Private Shanghai Religious Tour: Jade Buddha Temple & St Ignatius Cathedral

You will be picked up from your hotel in Shanghai and taken in an air-conditioned car or mini coach (depending on the number of passengers) for a sightseeing tour of Shanghai. An English-speaking tour guide will accompany you on this tour. The highlights of your tour include: • Jade Buddha Temple: Located in the western part of the city, it is the most famous Buddhist temple in Shanghai. In 1882, a monk named Huigen left two of five jade Buddha statues brought from Burma in Shanghai and built a temple there to keep them, each carved out of a single piece of white jade. Still inhabited by monks, the temple consists of three main halls and two courtyards. • St.Ignatius Cathedral: St.Ignatius Cathedral (open from 1pm to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday) is located in the Xujiahui area, bordering the western end of the former Frenchtown. This 90-year old Gothic Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Shanghai. It was built in 1906. Today this neo-Gothic edifice is an active Catholic cathedral, with a congregation of over 2000 people on Sundays. Heavily influenced by the European style from the 12th to 16th centuries, it features two high tapering steeples set to the left and right of its frontal facade. The cathedral is best appreciated inside with the segments of its vaulted roof creating a rhythmic pattern. There is a strongly vertical feature to its design as though thrusting towards the heavens. It featured in the opening shots of Spielberg's film Empire of the Sun. • Old City: The Old City is located to the west of the Bund and Huangpu River and south of Nanjing Road. It offers a stark contrast to the bustling city of Shanghai. Narrow streets and alleys, traditional Chinese stores, restaurants selling delicious dumplings can be seen here. Prior to 1911, Shanghai, Old Town, was a walled city made up mainly of fishermen, but the walls of the city were torn down to allow freerer movement and easier trade. The centre then, as now, was the Yu Garden and the Huxingting Tea House. Both are not to be missed. Stop for lunch in one of the many restaurants that dot this town and savour authentic Chinese fare. At the end of the tour, you will be dropped back at your hotel in Shanghai.