is the second year Xintiandi cooperates with the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination. New theme songs for Expo Shanghai will be performed.
Through Sunday, anyone who spends a combined total of 500 yuan (US$73) with two or more Xintiandi or Corporate Avenue tenants - and pays 50 yuan in cash - will get a ticket to the Countdown Party.
All donations are to benefit the Shanghai Youth Development Foundation for children in need.
Shops open late for New Year's Dec 25, 2008
DEPARTMENT stores in downtown Jing'an District may stay open to welcome in the New Year.
The Shanghai Jing'an Economic Committee recently issued a notice to major shopping centers along Nanjing Road W. to encourage them to extend their opening hours from 10pm to past midnight on December 31.
It is expected to be the first time that the hundreds of shops in malls such as the Jiuguang City Plaza and Westgate Mall in the commercial hub will celebrate New Year's Day by being open for business past midnight.
The economic committee also called on stores to extend their marketing promotions until the Chinese Lunar New Year's Day on January 26.
Stores in the commercial hub of the Jing'an Temple are among many local retailers looking to the holiday season to boost sales after slower economic growth prompted consumers to tighten their purse strings.
Many have decorated their shops and are offering big discounts and themed promotions covering clothes, jewelry and cell phones.
Some stores are offering money-off coupons and cash refunds depending on how much customers spend. Others are holding lucky draws and entertainment performances to attract more customers.
As Min Min knows, the stores in Nanjing E Road also have promotions and open over 12pm:D Shopping Time!
Be sure to book ferry trips early Dec 25, 2008
MORE than 10 million passengers are expected to use the city's ferries and cruise ships during the Spring Festival transport peak and restrictions will be placed on ticketing soon, Shanghai transport officials said yesterday.
The 40-day transport peak starts on January 11.
The number of passengers is only slightly up from a year earlier but is still challenging, given the city's water-traffic capacity, officials said.
To curb ticket touting, new rules on ticket sales will take effect during the peak period.
For provincial ferry rides, passengers will be required to book tickets 10 days before departure using identification cards. Tickets are then issued three days before departure. Each person will only be able to buy three tickets for provincial trips.
The same restrictions will apply to ferry tickets between Shanghai's downtown area and the three local islands.
Changning International Library Dec 7, 2008
A dedicated international library in Shanghai opens in the Hongqiao area of Changning District offering foreigners a reading center in China.
The "Window on China" International Library and Reading Center is on the eighth floor of the new Changning Library on Tianshan Road, near the entrance to Metro Line 2.
Address: 8/F, Changning Library, 365 Tianshan Rd (next to No. 1 entrance to the Weining Road Station of Metro Line 2)
Important News
BULLET trains with sleeping compartments will replace all the daily Z trains between Shanghai and Beijing from April 1, cutting travel times to 10 hours, the Shanghai Railway Administration announced yesterday. One-way fares for an upper berth on the bullet trains will be 655 yuan (US$95.80) compared to the Z trains' 478 yuan. A lower berth will cost 730 yuan, up from 499 yuan.
We Are Waiting For ->
Expo 2010, which will run from May 1 through October 31, is expected to attract more than 400,000 people on average every day. The number will reach more than 600,000 on peak days.
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