Religious, Spiritual sights in Shànghǎi
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Ohel Moishe Synagogue
This synagogue was built by the Russian Ashkenazi Jewish community in 1927 and lies in the heart of the 1940s Jewish ghetto. Today it houses the new Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, which is an excellent introduction to the lives of the approximately 20,000 Central European refugees who fled to Shànghǎi to escape the Nazis. You can also visit the synagogue. For a mini walking tour of the surrounding streets, turn right outside the synagogue, then right again past the former Jewish tenements of Zhoushan Rd, once the commercial heart of the district. At Huoshan Rd turn left to visit Huoshan Park and the memorial plaque erected for the visit of Yitzak Rabin in the late 19…
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Longhua Temple & Pagoda
Southwest of central Shànghǎi, close to the river, this is the oldest and largest monastery in Shànghǎi. Said to date from the 10th century, it has been much renovated. Lónghuá refers to the pipal tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment. There are five main halls, starting with the Laughing Buddha Hall. To either side of the entrance are a bell and a drum tower. The temple is famed for its 6500kg bell, which was cast in 1894. There are several side buildings to explore, including the Thousand Luohan Hall, in which is arrayed a huge legion of glittering arhat. A large effigy of Sakyamuni seated on a lotus flower is contained within the main hall – the Great Treas…
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Confucian Temple
Most historic Chinese towns boast a temple dedicated to Confucius, although the iconoclastic spasms of the Cultural Revolution left many battered and bruised. A modest and pretty retreat, this well-tended temple to the dictum-coining sage is cultivated with maples, pines, magnolias and birdsong. Originally dating to 1294, when the Mongols held sway through China, the temple moved to its current site in 1855, at a time when Christian Taiping rebels were sending much of China skywards in sheets of flame. The layout is typically Confucian, its few worshippers complemented by ancient and venerable trees, including a 300-year-old elm. The towering Kuixing Pavilion (Kuíxīng Gé)…
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Temple of the Town God
Chinese towns traditionally came with a Taoist Temple of the Town God, but many fell victim to periodic upheaval. Originally dating to the early 15th century, this particular temple was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution and later restored. Note the fine carvings on the roof as you enter to the main hall, dedicated to Huo Guang, a Han dynasty general, flanked by rows of effigies representing both martial and civil virtues. Exit the hall north and peek into the multifaith hall on your right dedicated to three female deities, Guanyin (Buddhist), Tianhou and Yanmu Niangniang (Taoist). Gazing fiercely over offerings of fruit from the rear hall is the red-faced and b…
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Qinci Yangdian Temple
Shanghai's largest Taoist temple is, perhaps surprisingly, located in Pǔdōng. It's worth a perusal for its massive trinity of Taoist gods in the Hall of the Three Clear Ones (三清殿; Sānqīng Diàn), although the temple architecture is all recent (at the southern end of the temple grounds are what appears to be older, semi-destroyed temple halls).
At the rear of the temple is the humungous Hall for the Storing of Scriptures (藏经殿; Cángjìngdiàn) and up the stairs above the side halls is a huge glittering gathering of 61 gilded Taoist generals.
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Qinciyang Temple
Shànghǎi’s largest Taoist temple is, perhaps surprisingly, located in Pǔdōng. It’s worth a perusal for its massive trinity of Taoist gods in the Hall of the Three Clear Ones ( 三清殿; Sānqīng Diàn), although the temple architecture is all recent (at the southern end of the temple grounds are what appears to be older, semidestroyed temple halls). At the rear of the temple is the humungous Hall for the Storing of Scriptures ( 藏经 殿; Cángjīng Diàn) and up the stairs above the side halls is a huge glittering gathering of 61 gilded Taoist generals.
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St Ignatius Cathedral
Its arches and spires are echoed in adjacent local architecture, all the way up to the huge tower block north of the cathedral. Just south of the church (built in 1904, and which served as a grain warehouse during the Cultural Revolution) stands the former Jesuit Observatory within the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau. The guard may stop you, but show him the Chinese characters in the heading above and he should let you into the church for a peek. Across North Caoxi Rd is the former convent of the Helpers of the Holy Souls, now Ye Olde Station Restaurant.
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Baiyun Temple
Relocated from southwest of the Old Town, the port-red Taoist Baiyun (White Cloud) Temple stands separated from Dajing Pavilion by Dajing Lane and fronted by an entrance with twin eaves. Though nowhere near as big as its Běijīng namesake, the temple is worth a peek for its colossal effigy of the Jade Emperor ( 玉皇大帝; Yùhuáng Dàdì) up the steps in the Xiaobao Hall ( 霄宝殿; Xiāobǎo Diàn), seated between two walls studded with smaller deities.
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Fazangjiang Temple
This simple but very active temple is curiously accessed from the west rather than the south, where the entrance to Buddhist temples usually lies. The main hall, restored with new doors, encloses a large modern statue of Sakyamuni, seated lily-top between two walls glinting with gilded luóhàn (arhat). Other lesser halls include a trinity of golden Buddhist effigies and a small shrine to the Buddhist God of the Underworld, Dizang Wang.
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Dongjiadu Cathedral
Just outside the Old Town, this magnificent cathedral is Shànghǎi’s oldest church, built by Spanish Jesuits in 1853. A splendid sight, the church was located within a famously Catholic area of Shànghǎi and is generally open if you want to view the interior (ring the bell at the side door). Follow Dongjiadu Rd west for an absorbing stroll through the bustling garment district – assuming it’s still standing.
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Catholic Church
The singlespire edifice dates back to 1867 - pop inside and admire the bright, whitewashed interior, cooled by overhead fans and containing a confessional, small shuttered windows and an attractively painted ceiling. The church isn't on the official map, but it's down an alley off Yutang St. Watch out for the dogs that sit in the courtyard; they don't always take to foreigners.
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Community Church
Shànghǎi’s largest and most popular church, this nondenominational ivy-cloaked church was flung up in 1924. There are no cheesy Chinese Catholic frills and the church lawn is a gorgeous expanse of green, while the lush tangle of plant life adds to the sense of pleasant refuge. Services are regularly held on Sundays (7.30am and 10am).
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Jing’an Temple
A skyscraper needs only a few years to go up in Shanghai, but rebuilding this temple seems an eternal work in progress. The recent add-ons are eye-catching, but the main temple hall has yet to be reincarnated from a concrete bunker. The temple manages to somehow sum up Shanghai: 5% traditional, 95% rebuild.
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St Nicholas Church
This now-derelict Russian Orthodox church was built to service the huge influx of Russians who arrived in Shanghai in the 1930s. It was spared destruction during the Cultural Revolution by a portrait of Mao Zedong, hung strategically from its dome. It was not open to the public at press time.
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Hongde Temple
The 1928 brick Hongde Temple was built in a Chinese style as the Great Virtue Church; note the Chinese-style bell tower. Come Sunday morning, it’s worth clambering upstairs to catch a church service (7.30am & 9.30am Sun).
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Peach Garden Mosque
Originally dating to 1917, this famous mosque is the city’s main place of worship for Shànghǎi’s Muslims. Fridays are the best time to visit, when the faithful stream in to pray at lunch.
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Russian Orthodox Mission Church
Built in 1934, the lovely blue-domed church was built for the huge influx of Russian worshippers to Shànghǎi in the 1930s. It is currently closed to the public.
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Moore Memorial Church
The Moore Memorial Church, designed by Ladislaus Hudec, is the standout red-brick Christian edifice east of People’s Square.
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Yuanjin Buddhist Temple
Yuanjin Buddhist Temple is near the distinctive Tai’an Bridge ( 泰安桥 ).
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Hongkew Methodist Church
Built in 1923, this church was the venue for Chiang Kaishek’s marriage to Song Meiling.
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