Shanghai is one of the finest shopping centers in China, where there are more than 500 major, large scale department stores. The city is reputed as a "paradise of shopping", and its shopping centers offer an enormous variety of consumer goods that include the best international brands, and domestic made commodities. Aside from the luxury stores, shops, gigantic malls, department stores, there is a designated shopping route extending from the Yu Garden Bazzar to Nanjing Road and Zhangyang Road in the Pudong New Area.
The Nanjing Road is known as the "first street in China" - it is the earliest commercial avenue when shanghai became an open port in 1843. Nanjing road is divided in to two main sections - the west Nanjing Road and the east Nanjing Road. This street is the busiest street in Shanghai, and it stretches for almost 10 kilometers from the Bund to the Jin'an Temple. One of the most staggering statistics of Nanjing road is that it is visited by about 1.5 million visitors everyday!
The Huaihai Road in Shanghai is well known for its luxury goods stores and shopping centers. In China, Huaihai Road is reputed as a "place where you can find everything desirable from eating to clothing to entertainment". This road is one of the prime retail sectors in Shanghai. There are also numerous restaurants and coffee shops along this road.
Another relatively new shopping district "Xujiahui shopping district" has been established, and another massive underground shopping center has been developed under the Renmin Park. With all these shopping districts offering merchandise of all kinds, Shanghai is the ideal paradise for shoppers.
Shanghai Cuisine and Food
Chinese Cuisine has had a long history. There are several major regional cuisines in China including Guangdong, Sichuan, Fujian, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anuhui. Starting around 1843, after Shanghai became an open port, a number of famous Chefs moved to Shanghai, and as a result, the Shanghai Cuisine today absorbed the unique features of various Chinese Cuisine styles mainly consisting of Hangzhou, Suzhou, Ningbo, and Yangzhou.
In Shanghai cuisine, the most representative dish is produced with Jiuzao or "distillers grains". Over 200 years ago, Zaobendou (hotpot with distillers grains) had long been one of the most famous and popular foods in Shanghai. There are also several cold dishes that are made with distillers grains including "winter bamboo shoots with distillers grains", "chicken with distillers grains", and "cut pork with distillers grains".
There are over 2,000 different snack shops and snack stalls in Shanghai offering countless variety of inexpensive snacks. Popular snacks include soy bean milk, deep fried twisted dough, and large flat breads. In Shanghai, the most famous snack is the Nanxiang stuffed bun sold by the long established shop at Yu Garden Bazzar. Niangao is a popular Chinese sneak that's most often consumed for Chinese New Year. The Little Changzhou snack shop located on Sichuan Road Middle produces some excellent Niangao.
Like everywhere in China, western fast food restaurants are popping up everywhere in Shanghai. Global food chains such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC have opened up numerous locations throughout Shanghai.
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