Shanghai

The Jade Buddha Temple is a Buddhist temple in Shanghai, China. As with many modern Chinese Buddhist temples, the current temple draws from both the... Pure Land and Chan traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. It was founded in 1882 with two jade Buddha statues imported to Shanghai from Burma by sea. These were a sitting Buddha , and a smaller reclining Buddha representing Buddha's death. The temple now also contains a much larger reclining Buddha made of marble, donated from Singapore, and visitors may mistake this larger sculpture for the original, smaller piece. During the rule of emperor Guang Xu in the Qing Dynasty , Hui Gen, an abbot from Mount Putuo went on a pilgrimage to Tibet via the two famous Chinese mountains Mount Wutai and Mount Emei. After Tibet, he arrived in Burma. Whilst there, Mr. Chen Jun-Pu, an overseas Chinese resident in Burma, donated five Jade statues of Buddha to Hui Gen, who transported two of them back to Jiang-wan, Shanghai. Here Hui Gen had a temple built with donated funds, and died shortly thereafter.
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The Longhua Temple is a Buddhist Temple dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha located in Shanghai, China. Although most of the present-day buildings date... from later reconstructions, the temple preserves the architectural design of a Song Dynasty monastery of the Buddhist Chan sect. It is the largest, most authentic and complete ancient temple complex in the city of Shanghai. The temple was first build in 242 AD, during the Three Kingdoms Period. According to a legend, Sun Quan , King of the Kingdom of Wu, had obtained Sharira relics, which are cremated remains of the Buddha. To house these precious relics, the king ordered the construction of 13 pagodas. Longhua Pagoda , part of the Longhua temple complex, is said to have been one of them. Like the function of the pagoda, the name of the temple also has its origin in a local legend according to which a dragon once appeared on the site. The temple was destroyed by war towards the end of the Tang Dynasty and rebuilt in 977 AD, during the Northern Song Dynasty.
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Nanjing Road is the main shopping street of Shanghai, China, and is one of the world's busiest shopping streets. Today's Nanjing Road comprises two... sections, Nanjing Road East and Nanjing Road West. In some contexts, "Nanjing Road" refers only to what was pre-1945 Nanjing Road, today's Nanjing Road East, which is largely pedestrianised. Prior to 1949, the road's English name was rendered "Nanking Road" using the standard romanization of the time. Nanjing Road is located in the city center, running in a west-east direction. Its eastern section is in Huangpu District and extends from The Bund west to People's Square. The western section begins at People's Square and continues westward towards Jing'an District. The history of Nanjing Road can be traced back to the year 1845. At that time it was called “Park Lane”, which streched from the Bund to He’nan Road. In 1854, it was extended to Zhejiang Road, and eight years later, once more extended to Xizang Road. In 1862, it was named formally “Nanking Road” by the Municipal Council, which administered the International Settlement.
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Shanghai Science and Technology Museum is a large museum in Pudong, Shanghai, close to Century Park, the largest park within the inner districts of... the city. The museum covers an area of 68,000 square meters, a floor space of 98,000 square meters and an exhibition space of 65,500 square meters with planned visiting flow of 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 visitors per year and investment of RMB 1.755 billion Yuan. As of July 2010 the museum will have attracted over 23,000,000 visitors making it one of China's most visited modern museums. Shanghai Science & Technology Museum opened to the public on December 18, 2001. The original design of the museum and its core exhibits was managed by Shanghai based high tech and multimedia firm Creative Star Digital. The construction of the museum cost 3.75 billion RMB, and now features over 14 interactive multimedia exhibits open to the public. The museum has 13 main permanent exhibitions and 4 science theaters. The theaters constitute the largest science education cinema in Asia with 10,000 annual films shown.
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The Shanghai Art Museum is an art museum in the city of Shanghai, China. It is located in the former clubhouse building of the Shanghai Race Club... Today, it is the home of the Shanghai biennial and stands adjacent to People's Square. It sits on the edge of People’s Square, which was once the Shanghai Horse Racing course. The building was constructed in 1933, as the clubhouse for the Shanghai Race Club race course. The horse race course was reputed to be the third most profitable industry during the 1930s . In March 1934 the new Shanghai Race Club building opened. The grandstand was thought at the time to be the largest in the world, and probably was, while the Race Club, with its marble staircases, teak-panelled rooms, oak parquet floors, and its coffee room which was 100ft by 47ft with a huge fireplace, must certainly ranked as the sumptuous club of its kind yet built in any country. China Races, Coates In 1955, the building was renovated and a terrace was constructed on the roof. The goal was mainly to enable the architects to build wider stairs leading to the clock tower, so that youth can easily visit the tower.
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The Shanghai Natural History Museum is a museum dedicated to natural history. It is one of the largest museums of natural sciences in China. The... museum was created in 1956 in what was once a classical British structure from 1923 that used to be the Cotton Exchange. The building is, however, in dire need of basic maintenance and upgrade, since its paint is crumbling and some exhibits are at risk of disintegration. The mosaic floors and stained glass windows in the lobby only hint at the grand building that once was. The Yan'an Elevated Road is being constructed within centimeters in front of the building. The museum is located at 260 Yan'an Dong Lu in Huangpu at Henan Nan Lu . It is currently open Tues-Sun 9am-5pm . Admission is 5 RMB. The museum has a collection of 240,000 samples, including over 62,000 pieces of animal specimens, 135,000 plant specimens, 700 specimens of the Stone Age, and 1,700 specimens of minerals.
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The C. Y. Tung Maritime Museum is located in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It houses the Chinese Maritime History Gallery and the C. Y. Tung... Gallery. The former contains a permanent exhibition of maps, photographs, archival material, maritime trade routes and their artifacts, reflecting China's maritime history since the Neolithic Period. The latter portrays the Chinese shipping magnate C. Y. Tung. Especially remarkable is the large collection of ship models ranging from Zheng He's treasure ship to the world largest ship, the Seawise Giant. The C. Y. Tung Maritime Museum is located in the Xuhui campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The two-story, western-style building with a central courtyard was built 1910, serving as a student residence. The total exhibition space is 600 m . 31°12′7.49″N 121°25′49.5″E / 31.2020806°N 121.430417°E / 31.2020806; 121.
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Joan Chong Chen is a Chinese actress, film director, screenwriter and film producer. She became famous in China for her performance in the 1979 film... Little Flower and came to international attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor. She is also known for her roles in Twin Peaks, Red Rose White Rose, Saving Face and The Home Song Stories, and for directing the feature film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl. Chen Chong was born in Shanghai, China to a family of pharmacologists. . She and her older brother, Chase, were raised during the Cultural Revolution. At the age of 14, Chen was discovered on the school rifle range by Jiang Qing, the wife of leader Mao Zedong and major Chinese Communist Party power figure, as she was excelling at marksmanship.
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Ruan Lingyu , born Ruan Fenggen , was a Chinese silent film actress. One of the most prominent Chinese film stars of the 1930s, her death at the age... of 24 led her to become an icon of Chinese cinema. Ruan was born in Shanghai in 1910 to a working-class family. Her father, a worker, died when she was young, and her mother brought her up working as a housemaid. In 1926, to help make ends meet, Ruan signed up for the then prominent Mingxing Film Studio. She made her first film at the age 16. That film, A Married Couple in Name only was directed by Bu Wancang. . In 1928, she signed for Da Zhonghua Baihe Company where she shot six films. Ruan's first big break came in Spring Dream of an Old Capital which was a massive hit in China. It was Ruan's first major work after signing for the newly-formed Lianhua Studio in 1930. In it, she successfully played a prostitute by the name of Yanyan. Thereafter Ruan became Lianhua's major film star.
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Muhai Tang is a Chinese conductor. He is the youngest son of celebrated Chinese film director Tang Xiaodan and brother of painter and poet Tang... Muli. Tang initially learned music with his parents, and later studied composition and conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, receiving his diploma in both. He furthered his studies in conducting with Hermann Michael, at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, Germany. His international career started when Herbert von Karajan invited him to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra during the 1983-1984 season. This invitation was later renewed. He was the chief conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon from 1988 until 2001. From 1991 to 1995, he was chief conductor of DePhilharmonie . He made his US debut with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in 1988. Tang was chief conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra , the last chief conductor prior to the orchestra's renaming as the Queensland Orchestra.
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Betty Loh Ti was a Chinese actress who was often described as the 'Chinese Classic Beauty'. In the 1960s, she was popular among both Chinese and... Western filmgoers. Born in Shanghai, Chinese as , Betty was raised by her maternal grandmother following her parents' death. With her family, she left Shanghai in 1949 and settled in Hong Kong. Betty started her career in the film industry in 1952 and played in 44 films until her death in 1968. During this period, she joined three film production companies: Great Wall Film Production Limited , The Shaw Brothers Limited , and Motion Picture and General Investments Limited . In her 44 films, she played varied roles which showcased her skill as an actress. She married the actor Peter Chen Ho in 1962. Her brother Kelly Lei Chen was also an actor with MP&GI. Several sources mention that she committed suicide, although this information is subject to debate.
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James Tien Pei-chun GBS OBE JP is the former Chairman of the Liberal Party , a pro-business and pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong, and... former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong . He was also a member of the District Council of Hong Kong in the Central and Western district. Professionally, he is a hugely wealthy garment merchant in Hong Kong, but his companies also invest in property and land development. His equally wealthy younger brother Michael Tien is also a businessman. He owns the fashion chain G2000 and is a former chairman of Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. Tien was a member of LegCo from 1983, and was the Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, an influential business organization in Hong Kong. He became the Chairman of the LP after the resignation of its former and founding Chairman, Allen Lee Peng Fei, in December 1998. Tien currently serves as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and general committee member of both the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Hong Kong Industries.
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Shannon Matilda Wells Lucid is an American biochemist and a NASA astronaut. At one time, she held the record for the longest duration stay in space... by an American, as well as by a woman. She has flown in space five times including a prolonged mission aboard the Mir space station. Lucid was born in Shanghai, China, to Baptist missionary parents Oscar and Myrtle Wells, but grew up in Bethany, Oklahoma and graduated from Bethany High School. She attended the University of Oklahoma and obtained a Ph.D. in biochemistry from that school in 1973. She is married to Michael F. Lucid of Indianapolis, Indiana and they have two daughters and one son, and five granddaughters and one grandson. Lucid was selected for the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1978. Of the six women in this first class with female astronauts, Lucid was the only one who was a mother at the time of being hired. Lucid's first space flight was in June 1985 on Space Shuttle Discovery's mission STS-51-G. She also flew on shuttle missions STS-34 in 1989, STS-43 in 1991, and STS-58 in 1993.
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