Pudong New Area 浦东新区
—  Sub-Provincial District  —
Pudong skyline at night
Location within Shanghai
Country	People's Republic of China
Municipality	Shanghai
District Gov't Established	1993
Government
• CPC Pudong District Secretary	Xu Lin (徐麟)
• District Governor	Li Yiping (李逸平)
Area
• Total	1,210.4 km2 (467.3 sq mi)
Population (2010)[1]
• Total	5,044,430
• Density	4,200/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Area Code	021
Postal Code	200135
Website	pudong.gov.cn

Pudong (Chinese: 浦东; pinyin: Pǔdōng, lit "Huangpu East Bank") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial and commercial hub. It is principally administered as the Pudong New Area, a district of Shanghai.

Pudong is home to the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and many of Shanghai's best-known buildings, such as the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Building, the Shanghai World Financial Center. It is also the site of the future Shanghai Tower. These modern skyscrapers face directly across from Puxi's historic Bund, the remnant of Shanghai's former concessions.

History[link]

Pudong refers to the land in the east of Huangpu River. Originally, the area was mainly farmland and countryside with some warehouses and wharfs near the shore. The parts closest to Puxi were administered by its districts, including Huangpu, Yangpu, and the former Nanshi District. The rest of the area was administered by Chuansha County.

In 1993, the Chinese government decided to set up a Special Economic Zone in Chuansha, creating the Pudong New Area. The western tip of the Pudong district was designated as the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone and proposed to become the new financial hub of modern China. Several landmark buildings were constructed in Lujiazui to raise the image and awareness of the area. These include the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Building, and the supertall Shanghai World Financial Center. At 494 m, the last will be the tallest building in China until the completion of the nearby Shanghai Tower, projected to reach 565.6 m in 2014.

On May 6, 2009, it was disclosed that the State Council had approved the proposal to merge Nanhui District to Pudong. the Pudong New Area comprises the majority of land in eastern Shanghai.

Government[link]

Districts of the direct-controlled municipality of Shanghai are administratively on the same level as prefecture-level cities. However, the government of Pudong has a status equivalent to that of a sub-provincial city, which is a half-level above a prefecture-level city. This is due to Pudong's size and importance as the financial hub of China.

Geography and Population[link]

Pudong literally means "East Bank". Pudong is bounded by the Huangpu River in the west and the East China Sea in the east. Pudong is distinguished from Puxi ("West Bank"), the older part of Shanghai. It has an area of 1210.4 km² and according to the 2010 Census, a population of 5,044,430 inhabitants, 1.9 million more than in 2000. Currently, at least 2.1 million of residents of Pudong are newcomers from other provinces or cities in China.^[2]

Education[link]

University[link]

Shanghai Maritime University

Economy[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)

This section requires expansion.

With the Nanhui District merger in May 2009, Pudong's new gross domestic product amounts to an estimated 370 billion RMB (US$53.98 billion), roughly equal to that of Slovenia. Its GDP per capita is therefore around US$16,938. The area's aggregate GDP has now surpassed that of six provincial-level entities.

The area is divided into four distinct economic districts. Apart from Lujiazui Trade and Finance Zone, there is Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, the largest free trade zone in mainland China covering approximately 10 km² in north-east Pudong. The Jinqiao Export Processing Zone is another major industrial area in Pudong covering 19 km². Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park is a special area for technology-oriented businesses, covering 17 km² in central Pudong.^{[citation needed]}

The Pudong area continues to experience rapid development, especially in the commercial sector, with 1.3 million square meters of prime office space reaching completion in 2008, more than the previous two years combined.^[3]

Pudong has also attracted considerable fixed asset and real estate investment, reporting 87.268 billion RMB in fixed asset investment and 27.997 billion RMB in real estate investment in 2008.^[4]

The newest Disney Theme Park is now under construction in Pudong. It is planned to be operational by 2016.^[5]

Hang Seng Bank has its mainland offices in the Hang Seng Bank Tower in Pudong.^[6] Kroll has an office in the Hang Seng Bank Tower.^[7]

Transportation[link]

The Shanghai Pudong International Airport opened its doors in 1999, shortening the travel time for visitors.

In the same year, Line 2 of the Shanghai Metro commenced services. An extension brought the line further east, where it serves the airport. Other lines, namely Lines 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13 also have sections that serve parts of Pudong. A magnetic levitation train began operating in 2004, moving passengers between the airport and Longyang Road Metro station.

Ships on the Huangpu River with Pudong in view

Pudong is connected to Puxi by several tunnels and four major bridges. The first of these bridges were the Nanpu Bridge (1991) and the Yangpu Bridge (1993). The Xupu Bridge opened in 1996. The latest of these is Lupu Bridge, which is the world's second longest arch bridge and was completed in 2002. Currently there are five tunnels that link the two sides, Dapu Rd. Tunnel, the first tunnel across the Huangpu River, Yan'an Rd. Tunnel, running east-west, and Dalian Rd. Tunnel, running north-south, Fuxing Rd. Tunnel, complementing the Yan'an Rd. Tunnel, Waihuan Tunnel, one part of Shanghai Outer Ring Express. Two new tunnels linking Lujiazui to Puxi are under construction.

Roads in Pudong have no particular longitudinal or latitudinal orientation. Major thoroughfares Pudong Avenue, Zhangyang Road and Yanggao Road run east-west until Yangpu Bridge before turning gradually to become north-south. Century Avenue crosses all three major roads and extends from Lujiazui to Century Park. Yanggao Road extends south to the A20, Shanghai's outer Ring road, which runs east-west from Xupu Bridge and then north-south beginning at the interchange near Renxi Village, when the east-west expressway turns into Yingbin Avenue, headed for Pudong International Airport.

Gallery[link]

• 

  Shanghai Pudong skyline

• 

  Panoramic view at Shanghai Pudong (from the East)

• 

  Jin Mao building

• 

  Shanghai's Pudong skyline towers over the Huangpu River

• 

  Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, Pudong

• Lujiazui skyline, Pudong, Shanghai.JPG

  Lujiazui skyline, Pudong

• Shanghai citic.jpg

  CITIC Pacific HQ & Mandarin Oriental

• 

  

  Pudong at night (video)

• 

  Pudong at night with Oriental Pearl

• 

  Huangpu River at night. “Better City, Better Life” is the theme of Expo 2010.‎

• 

  A profile shot of Pudong

• 

  Pudong from Huangpu river cruise at night

• 

  View of Pudong area at night time

• 

  View of Pudong area, using HDR technique

• 

  View of the Oriental Pearl Tower

• 

See also[link]

Shanghai portal

• Binhai New Area（Tianjin）
• Beijing CBD
• Central, Hong Kong
• Nishi-shinjuku (Tokyo)
• Bankenviertel (Frankfurt am Main)
• La Defense (Paris)
• City of London (London)
• Manhattan (New York)
• Singapore CBD
• Financial District (Toronto)
• Chicago Loop

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pudong

• Pudong government website
• Pudong business site
• Flickr: Photos tagged with pudong
• Pudong Photos

Coordinates: 31°14′05″N 121°30′23″E / 31.23472°N 121.50639°E / 31.23472; 121.50639

Shanghai 上海
—  Municipality  —
Municipality of Shanghai • 上海市
Clockwise from top: A view of the Pudong skyline; Yuyuan Garden, China Pavilion along with the Expo Axis, neon signs on Nanjing Road, and The Bund
Location of Shanghai Municipality within China
Coordinates: 31°12′N 121°30′E / 31.2°N 121.5°E / 31.2; 121.5Coordinates: 31°12′N 121°30′E / 31.2°N 121.5°E / 31.2; 121.5
Country	People's Republic of China
Settled	5th–7th century
Incorporated  - Town	751
- County	1292
- Municipality	7 July 1927
Divisions  - County-level  - Township- level	16 districts, 1 county 210 towns and subdistricts
Government
• Type	Municipality
• CPC Ctte Secretary	Yu Zhengsheng
• Mayor	Han Zheng
Area[1][2]
• Municipality	6,340.5 km2 (2,448.1 sq mi)
• Water	697 km2 (269 sq mi)
Elevation[3]	4 m (13 ft)
Population (2010)[4]
• Municipality	23,019,148
• Density	3,600/km2 (9,400/sq mi)
Demonym	Shanghainese
Time zone	China standard time (UTC+8)
Postal code	200000 – 202100
Area code(s)	21
GDP[5]	2011
- Total	CNY 1.92 trillion US$ 297 billion (11th)
- Per capita	CNY 82,560 US$ 12,784 (2nd)
- Growth	8.2%
HDI (2008)	0.908 (1st) – very high
Licence plate prefixes	沪A, B, D, E, F,G ,H, J, K 沪C (outer suburbs)
City flower	Yulan magnolia
Website	www.shanghai.gov.cn

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC)^[6][7] and the largest city proper by population in the world.^[8] It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010.^[4] It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center^[9] and the busiest container port in the world.^[10]

Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.^[11]

Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s.^[12] However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.^[13]

Shanghai is a popular tourist destination renowned for its historical landmarks such as The Bund, City God Temple and Yuyuan Garden, as well as the extensive and growing Pudong skyline. It has been described as the "showpiece" of the booming economy of mainland China.^[14][15]

Etymology and names[link]

Shanghai
"Shanghai", as written in Chinese
Chinese	上海
Wu	Zaonhe
Literal meaning	above sea or on sea
Transcriptions Hakka - Romanization Sông-hói Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Shànghǎi Min - Hokkien POJ Siōng-hái - Min-dong BUC Siông-hāi Wu - Romanization Zaonhe - Shanghainese romanization Zånhae IPA: [z̥ɑ̃̀hé] Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping soeng6hoi2

The two Chinese characters in the city's name are '上' ("above") and '海' ("sea"), together meaning "Upon-the-Sea". The earliest occurrence of this name dates from the 11th century Song Dynasty, at which time there was already a river confluence and a town with this name in the area. There are disputes as to exactly how the name should be interpreted, but Chinese historians have concluded that during the Tang Dynasty Shanghai was literally on the sea, hence the origin of the name.^[16] Older Chinese was written right-to-left, so a reversed order "海上" is sometimes used for terms related to Shanghainese art and culture.^{[citation needed]}

Shanghai is officially abbreviated 沪 (Hù) in Chinese,^[17] a contraction of 沪渎 (Hù Dú, lit "Harpoon Ditch"),^[18][19] a 4th or 5th century Jin name for the mouth of Suzhou Creek when it was the main conduit into the ocean.^[18] This character appears on all motor vehicle license plates issued in the municipality today.

An older name for Shanghai is Shēn (申), from Chunshen Jun (春申君), a nobleman and locally revered hero of the third-century BC state of Chu. From this, it is also called Shēnchéng (申城, "Shen City").^[18] Sports teams and newspapers in Shanghai often use this character in their names.

Another early name for Shanghai was Huating (华亭). In 751 AD, during the mid-Tang Dynasty, Huating County was established at modern-day Songjiang, the first county-level administration within modern-day Shanghai. Today, Huating appears as the name of a four-star hotel in the city.^[16]

The city has also has various nicknames in English, including "Paris of the East".^[20]

History[link]

The walled Old City of Shanghai.

Shanghai in the 1930's, with the Shanghai International Settlement and Shanghai French Concession.

During the Song Dynasty (AD 960–1279) Shanghai was upgraded in status from a village to a market town in 1074, and in 1172 a second sea wall was built to stabilize the ocean coastline, supplementing an earlier dyke.^[21] From the Yuan Dynasty in 1292 until Shanghai officially became a city in 1927, the area was designated merely as a county seat administered by the Songjiang prefecture.^[22]

Two important events helped promote Shanghai's development in the Ming Dynasty. A city wall was built for the first time in 1554 to protect the town from raids by Japanese pirates. It measured 10 metres high and 5 kilometres in circumference.^[23] During the Wanli reign (1573–1620), Shanghai received an important psychological boost from the erection of a City God Temple in 1602. This honour was usually reserved for places with the status of a city, such as a prefectural capital not normally given to a mere county town, as Shanghai was. It probably reflected the town's economic importance, as opposed to its low political status.^[23]

A view of the Bund in 1928

Nanjing Road in the 1930s

During the Qing Dynasty, Shanghai became one of the most important sea ports in the Yangtze Delta region as a result of two important central government policy changes: First, Emperor Kangxi (1662–1723) in 1684 reversed the previous Ming Dynasty prohibition on ocean going vessels – a ban that had been in force since 1525. Second, in 1732 Emperor Yongzheng moved the customs office for Jiangsu province (江海关; see Customs House, Shanghai) from the prefectural capital of Songjiang city to Shanghai, and gave Shanghai exclusive control over customs collections for Jiangsu Province's foreign trade. As a result of these two critical decisions, Professor Linda Cooke Johnson has concluded that by 1735 Shanghai had become the major trade port for all of the lower Yangtze River region, despite still being at the lowest administrative level in the political hierarchy.^[24]

A three dimensional diorama of the Bund as it would have appeared in the 1940s

International attention to Shanghai grew in the 19th century due to European recognition of its economic and trade potential at the Yangtze River. During the First Opium War (1839–1842), British forces occupied the city. The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, which allowed the British to dictate opening the treaty ports, Shanghai included, for international trade. The Treaty of the Bogue signed in 1843, and the Sino-American Treaty of Wanghia signed in 1844 forced Chinese concession to European and American desires for visitation and trade on Chinese soil. Britain, France, and the United States all carved out concessions outside the walled city of Shanghai, which was still ruled by the Chinese.

The Chinese-held old city of Shanghai fell to the rebels of the Small Swords Society in 1853 but was recovered by the Qing in February 1855.^[25] In 1854, the Shanghai Municipal Council was created to manage the foreign settlements. Between 1860–1862, the Taiping rebels twice attacked Shanghai and destroyed the city's eastern and southern suburbs, but failed to take the city.^[26] In 1863, the British settlement to the south of Suzhou Creek (northern Huangpu District) and the American settlement to the north (southern Hongkou District) joined in order to form the Shanghai International Settlement. The French opted out of the Shanghai Municipal Council and maintained its own concession to the south and southwest.

A baby crying in the ruins of a Shanghai Railway Station bombed by the Japanese in August 1937

Citizens of many countries and all continents came to Shanghai to live and work during the ensuing decades; those who stayed for long periods – some for generations – called themselves "Shanghailanders".^[27] In the 1920s and 1930s, almost 20,000 White Russians and Russian Jews fled the newly established Soviet Union and took up residence in Shanghai. These Shanghai Russians constituted the second-largest foreign community. By 1932, Shanghai had become the world's fifth largest city and home to 70,000 foreigners.^[28] In the 1930s, some 30,000 Jewish refugees from Europe arrived in the city.^[29]

The Sino-Japanese War concluded with the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which elevated Japan to become another foreign power in Shanghai. Japan built the first factories in Shanghai, which were soon copied by other foreign powers. Shanghai was then the most important financial center in the Far East. All this international activity gave Shanghai the nickname "the Great Athens of China"^[30]

Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a typical shikumen building

Under the Republic of China (1911–1949), Shanghai's political status was finally raised to that of a municipality on 14 July 1927. Although the territory of the foreign concessions was excluded from their control, this new Chinese municipality still covered an area of 828.8 square kilometers, including the modern-day districts of Baoshan, Yangpu, Zhabei, Nanshi, and Pudong. Headed by a Chinese mayor and municipal council, the new city governments first task was to create a new city-center in Jiangwan town of Yangpu district, outside the boundaries of the foreign concessions. This new city-center was planned to include a public museum, library, sports stadium, and city hall.^[31]

On 28 January 1932, Japanese forces struck and the Chinese resisted, fighting to a standstill; a ceasefire was brokered in May. The Battle of Shanghai in 1937 resulted in the occupation of the Chinese administered parts of Shanghai outside of the International Settlement and the French Concession. The International Settlement was occupied by the Japanese on 8 December 1941 and remained occupied until Japan's surrender in 1945, during which time war crimes were committed.^[32]

On 27 May 1949, the People's Liberation Army took control of Shanghai, which was one of only three former Republic of China (ROC) municipalities not merged into neighboring provinces over the next decade (the others being Beijing and Tianjin).^[33] Shanghai underwent a series of changes in the boundaries of its subdivisions, especially in the next decade. After 1949, most foreign firms moved their offices from Shanghai to Hong Kong, as part of an exodus of foreign investment due to the Communist victory.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Shanghai became an industrial center and center for radical leftism; the leftist Jiang Qing and her three cohorts, together the Gang of Four, were based in the city.^[34] Yet, even during the most tumultuous times of the Cultural Revolution, Shanghai was able to maintain high economic productivity and relative social stability. In most of the history of the People's Republic of China (PRC), in order to funnel wealth to the rural areas, Shanghai has been a comparatively heavy contributor of tax revenue to the central government. This came at the cost of severely crippling Shanghai's infrastructural and capital development. Its importance to the fiscal well-being of the central government also denied it economic liberalizations begun in 1978. Shanghai was finally permitted to initiate economic reforms in 1991, starting the massive development still seen today and the birth of Lujiazui in Pudong.

Geography[link]

The Yangtze River Delta is shown in green in this map of Shanghai (on the east at center) alongside the neighboring provinces of Jiangsu (to the north and west) and Zhejiang (to the south and west). Parts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang which are outside the Yangtze River Delta are shown in yellow. Provincial boundaries are shown in purple, sub-provincial boundaries in grey.

The urban area of Shanghai can be seen in this natural-color satellite image (Landsat-7 2005-08-15).

Shanghai sits on the Yangtze River Delta on China's eastern coast, and is roughly equidistant from Beijing and Hong Kong. The municipality as a whole consists of a peninsula between the Yangtze and Hangzhou Bay, mainland China's second-largest island Chongming, and a number of smaller islands. It is bordered on the north and west by Jiangsu Province, on the south by Zhejiang Province, and on the east by the East China Sea. The city proper is bisected by the Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze. The historic center of the city, the Puxi area, is located on the western side of the Huangpu, while the newly developed Pudong, containing the central financial district Lujiazui, was developed on the eastern bank.

The vast majority of Shanghai's 6,340.5 km² (2,448.1 sq mi) land area is flat, apart from a few hills in the southwest corner, with an average elevation of 4 m (13 ft).^[3] The city's location on the flat alluvial plain has meant that new skyscrapers must be built with deep concrete piles to stop them from sinking into the soft ground. The highest point is at the peak of Dajinshan Island at 103 m (338 ft).^[3] The city has many rivers, canals, streams and lakes and is known for its rich water resources as part of the Taihu drainage area.^[2]

Climate[link]

Shanghai has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) and experiences four distinct seasons. Winters are chilly and damp, and cold northwesterly winds from Siberia can cause nighttime temperatures to drop below freezing, although most years there are only one or two days of snowfall. Summers are hot and humid, with an average of 8.7 days exceeding 35 °C (95 °F) annually; occasional downpours or freak thunderstorms can be expected. The city is also susceptible to typhoons in summer and the beginning of autumn, none of which in recent years has caused considerable damage.^[35] The most pleasant seasons are Spring, although changeable and often rainy, and Autumn, which is generally sunny and dry. The city averages 4.2 °C (39.6 °F) in January and 27.9 °C (82.2 °F) in July, for an annual mean of 16.1 °C (61.0 °F). Shanghai experiences on average 1,878 hours of sunshine per year, with the hottest temperature ever recorded at 40.2 °C (104 °F), and the lowest at −12.1 °C (10 °F).^[36]

Politics[link]

Like virtually all governing institutions in mainland China, the politics of Shanghai is structured in a dual party-government system,^[38] in which the Communist Party Chief, officially termed the Communist Party of China Shanghai Municipal Committee Secretary (currently Yu Zhengsheng), outranks the Mayor (currently Han Zheng).

Political power in Shanghai is widely seen as a stepping stone to higher positions in the national government. Since Jiang Zemin became the national party chief in June 1989, all but one former Shanghai party chief was elevated to the Politburo Standing Committee, the de facto highest decision-making body in China,^[38] including Jiang Zemin (General secretary and President),^[39] Zhu Rongji (Premier),^[40] Wu Bangguo (Chairman of the National People's Congress),^[41] Huang Ju (Vice Premier),^[42] and Xi Jinping (Vice President).^[43] Zeng Qinghong, a former deputy party chief of Shanghai, also rose to the Politburo Standing Committee and became the Vice President and an influential power broker.^[44] The only exception is Chen Liangyu, who was fired in 2006 and later convicted of corruption.^[45] Officials with ties to the Shanghai administration form a powerful faction in the national government, the so-called Shanghai Clique, which often competes against the rival Youth League Faction over personnel appointments and policy decisions:^[46] Xi Jinping, the presumptive successor to Hu Jintao as General Secretary and President, is a compromise candidate between the two groups with supporters in both camps.

Administrative divisions[link]

Shanghai is administratively equal to a province and is divided into 17 county-level divisions: 16 districts and one county. Even though every district has its own urban core, the real city center is between Bund to the east, Nanjing Rd to the north, Old City Temple and Huaihai Road to the south. Prominent central business areas include Lujiazui on the east bank of the Huangpu River, and The Bund and Hongqiao areas in the west bank of the Huangpu River. The city hall and major administration units are located in Huangpu District, which also serve as a commercial area, including the famous Nanjing Road. Other major commercial areas include Xintiandi and the classy Huaihai Road (previously Avenue Joffre) in Huangpu District and Xujiahui (formerly rendered in English as Zikawei, reflecting the Shanghainese pronunciation) in Xuhui District. Many universities in Shanghai are located in residential areas of Yangpu District and Putuo District.

The 17 districts and 1 county that make up the Municipality of Shanghai

Puxi:

Yangpu

Hongkou

Zhabei

Putuo

Changning

Xuhui

Jing'an

Huangpu

Chongming

Baoshan

Jiading

Pudong

Qingpu

Minhang

Songjiang

Fengxian

Jinshan

Eight of the districts govern Puxi (lit "Huangpu West Bank"), the older part of urban Shanghai on the west bank of the Huangpu River. These eight districts are collectively referred to as Shanghai Proper (上海市区) or the core city (市中心):

• Huangpu District (黄浦区 Huángpǔ Qū) – merged with Nanshi District in 2000, and Luwan District in 2011
• Xuhui District (徐汇区 Xúhuì Qū)
• Changning District (长宁区 Chángníng Qū)
• Jing'an District (静安区 Jìng'ān Qū)
• Putuo District (普陀区 Pǔtuó Qū)
• Zhabei District (闸北区 Zháběi Qū)
• Hongkou District (虹口区 Hóngkǒu Qū)
• Yangpu District (杨浦区 Yángpǔ Qū)

Pudong (lit "Huangpu East Bank"), the newer part of urban and suburban Shanghai on the east bank of the Huangpu River, is governed by:

• Pudong New District (浦东新区 Pǔdōng Xīn Qū) – Chuansha County until 1992, merged with Nanhui District in 2009

Seven of the districts govern suburbs, satellite towns, and rural areas further away from the urban core:

• Baoshan District (宝山区 Bǎoshān Qū) – Baoshan County until 1988
• Minhang District (闵行区 Mǐnháng Qū) – Shanghai County until 1992
• Jiading District (嘉定区 Jiādìng Qū) – Jiading County until 1992
• Jinshan District (金山区 Jīnshān Qū) – Jinshan County until 1997
• Songjiang District (松江区 Sōngjiāng Qū) – Songjiang County until 1998
• Qingpu District (青浦区 Qīngpǔ Qū) – Qingpu County until 1999
• Fengxian District (奉贤区 Fèngxián Qū) – Fengxian County until 2001

Chongming Island, an island at the mouth of the Yangtze, is governed by:

• Chongming County (崇明县 Chóngmíng Xiàn)

As of 2009, these county-level divisions are further divided into the following 210 township-level divisions: 109 towns, 2 townships, 99 subdistricts. Those are in turn divided into the following village-level divisions: 3,661 neighborhood committees and 1,704 village committees.^[47]

Economy[link]

Skyline of Pudong

Increasing influence over global capital market: Shanghai Stock Exchange

Shanghai Port is the world’s busiest container port

Shanghai is the commercial and financial center of mainland China, and ranks fifth in the 2011 edition of the Global Financial Centres Index published by the City of London.^[48] It was the largest and most prosperous city in the Far East during the 1930s, and rapid re-development began in 1990s.^[12] This is exemplified by the Pudong District, which became a pilot area for integrated economic reforms. By the end of 2009, there were 787 financial institutions, of which 170 were foreign-invested.^[49] In 2009, the Shanghai Stock Exchange ranked third among worldwide stock exchanges in terms of trading volume and sixth in terms of the total capitalization of listed companies, and the trading volume of six key commodities including rubber, copper and zinc on the Shanghai Futures Exchange all ranked first in the world.^[50]

In the last two decades Shanghai has been one of the fastest developing cities in the world. Since 1992 Shanghai has recorded double-digit growth almost every year except during the global recession of 2008 and 2009.^[51] In 2011, Shanghai's total GDP grew to 1.92 trillion yuan (US$297 billion) with GDP per capita of 82,560 yuan (US $12,784).^[5] The three largest service industries are financial services, retail, and real estate. The manufacturing and agricultural sectors accounted for 39.9 percent and 0.7 percent of the total output respectively.^[49] Average annual disposable income of Shanghai residents, based on the first three quarters of 2009, was 21,871 RMB.^[52]

Located at the heart of the Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai has the world’s busiest container port, which handled 29.05 million TEUs in 2010.^[10] Shanghai aims to be an international shipping center in the near future.^[53]

Shanghai is one of the main industrial centers of China, playing a key role in China’s heavy industries. A large number of industrial zones, including Shanghai Hongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone, Jinqiao Export Economic Processing Zone, Minhang Economic and Technological Development Zone, and Shanghai Caohejing High-Tech Development Zone, are backbones of Shanghai's secondary industry. Heavy industries accounted for 78% of the gross industrial output in 2009. China’s largest steelmaker Baosteel Group and Jiangnan Shipyard, one of China's oldest shipbuilders are both located in Shanghai.^[54] Auto manufacture is another important industry. The Shanghai-based SAIC Motor is one of the three largest automotive corporations in China, and has strategic partnerships with Volkswagen and General Motors.^[55]

Demographics[link]

A pedestrian-only section of East Nanjing Road

The 2010 census put Shanghai's total population at 23,019,148, a growth of 37.53% from 16,737,734 in 2000.^[4][57] 20.6 million of the total population, or 89.3%, are urban, and 2.5 million (10.7％) are rural.^[58] Based on population of total administrative area, Shanghai is the second largest of the four direct-controlled municipalities of China, behind Chongqing, but is generally considered the largest city in China because Chongqing's urban population is much smaller.^[6]

About 9 out of the 23 million residents of Shanghai, or more than 39%, are long-term migrants, triple the 3 million in 2000.^[59] The main origins of the migrants are Anhui (29.0%), Jiangsu (16.8%), Henan (8.7%), and Sichuan (7.0%) provinces, and 79% are from rural areas.^[59] They account for the entire population increase as Shanghai's natural growth rate has been negative since 1993 due to its extremely low fertility rate^[60] — just 0.6 in 2010, probably the lowest level anywhere in the world.^[61]

98.8% Of Shanghai's residents are of the Han Chinese ethnicity, while 1.2% belong to various minority groups. However, the minority population has grown by 165.54% since 2000, much faster than the overall population growth.^[57]

According to the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau, there were 152,050 officially registered foreigners in Shanghai as of 2009, an increase of 50% from 100,011 in 2005. The three largest foreign nationalities were Japanese (31,490), American (21,284) and Korean (20,700).^[62] Note that these statistics only show officially registered residents, and that the actual number of foreign citizens living in Shanghai is likely much higher. For example by 2009, the South Korean community in Shanghai increased to more than 70,000 according to Xinhua.^[63] Some foreign expatriates are staying in Shanghai as long-term settlers, renewing Shanghai's reputation as China's global city.^[64] In addition, there are a large number of people from Taiwan living within the municipality (2010 estimates vary around 700,000).^[65]

The life expectancy of Shanghai's registered residents in 2010 reached 82.13 years (79.82 for men and 84.44 for women), the highest in mainland China and higher than all but a few countries in the world. In the same year, the maternal mortality rate in Shanghai was 9.61 per 100,000, while the infant mortality rate dropped to 5.97 per 1,000 from 6.58 in 2009.^[66] Due to the combination of high life expectancy and low fertility rate, there is a serious aging problem among Shanghai's registered residents: as of 2009 only 8.3% of the total were under the age of 14, while 22.54% were over 60.^[67]

Religion[link]

Longhua Temple's inner courtyard

Due to its cosmopolitan history, Shanghai has a rich blend of religious heritage as shown by the religious buildings and institutions still scattered around the city. Taoism has a presence in Shanghai in the form of several temples, including the City God Temple, at the heart of the old city, and a temple dedicated to the Three Kingdoms general Guan Yu. The Wenmiao is a temple dedicated to Confucius. Buddhism has had a presence in Shanghai since ancient times. Longhua temple, the largest temple in Shanghai, and Jing'an Temple, were first founded in the Three Kingdoms period. Another important temple is the Jade Buddha Temple, which is named after a large statue of Buddha carved out of jade in the temple. In recent decades, dozens of modern temples have been built throughout the city. A predominant religion in Shanghai is Mahayana Buddhism, and Taoism is also followed by many Shanghai residents. Islam came into Shanghai 700 years ago and a mosque was built in 1295 in Songjiang. In 1843, a teachers' college was also set up. The Xiaotaoyuan Mosque is located at 52 Xiaotaoyuan Lane,East Fuxing Road, South District. This is where the Shanghai Muslim Association is also located, which has a reputation known throughout the world. Shanghai has the highest Catholic percentage in Mainland China (2003).^[68] Among Catholic churches, St Ignatius Cathedral in Xujiahui is one of the largest, while She Shan Basilica is the only active pilgrimage site in China. communities. Christianity in Shanghai includes Eastern Orthodox minorities and, since 1996, registered Christian Protestant churches. During World War II thousands of Jews descended upon Shanghai in an effort to flee Hitler’s regime. The Jews lived side-by-side in a designated area called Shanghai Ghetto and formed a vibrant community centered on the Ohel Moshe Synagogue, which is preserved remnant of this portion of Shanghai’s complex religious past.^[69]