Shanghai religious sites - A long walk

 


I started my last long walk in Shanghai from the hostel through developing residential areas, first heading to the Jade Buddha Temple. I was surprised to see how crowded it was, full of worshippers. It may have been a Buddhist holiday, but the fact that so many people were taking part in a religious activity crushes the myth that religions are banned in China. From there, I walked through more residential areas, all of them are a nice mixture of old and new buildings. The historic Ohel Rachel Synagogue is also in this part of town, but it is within some complex and it seems to be off limits for visitors - you can take a photo from the gate, but that's it. My next stop along my walk was the Buddhist Jing'an Temple, also full of worshippers, praying, offering donations, and burning incense sticks and some kind of packages. From here, I headed to a part of the French Concession where an iconic old building, the Wukang Mansion stands. As I learned, it was designed by a Hungarian architect. From this old colonial area through more modern districts I reached Shanghai's famous Saint Ignatius Cathedral in Xujiahui. It was a long walk from the hostel, and daylight time was running out, so from here I took the metro to the Longhua Temple complex which was again full of worshippers.










































































































































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