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SHANGHAI - CHINA
Shanghai is China's largest city and is
situated on the banks of the Chang Jiang delta. In Chinese, Shanghai's
abbreviations are Hù (? or ?) and Shen (?). The name Shanghai literally
means "on the sea" or "onto the sea." Administratively, Shanghai is one of 4
municipalities of the People's Republic of China, which have provincial-level
status.
History
Before the forming of Shanghai city, Shanghai was called Songjiang county, a
part of Suzhou city. The county was formed around 1000 years ago. From the
time of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Shanghai gradually became a busy
seaport.
A city wall was built in AD 1553, which is
generally regarded as the beginning of Shanghai City. However, before the
19th century, Shanghai was not a major city, and in contrast to other major
Chinese cities, there are few ancient Chinese landmarks there. Before 1927
Shanghai belonged to Jiangsu province with the capital of Nanjing. Since
Shanghai became a Special Administration City in 1927, its official position
has been equal to China's province.
The role of Shanghai changed radically in the 19th century, as the city's
strategic position at the mouth of the Yangtze River made it an ideal
location for trade with the West.
During the First Opium War in the early-19th century, British forces
plundered Shanghai. The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, which saw
the treaty ports, Shanghai included, opened for international trade. The
Treaty of the Bogue signed in 1843, and the Sino-American Treaty of Wangsia
signed in 1844 together saw foreign nations achieve extraterritoriality on
Chinese soil.
The Taiping Rebellion broke out in 1850, and in 1853 Shanghai was occupied
by a triad offshoot of the rebels, called the Small Swords Society. The
fighting destroyed the countryside but left the foreigners' settlements
untouched, and Chinese arrived seeking refuge. Although previously Chinese
were forbidden to live in foreign settlements, 1854 saw new regulations
drawn up making land available to Chinese. Land prices rose substantially.
The year also saw the first annual meeting of the Shanghai Municipal Council,
substantiated in order to manage the foreign settlements. In 1863, the
British and American settlements joined in order to form the International
Settlement.
The Sino-Japanese War fought 1894-95 over control of Korea concluded with
the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which saw Japan emerge as an additional foreign
power in Shanghai. Japan built the first factories in Shanghai, which were
soon copied by other foreign powers to effect the emergence of Shanghai
industry. During World War II, Shanghai was a centre for refugees from
Europe. She was the only city in the world that was open unconditionally to
the Jews at the time.
Shanghai was then the biggest financial city in the Far East. Under the
Republic of China, Shanghai was made a special city in 1927, and a
municipality in May 1930. The Japanese Navy bombed Shanghai on January 28,
1932, in an effort to crush down Chinese student protests of the Manchurian
Incident and the subsequent Japanese occupation. Shanghai was lost to Japan
in the Battle of Shanghai in 1937 until its surrender in 1945.
On May 27, 1949, Shanghai became under communist control and was one of the
only two former ROC municipalities not immediately merged into neighbouring
provinces (the other being Beijing). It then underwent a series of changes
in the boundaries of its subdivisions, especially in the next decade.
After 1949, however, most foreign firms moved their offices from Shanghai to
Hong Kong. During the 1950s and 1960s, Shanghai became an industrial center
and center for revolutionary leftism. 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 PRC, Shanghai has been the largest contributor of tax revenue to the
central government compared with other Chinese provinces and municipalities.
In the early eighties, 70-80% of the entire national tax revenue came from
the municipality of Shanghai alone. This came at the cost of severely
crippling Shanghai's infrastructure and capital development. Its importance
to China's fiscal well-being also denied it economic liberalizations that
were started in the far southern provinces such as Guangdong during the mid-eighties.
At that time Guangdong province paid nearly no taxes to the central
government, and thus was perceived as fiscally dispendable for experimental
economic reforms. Shanghai was not permitted to initiate economic reforms
until 1991.
Shanghai has traditionally been seen as a stepping stone to positions within
the PRC central government. In the 1990s, there was often described a "Shanghai
clique" which included the president of the PRC Jiang Zemin and the premier
of the PRC Zhu Rongji. Starting in 1992, the central government under Jiang
Zemin, a former Mayor of Shanghai, began reducing the tax burden on Shanghai
and encouraging both foreign and domestic investment in order to promote it
as the economic hub of east Asia and to encourage its role as gateway of
investment to the Chinese interior. Since then it has experienced continuous
economic growth of between 9-15% annually, leading China's overall growth.
Administrative divisions
Shanghai is divided into 19 county-level divisions: 18 districts and 1
county.
Nine of the districts govern "Puxi", or the older part of urban and suburban
Shanghai on the west bank of the Huangpu River:
Huangpu District (Simplified Chinese; Hanyu Pinyin: Huángpu Qu)
Luwan District (Lúwan Qu)
Xuhui District (Xúhuì Qu)
Changning District (Chángníng Qu)
Jing'an District (Jìng'an Qu)
Putuo District (Putuó Qu)
Zhabei District (Zhábei Qu)
Hongkou District (Hóngkou Qu)
Yangpu District (Yángpu Qu)
"Pudong", or the newer part of urban and suburban Shanghai on the east bank
of the Huangpu River, is governed by:
Pudong New District (Pudong Xin Qu) — Chuansha County until 1992
Eight of the districts govern suburbs, satellite towns, and rural areas
further away from the urban core:
Baoshan District (Baoshan Qu) — Baoshan County until 1988
Minhang District (Minháng Qu) — Shanghai County until 1992
Jiading District (Jiadìng Qu) — Jiading County until 1992
Jinshan District (Jinshan Qu) — Jinshan County until 1997
Songjiang District (Songjiang Qu) — Songjiang County until 1998
Qingpu District (Qingpu Qu) — Qingpu County until 1999
Nanhui District (Nánhuì Qu) — Nanhui County until 2001
Fengxian District (Fèngxián Qu) — Fengxian County until 2001
Chongming Island, an island at the mouth of the Yangtze, is governed by:
Chongming County (Chóngmíng Xiàn)
As of 2003, these county-level divisions are further divided into the
following 221 township-level divisions: 118 towns, 3 townships, 100
subdistricts. Those are in turn divided into the following village-level
divisions: 3,393 neighborhood committees and 2,037 village committees.
List of towns:
Anting, Jiading District
Economy
Shanghai is the financial and trade center of China. It began economic
reforms in 1992, a decade later than many of the Southern Chinese provinces.
Prior to then, much of the city revenue went directly to the capital,
Beijing, with little return. Even with a decreased tax burden after 1992,
Shanghai's tax contribution to the central government is around 20-25% of
the national total (Shanghai's annual tax burden pre-1990s was on average
70% of the national). Shanghai today is the biggest and most developed city
in mainland China. As of 2003, the official registered population is 13.5
million; however, 6 million more people work and live in Shanghai
undocumented, and of the 6 million, 3 million belong to the "floating
population" of temporary migrant workers.
Shanghai and Hong Kong have had a recent rivalry over which city is to be
the economic center of China. The city had a GDP of ¥36206 (ca. US$4370) per
capita in 2003, ranked no. 13 among all 659 Chinese cities. Hong Kong has
the advantage of a stronger legal system and greater banking and service
expertise. Shanghai has stronger links to both the Chinese interior and the
central government, in addition to a stronger base in manufacturing and
technology. Since the handover of Hong Kong to the PRC, Shanghai has
increased its role in finance, banking, and as a major destination for
corporate headquarters, fueling demand for a highly educated and westernized
workforce. Shanghai's economy is steadily growing at 11%.
Architecture
As in many other areas in China, Shanghai is undergoing a building boom. In
Shanghai the modern architecture is notable for its styling, especially in
the highest floors, several supporting restaurants resembling flying saucers.
Some are brilliant, others are not, but all are worth a look.
Geography and climate
Shanghai faces the East China Sea (part of the Pacific Ocean), and is
bisected by the Huangpu River. Puxi contains the city proper on the western
side of Huangpu river, while an entirely new financial district has been
erected on the eastern bank of the Huangpu in Pudong.
Shanghai experiences all four seasons, with freezing temperatures during the
winter season and a 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) average high
during the hottest months of July and August. Occasionally, the summer
temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahreheit). Winter is
typically grey, and summers can be quite humid. Autumn and spring in
Shanghai are cool and crisp, and generally agreed as the best time to be in
Shanghai. Winter begins in mid December and ends around early March.
Scattered light rain is frequent around mid-June to July.
Transportation
Shanghai has an excellent public transportation system and in contrast to
other major Chinese cities has clean streets and surprisingly little air
pollution. The public transportation system in Shanghai is flourishing:
Shanghai has more than one thousand bus lines and the Shanghai Metro
(subway) has four lines (numbers 1, 2, 3, 5) at present. According to the
development schedule of the Government, by the year 2010, another 8 lines
will be built in Shanghai.
Shanghai has two airports: Hongqiao and Pudong International. Transrapid (a
German maglev company, which has a test track in Emsland, Germany),
constructed the first operational maglev railway in the world, from
Shanghai's Long Yang Road subway station to its airport. It was inaugurated
in 2002. Commercial exploitation has started in 2003. It takes 8 mins to
travel 30km.
Three railways intersect in Shanghai: Beijing-Shanghai Railway passing
through Nanjing(??? Jing Hu Line), Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway (??? Hu Hang
Line), and Xiaoshan-Ningbo (??? Xiao Yong Line).
Shanghai is also connected to the Chinese capital Beijing via a 1000+
kilometre expressway, the Jinghu Expressway.
People and culture
The native language spoken is Shanghainese, a dialect of Wu Chinese; while
the official language is Mandarin. The local dialect is mutually
unintelligible with Mandarin, and is an inseparable part of the Shanghainese
identity. Nearly all Shanghainese under the age of 50 can speak Mandarin
fluently; and those under age of 25, have had contact with English since
primary school.
Shanghai is the birthplace of everything considered modern in China; and was
the cultural and economic center of East Asia for the first half of the
twentieth century. It was the intellectual battleground between socialist
writers who concentrated on critical realism (pioneered by Lu Xun and Mao
Dun) and the more bourgeois, more romantically and aesthetically inclined
writers (such as Shi Zhecun, Shao Xunmei, Ye Lingfeng, Eileen Chang).
Besides literature, Shanghai was also the birthplace of Chinese cinema.
China’s first short film, The Difficult Couple (Nanfu Nanqi, 1913), and the
country’s first fictional feature film, Orphan Rescues Grandfather (Gu’er
Jiuzu Ji, 1923) were both produced in Shanghai. These two films were very
influential, and established Shanghai as the center of Chinese film-making.
Shanghai’s film industry went on to blossom during the early Thirties,
generating Marilyn Monroe like stars such as Zhou Xuan, who committed
suicide in 1957. The talent and passion of Shanghainese filmmakers following
World War II and the Communist Revolution contributed enormously to the
development of the Hong Kong film industry.
Shanghainese people have been stereotyped by other Chinese (both urban and
rural) as being pretentious, arrogant, and xenophobic; and at the same time
admired for their meticulous attention to detail, faithfulness in contract,
and professionalism. Nearly all registered Shanghainese residents are
descendents of immigrants from the two small adjacent provinces of Jiangsu
and Zhejiang, regions that generally speak the same family of dialects as
the Shanghainese, that is Wu Chinese. Much of pre-modern Shanghainese
culture is an integration of cultural elements from these two regions. The
Shanghainese dialect reflects this as well. Recent migrants into Shanghai,
however, come from all over China, do not speak the local dialect and are
therefore forced to use Mandarin as a lingua franca. Rising crime rate,
littering, harrassive panhandling, and overloading of basic infrastructure
(mainly public transportation, schools) associated with the rise of these
migrant populations (over 3 million new migrants in 2003 alone) have been
generating some extent of ill will and xenophobia from the Shanghainese. The
new migrants are easy to spot by the Shanghainese, and are often targets of
both intentional and unintentional discrimination. This further intensifies
the misunderstandings and stereotypes between the Shanghainese and the
Chinese outside of the Lower Yangtze basin.
One uniquely Shanghainese cultural element is the Shikumen residencies
(longtang), which are characteristic two or three-storey black/gray brick
structures cut across with a few decorative dark red stripes. Each residence
is connected and arranged in straight alleys, with the entrance to each
alley, the gate, wrapped by a stylistic stone arc (the name Shikumen is
literally stone gate). The Shikumen residencies is a cultural blend of the
elements found in Western architecture with traditional Lower Yangtze
Chinese architecture and social behavior. All traditional Chinese dwellings
had a courtyard, and the Shikumen was no exception. Yet, to compromise with
its urban nature, it was much much smaller, and served mainly as a room
without a roof, providing a "interior haven" to the commotions in the
streets, allowing for raindrops to fall and vegetation to grow freely within
a residence. The courtyard also allowed sunlight and adequate ventilation
into the rooms. Before World War II, more than 80% of the population in the
city lived in these kinds of dwellings.
Other Shanghainese cultural artifacts include the cheongsam, a modernization
of the traditional Chinese/Manchurian qipao garment first appeared in the
1910s in Shanghai. The cheongsam dress was slender with a high cut, and
tight fitting. This contrasts sharply with the traditional qipao which was
designed to conceal the figure and be worn regardless of age. The cheongsam
went along well with the western overcoat and the scarf, and portrayed an
unique East Asian modernity, epitomizing the Shanghainese population in
general. As Western fashions changed, the basic cheongsam design changed,
too, introducing high-necked sleeveless dresses, bell-like sleeves and, the
black lace frothing at the hem of a ball gown. By the 1940s, cheongsams came
in transparent black, beaded bodices, matching capes and even velvet. And
later, checked fabrics became also quite common. The 1949 Communist
Revolution ended the cheongsam and other fashions in Shanghai. However, the
Shanghainese styles have seen a recent revival as stylish party dresses.
Much of the Shanghainese culture (Shanghainese Pops) were transferred to
Hong Kong by the millions of Shanghainese emmigrants and refugees after the
Communist Revolution. The movie In the Mood for Love directed by Wong
Kar-wai (a native Shanghainese himself) depicts one slice of the displaced
Shanghainese community in Hong Kong and the nostalgia for that era,
featuring 1940s music by Zhou Xuan.
Cultural sites in Shanghai include:
The Bund
Shanghai Museum
Shanghai Grand Theater
Longhua Temple, largest temple in Shanghai, built during the Three Kingdoms
period
Yuyuan Gardens
Jade Buddha Temple
Jing An Temple
Xujiahui Cathedral, largest Catholic cathedral in Shanghai
Dongjiadu Cathedral
She Shan Cathedral
The Orthodox Eastern Church
Xiaodaoyuan (Mini-Peach Orchard) Mosque
Songjiang Mosque
Ohel Rachel Synagogue
Lu Xun Memorial
Shikumen site of the First CPC Congress
Residence of Sun Yat-sen
Residence of Chiang Kai-shek
Shanghai residence of Qing Dynasty Viceroy and General Li Hongzhang
Ancient rivertowns of Zhujiajiao and Zhoushi on the outskirts of Shanghai
Colleges and universities
National
Shanghai Jiaotong University (founded in 1896)
Fudan University (founded in 1905)
Fudan University Shanghai Medical College (formally Shanghai Medical
University, founded 1927)
Tongji University (founded in 1907)
East China Normal University
East China University of Science and Technology
Donghua University
Shanghai International Studies University
Shanghai University of Finance and Economics
Public
Shanghai Second Medical University
Second Military Medical University
Shanghai Teachers University
East China University of Politics and Law
Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Shanghai Theater Academy
Shanghai University
Shanghai Maritime University
Shanghai University of Electric Power
University of Shanghai for Science and Technology
Shanghai University of Engineering Sciences
Shanghai Institute of Technology
Shanghai Fisheries University
Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade
Shanghai Institute of Physical Education
Private
Sanda University
Miscellaneous
The tallest structure in China, the distinctive Oriental Pearl Tower, is
located in Shanghai. The Jin Mao tower located nearby is mainland China's
tallest skyscraper, and ranks fourth after Sears Tower in the world.
Shanghai will be the host of Expo 2010, a World's Fair.
Professional sports teams in Shanghai include:
Chinese Football Association Super League
Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai International
Chinese Basketball Association
Shanghai Dongfang Sharks
The city has hosted the first Formula One Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai
International Circuit on 26 September 2004.
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