Shanghai's top eight scenic spots: It's official

With the Expo approaching, Shanghai is quickly become more and more official, with roads being paved, mandatory uniforms for taxi drivers, and even rules guiding citizens' subway etiquette, just to name a few of the changes. To keep the changes rolling, the names of Shanghai's official top eight scenic spots have been announced by the Shanghai Tourism Administration, selected from over 1500 suggestions from city dwellers.

According to Shanghai Daily, more than 33,000 people contributed to the selection of the actual spots, which range from natural to man-made and represent the city's culture and history.

The idea of reviving the Eight Spots of Shanghai came from Zhu Yafu, a retired writer who found that only two of the original eight spots, which dated back to the early 1900s, still existed. Go check em' out before these ones disappear too.

The new names are:

1. The morning bell of the Bund (wai tan chen zhong)

2. The refined rhythm of Yuyuan Garden (yu yuan ya yun)

3. The new splendor of the old Shikumen (jiu li xin hui)

4. Miles of neon light (shi li ni hong)

5. The green of Sheshan Hill (she shan shi cui)

6. Folk art in Fengjing Town (feng jing xun hua)

7. Grand skyscraper city views (mo tian lan sheng)

8. Elegant water views around Dianshan Lake (dian hu huan xiu)

The tourism administration also released a booklet with the official names and descriptions of the spots, as well as 100 other spots in Shanghai, in both Chinese and English. We're wondering if the new names will make any of these sites any more exciting: what do you think?