Lujiazui

Background

Lujiazui is in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, on a peninsula formed where the Huangpu River turns from flowing north to flowing east. It faces the Bund across the river, and Century Avenue is its main artery. The Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center and Shanghai Tower stand side by side on the riverbank; locals nickname the last three adjacent supertalls the "Lujiazui three-piece set". The Oriental Pearl Tower is made of spheres of different sizes and slanting support columns, and its design is said to have been inspired by the line "big pearls and small pearls falling on a jade plate" from Bai Juyi's poem "Song of the Pipa". The Riverside Promenade and the Lujiazui circular pedestrian bridge are classic spots for viewing the towers and the traffic; after dark the towers light up together and their reflections shimmer on the river. Lujiazui is named after the family of the Ming scholar-official Lu Shen, and the middle of the peninsula was once called Lannidu ("Mud Ferry"), an area of farmland, warehouses and wharves. A 1986 policy document first proposed developing Pudong, including a new financial and trading centre in Lujiazui; the policy of "developing and opening up Pudong" was officially announced in 1990, and Lujiazui was designated a special investment zone in 1992; in 2005 the State Council reaffirmed the 31.78 km² Lujiazui area as the only finance and trade zone among the 185 state-level development zones in mainland China; in 2015 the Shanghai Free Trade Zone was expanded to include it. In just over three decades, Lujiazui has turned from farmland east of the river into the landmark cluster of China's financial centre.

Local customs

• Go up to the observation decks of the Oriental Pearl Tower or Shanghai Tower to look over both banks of the Huangpu (tickets and opening hours subject to official information)
• stroll the Riverside Promenade to watch river boats and the historic buildings on the opposite bank
• walk the Lujiazui circular pedestrian bridge to see how the landmarks sit in relation to one another from above
• stay from late afternoon into the evening to watch the skyline change from daylight to illumination.

Travel tips

• Observation deck tickets, opening hours and accessible floors are subject to official information
• rain and fog limit the view from the top, so check the weather and visibility before you go
• the riverside is windy, so dress warmly in spring, autumn and winter.
• Take Metro Line 2 or 14 to Lujiazui Station
• ferries cross to Puxi from the Dongchang Road ferry terminal
• several cross-river routes, including the Yan'an East Road and Renmin Road tunnels, link to Puxi, details subject to official information. You can visit year-round, with spring and autumn best for walking outdoors
• in summer watch for heat and changeable typhoon-season weather
• winter river winds are cold, but the night lights are beautiful in every season.