Holiday Inn Downtown Shanghai is located approximately 11 miles from Hong Qiao International Airport. This location is also within walking distance of the Shanghai Railway Station and Underground Subway, two miles from the Shanghai Grand Theater and the Jing An Temple, three miles from the Bund and Xiang Yang Market, four miles from Yu Yuan Garden and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, and 30 miles from Pudong International Airport.

Hotel amenities include the sauna, fitness room, beauty salon, gift shop, business center, Yue Garden (Chinese restaurant), Angel's Cafe (24-hour buffet restaurant), Xi's Garden (Shanghai cuisine), Lobby Lounge, and Moon Bar. The hotel also offers room service, valet laundry service, concierge assistance, babysitting, currency exchange, and free parking.

All rooms feature satellite TV, coffeemakers, minibars, bathrobes, hairdryers, high-speed Internet access, safes, individual climate controls, irons and ironing boards, voicemail, and work desks.

Holiday Inn Downtown Shanghai Property Information:

Rooms: 510
Floors: 34

Holiday Inn Downtown Shanghai Service

Fitness facility
Car rental desk
Free high speed internet
Nonsmoking
Meeting room
Dining
Business center
Family rooms
Free parking
Tennis court
Wheel chair access

Holiday Inn Downtown Shanghai Reservation Policies:

Check-In: 1400
Check-Out: 1200

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Shanghai Events & Entertainment

Late January

Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)

Chinese New Year is one of the best known, the most widely celebrated and certainly the oldest New Year festivals in the world. Chinese communities all over the globe have made it a big event in their respective communities, but there's no better place to witness the start of the new lunar year than in China itself.

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, falls on the first day of the first lunar month. The date changes in the Western calendar each year. The preparations start long before the event and the festivities last for around 15 days, ending with the Lantern Festival.

In China the New Year is widely celebrated, and everything closes down, officially, for four days. People jam the transport networks to get home to their families. Preparations begin about a month before the day itself, building up to huge house-cleaning sessions to sweep out bad luck. Doors and windows are freshly painted - the colors for the festival are red (for happiness) and gold (for wealth) - and decorative paper cut outs and paintings are put up. Poetic couplets expressing wishes for happiness and longevity, written on rolls of red paper, are traditionally put on gateposts and doors.

On the night itself, almost everyone in China holds a huge family dinner of seafood and dumplings, as well as the traditional New Year cakes. Then, at midnight, fireworks light up the skies all over the country. On the next day, people traditionally visit relatives, friends and neighbors with new year greetings ("Gong Xi Fa Cai": "Happy and Prosperous New Year"), and married couples give Hong Bao (red packets of money) to children and unmarried adults. There are also high-energy dragon dances, lantern shows, and other entertainments throughout the celebrations.

+86 (0) 10 66 03 11 85

Lantern Festival

+86 (0)10 6601 1122

Admission is free.

The streets of Shanghai light up at night during this huge festival as revelers walk about holding Chinese lanterns. Legend claims that the lanterns protect citizens from being attacked and hauled away by evil spirits lurking in Shanghai's air space..

January

Ringing of the Bell

One hundred eight honored Buddhists ascend the Drum Tower in Longhua Park to strike the temple bell at midnight on New Year's Eve each year. According to ancient Buddhist doctrine, each stroke of the bell represents one kind of earthly happiness.

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, falls on the first day of the first lunar month - the date changes in the Western calendar each year. The Longhua Temple is a great place to head for the event - it has always done its own spectacular thing for local worshippers and tourists alike. The temple's vegetarian dishes are very popular with tourists, but on New Year's Eve "over-year noodles" are the only choice - a dish that represents wealth and success in the coming year.

+86 (0) 10 66 03 11 85

Early April

Tomb Sweeping Day

China's Tomb Sweeping Day, every year in April, is a day for worshipping ancestors; people visit the graves of their departed relatives and burn "ghost money" (money for use in the afterworld) in their honor.

Also called Qingming Day, this tradition is observed by millions of Chinese all across the world. It has its roots partly in the half-legendary huge resettlements that were ordered during the Ming Dynasty, when thousands of families were ordered first to Konglong county before being sent to their final destinations.

Thus, to this day, many Chinese believe their ancestors came from that county. The event also appeals to many overseas Chinese who identify their own diaspora with that of the people who suffered under the Ming rulers.

+86 (0) 10 6520 1114

Early April

Shanghai International Tea Culture Festival

Hundreds of thousands of tea lovers, experts and tea producers make it to Shanghai for the International Tea Culture Festival. As well as plenty of impressive tea ceremonies, visitors get to taste a good few brands as activities spread around town, attend seminars and visit famous tea spots.

The history of the tea culture festival goes back to when the Revolutionary History Exhibition Hall in Zhabei District opened the Songyuan Teahouse

+86 (0) 10 6520 1114

Early April

Longhua Temple Fair

Longhua Park is famous for its ancient temple, the Longhua Pagoda, its evening bell-striking ceremony and beautiful peach blossoms. It is especially worth visiting during the Longhua Temple fair, the largest in Shanghai and said to be the day when dragons visit the temple to help grant people's wishes.

Stalls surround the temple and thousands of people go to the booths selling every kind of traditional Chinese food and crafts. The temple is decorated spectacularly, and lit at night to full effect.

+86 (0) 10 6520 1114

Early-Mid June

Dragon Boat Festival

Every year, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, a number of Chinese cities (as well as overseas Chinese all across the world) commemorate the death of poet Qu Yuan in ancient times by staging a Dragon Boat Festival. Usually celebrations go on before and after, but there's one day of races.

Qu Yuan lived as a courtier in the court of the Chou Dynasty until one day he was thrown into the sea after maltreatment at the hands of a corrupt and evil official. When the local fishermen learnt of the poet's demise, they apparently set to in their boats, trawling the waters to find him. Their efforts were unsuccessful so they threw rice dumplings into the sea, thumping the water with their paddles to prevent the poor poet being eaten by piranhas.

An important part of this timeless celebration is the eating of zongzi - the pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.

+86 (0) 10 66 03 11 85

Mid June

Shanghai International Film Festival

The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) fills various venues around the city, presenting over 900 official films from more than 60 countries. Founded in 1993, it is the only international film festival in China and has Grade-A international status.

The nine-day event is made up of four strands: the Jin Jue Award International Film Competition, the International Film Panorama, the International Film Market and the Jin Jue International Film Forum.

+86 (0) 10 66 03 11 85

Mid September

Chinese Moon Festival

Also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, China's Moon Festival is celebrated around town and especially in people's homes. Traditionally it marks the end of the harvest season.

The festival is marked by the making and eating of "moon cakes" - round pastries filled with sweet fillings. In Shanghai, the favorite filling is a red bean paste. Houses are decorated with colored animal-shaped paper lanterns and altars are piled with round fruits to symbolize the shape of the moon. The evening is spent moon-gazing in the company of family, before enjoying a feast at midnight.

+86 (0) 10 6520 1114

Mid Sept-Early Oct

Shanghai Tourist Festival

The annual Shanghai Tourist Festival offers a huge amount of entertainment at venues across the city. Float parades, markets, a folklore tour of Shanghai Lanes, a Chinese Festival at Yu Garden, and a Music Fireworks Festival in Century Park are part of the festivities.

Mid Oct-Mid Nov

Shanghai International Art Festival

Shanghai hosts a month-long arts festival every year with a varied program of more than 150 performances. This includes everything from symphony orchestras, dance and opera to acrobatics, magic, and drama.

Also on the bill are an international piano competition, a magic festival and contest, an Asian music festiva,l and an arts and crafts fair.

+86 (0) 10 6520 1114

Shanghai Destination Overview

Known in years past as the “Paris of the East” and “Queen of the Orient”, Shanghai is China’s most populous and sophisticated city. Its infamous Great World Entertainment Center has been transformed into a modern state-of-the-art theater and Shanghai Youth Center. The wide boulevard known as the Bund was the centerpiece of colonial Shanghai and is a major part of the 21^st century showcase that Shanghai has become. Shanghai (Chinese for on the sea) is a city in eastern China that is situated on the Huannpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze, near the Yangtze River’s mouth to the East China Sea. Shanghai is China’s main port, commercial hub, and industrial center. The words most frequently used to describe contemporary Shanghai are: prosperous and sophisticated. Its buildings and atmosphere are reminiscent of New York, London, and Paris. The old and the new dwell in harmony. Historic avenues and beautiful parks surround busy harbors and crowded streets. Pagodas, temples, museums, and cultural centers are all part of this bustling city. Shanghai recently hosted a Millionaires’ Conference for its many residents who now enjoy that income status. Modern Shanghai still retains many reminders of the past. Rich Eastern charm and Western flavor coexist in the best of both worlds. The population continues to rise, as people are attracted by Shanghai’s cultural opportunities, by her history, as well as by the pulse and the vigor which this world class metropolis displays. Opera, classical music, jazz, rock, jazz, theater, acrobatics, and dance are all featured on Shanghai’s cultural scene. Shanghai is the birthplace of the Chinese movie and hosts nine annual film festivals. The Shanghai symphony orchestra has long been held in high regard, and is one of the oldest symphony orchestras in Asia. The venues are striking in appearance and in capacity. The Grand Theatre and the Oriental Arts Centre have attracted top international productions. Traditional Chinese entertainment in the area of Chinese opera and acrobatics continue to delight large audiences as well. Recent years have brought dramatic changes to nightlife in Shanghai. New bars and clubs open almost weekly. A process of sorting has been occurring by which many new offerings are tried and tested with some closing soon after opening, only to be replaced by others (or reopened under new management) within a short period of time. Sports bars, comedy clubs, theme bars (Egyptian, Irish, glamour and fashion, Middle East, colonial, and others) are all part of the wide array of choices. The world’s third tallest broadcasting tower, Oriental Pearl Tower, dominates the city skyline from its height of more than 1500 feet. From its observation deck, visitors can enjoy spectacular views. Modern Shanghai Museum Park houses one of the most noteworthy collections of the Middle Kingdom and ranks among China’s four largest museums. Ming and Qing dynasty art are also displayed, along with fine porcelain exhibits. The Huangpu River divides Central Shanghai into two distinct areas: Pudong (east of the river) and Puxi (west of the river).

The best known attractions of interest to visitors are in Puxi, including the Bund, the centerpiece of tourism, (though not the physical center of town). West of the Bund is the former International Settlement and one of Shanghai's main shopping streets, East Nanjing Road. South of the Bund is Old Town, a maze of narrow lanes and landmarks of the heart of the original city of Shanghai. West of this Old Town and hidden in the backstreets north and south of Huaihai Road (Shanghai's premier shopping street) is the former French Concession, with its tree-lined streets, 1930s architecture, cafes, and bars. At its western end, in Xintiandi, is the more recently established collection of Western-style restaurants and bars. Continuing southeast, the way opens onto the massive shopping mall intersection of Xujiahui.

Farther south is Shanghai Stadium. Pudong’s extremely rapid rise as a special economic zone of banks, glass and steel skyscrapers, and upscale residential complexes has been called miraculous. The spirit of this new area of Shanghai is best characterized by one of its modes of transportation: the Maglev Train. The Maglev travels at warp speed through an area that was farmland just 15 years ago. There is no longer a hint of its rural roots in this burgeoning commercial and residential district of soaring towers and five star hotels. World class museums such as Shanghai Municipal History Museum, Shanghai Aquarium, and the Science and Technology Museum are presided over by the lofty Oriental Pearl Tower. Pudong, justifiably, aspires to be the Trade and Finance Center of the Far East. Shanghai, the Eastern Pearl, is a welcoming and enchanting city and a fascinating vacation destination.