Shanghai City

Shanghai (pron: Shung high), which means the 'City on the Sea', is called 'Hu' (pron: Who) for short. It is one of the largest cities in China, covering a total area of 6,341 square kilometres with an urban area of 2,643 square kilometres. Its latitude is 31°N and longitude 121°E, equal to about Coolgardie in Western Australia. The population of Shanghai is around 13 million people, and it is estimated that by the year 2015 it will reach 23.4 million.

The city is divided into two main areas, Pudong and Puxi, which lie east and west of the Huangpu River.

Brief history

Under the Tang (618-907) and Song Dynasties (1127-1279), Shanghai was an undistinguished port and fishing village. Under the Yuan Dynasty (1260-1378), it became a minor centre for cotton spinning and weaving. Shanghai became more of a trading centre in the 17th and 18th centuries with the development of silk production, and by the early 1800s it was a flourishing domestic port with a population of around 50,000.

Significant growth occurred after the arrival of Europeans in the mid 19th century, and the city developed as an enclave for Western commercial interests in China. Each of the major foreign powers claimed a section of the city and the Chinese were barred from free access to large portions of their own territory. The Japanese occupied Shanghai from 1937 until their defeat in 1945, when the Allies relinquished their extraterritorial claims and all of Shanghai reverted to the rule of the Chinese.

Modern Shanghai

Today, Shanghai is the centre of trade, technology, culture and communications in China. Textiles, steel, manufacturing and shipbuilding dominate the city's economy, with almost half the workers involved in manufacturing.

City planners promise that soon, Shanghai will not only be China's financial and manufacturing capital, but its 'green' capital as well. Already 1,800 hectares of greenway with trees and lawns have been created. The harbour is to be transformed by green corridors, a flower bridge, museums, marinas, riverside parks and new housing estates.

The official City Flower of Shanghai is the white magnolia (Magnolia denudata).

Copyright CTC Productions 2004