Editor's note

This year is the 21st anniversary of the opening of the Shanghai metro. The subway has facilitated more than 13 billion journeys during its 21 years, and half of Shanghai citizens cite the metro as their favored mode of transport. To commemorate the anniversary, each week the Global Times will take an in-depth look at one metro station and its surroundings. In the case of downtown stations, we will focus on points of interest within walking distance; while for suburban areas, we will cast our net a little wider.

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Starting from suburban Baoshan district and running through most downtown districts to sprawling Pudong New Area, Line 7 is one of the city's longest subway lines, stretching for nearly 45 kilometers. We took a ride to Jinxiu Road Station, the fourth stop from the line's eastern terminus in Pudong, and discovered a couple of places that are worth a visit.

The building of Shanghai Pudong Library

Pudong Library

A 10-minute walk north of the station will lead travelers to Shanghai Pudong Library (88 Qiancheng Road, 3882-9588). The well-appointed library is housed in an impressive hexahedron-shaped edifice which was co-designed by Chinese and Japanese architects. Covering an area of 60,885 square meters, the modern six-story structure was built at a whopping cost of 850 million yuan ($140 million) and was opened in 2010 after three years of construction.

Stepping inside, readers will be embraced by a strong cultural and arty ambience - the facility is designed in a clean yet ultra-sleek style with impressive exhibits, glass windows, steel pillars, a transparent ceiling, and even two suspended mini greenhouses.

Evenly and cleverly partitioned, the library's ground and second floors are occupied by an assortment of spaces ranging from exhibition and lecture halls to multimedia and training rooms. Public loan and reading rooms for both children and adults are located on the middle third and fourth stories while the two top floors are dedicated to classified publications and new media readings.

The library boasts an enormous collection of some 2 million titles and a capacity of 6,000 readers. To apply for a library card, users should bring their ID and pay a deposit of 80 yuan. The library opens from 9 am to 8 pm daily.

Sanyuan Palace stands in the snowy weather in Shanghai earlier this week. Photos: Yang Zhenqi/GT

Sanyuan Palace

Emerging from exit 4 of Jinxiu Road Station and walking west for about five minutes, visitors won't miss the Sanyuan Palace Kundao Yard (2119 Gaoke Road West, 5089-9283), a magnificent Taoist temple whose history can be traced back to the year 1728 during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Formerly known as Master Zhou Temple, the temple was renamed Sanyuan Palace in 1989 by the Shanghai Taoist Association and was opened to the public the following year.

The temple underwent a major renovation in 2004 and moved to its current location as part of the district's construction blueprint. Now occupying a space of 1,440 square meters, the ornately decorated temple complex is built in a Qing architectural style, featuring rosewood arches, brick engravings, red walls and gray-tiled roof.

After entering the courtyard of the temple, visitors will find a stone bridge called the Immortal Bridge and an area for incense burning and praying. Connecting the courtyard is the grand façade of the architecture with a plaque inscribing "The Sanyuan Palace" on top.

Going further to the rear of the Taoist enclave is where the prayer halls are tucked away. The temple's central prayer hall, flanked by a gallery of smaller prayer halls holding a variety of lesser-known Taoist gods, is dedicated to the Three Lord Emperors of the Three Realms, namely the Lord Emperor of the Heavenly Realm, the Lord Emperor of the Earthly Realm, and the Lord Emperor of the Watery Realm.

During our visit, a group of devout Taoists were worshipping the effigies of the three Lord Emperors. A middle-aged Taoist nun told the Global Times that the temple usually sees an influx of worshippers in the first month of the Chinese lunar new year, when most devotees rush to the temple to burn incense and offer up a sacrifice to pray for good health and fortune in the year ahead.

The Sanyuan Palace opens from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm daily with an admission of 20 yuan.

Sam's Club

Sam's Club

Standing opposite the Sanyuan Temple is Sam's Club (2110 Gaoke Road West, 2024-9921), the membership-only warehouse store owned and operated by US retail giant Wal-Mart.

The two-story, 30,000-square-meter store opened in December 2010 and remains the only branch of Sam's Club in Shanghai. A string of dining and drinking options are dotted on the first floor, while the gigantic, labyrinth-like warehouse is perched above.

Shoppers pay a yearly membership fee of 150 yuan to have access to the store's extensive inventory of some 10,000 goods ranging from fresh produce, dry groceries, frozen food, beverages, liquor, tobacco and confectionary to day-to-day necessities, office supplies, hardware, electronics, household appliances and more. Of its sundry merchandise, imported foods such as fruit, meat and seafood are said to be excellent, albeit a bit pricey, according to reviews on dianping.com, a popular Chinese consumer website.