Shanghai

Shanghai(in Chinese, END; pinyin, Shànghăi; pronounced in Spanish "Shang-hái", in Chinese standard [. ŋ.xài]( listen)in Chinese wu shang-hainés ZåⁿHae; literally 'at sea') is the most populous city in China and one of the most populous in the world. Administratively, it is one of the four central municipalities that, together with the twenty-two provinces, five autonomous regions and two special administrative regions, make up the People ' s Republic of China. It has more than 24 million inhabitants. Located in East China, Shanghai lies on the Yangtse River delta, centered on the East China Sea coast and is administered at the highest level with the category of direct control municipality.

The area where the city is located was settled and settled by refugees fleeing the Mongols around 960-1126 AD. C. Formerly it was dedicated to fishing and textiles but its importance grew in the XIX century due to its strategic location as a port of the sea, the Western imposition of opening up to international traffic established by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 and the occupation of its territory through the "Shanghai International Concession" in favor of fourteen foreign powers. Shanghai flourished as a commercial axis between China and the colonial powers and as a financial and commercial node from 1930. The western population began to leave the area at the beginning of the Pacific War in 1941 until finally, after the revolution and civil war, in 1949 the activity of Shanghai was considerably reduced, ceasing to receive foreign investment. With economic reforms during the 1990s, Shanghai experienced spectacular financial and tourism growth, hosting many multinational companies and cutting-edge skyscrapers. It is currently the largest port in the world by volume of merchandise.

The city is a tourist destination for its monuments such as the Bund, the Temple of the City God, the skyscrapers of Pudong and as a cosmopolitan center of culture and design, on the other hand it hosted the World Expo in 2010 on the urbanism of the future. Today Shanghai is often described as the "star piece" of the world's fastest growing economy, locked in competition with Guangzhou and the Pearl River urban area, to become the largest city in China.

Administratively, Shanghai is one of four municipalities in the People's Republic of China directly administered by the country's central government. Shanghai is the economic capital of China. It occupies an area of 6,340 km². The local dialect is not Mandarin Chinese, but Shanghainese, a variety of Wu Chinese (吳語, wúyǔ).

Toponymy

The two sinograms of Shanghai (上, shàng, and 海, hǎi) literally mean 'above, over, or above' and 'sea', respectively. The first mention of this name dates from the Song dynasty (XI century), at which time there was already a confluence of rivers and a city with that name. The official local interpretation says that it refers to 'the upper stretch of the sea'. Some Chinese historians have concluded that due to changes in the coastline and sea level during the Tang dynasty, Shanghai was literally on the sea. However, another reading, especially in Mandarin, adds the meaning of 'going to the sea', something consistent with its status as a seaport. Flipping the sinograms results in Hǎishàng (海上), a more poetic place name often used in connection with Shanghainese arts and cuisine.

Shanghai is abbreviated in Chinese as Hù (沪) although another common alias is Shēn (申). The former derives from an ancient name for the Wusong River, Hu Du (沪渎), while the latter derives from the name of Chunshen Jun (春申君), a local nobleman and revered hero of the Chu Kingdom in the century III a. C. whose territory includes the Shanghai area.

History

Walls of the old city of Shanghai. Painting of the centuryXVII

Shanghai began to gain importance as a city during the Han dynasty when the fishing and salt industry began to develop. In 1074, during the Song dynasty, Shanghai was upgraded from a village (cun) to a trading town (zhen), and in 1172, a second breakwater was built to stabilize the ocean shoreline by complementing the existing dike. In the Yuan dynasty from 1292 until it officially became a city in 1297, it was considered a mere district (xian) administered by Songjiang (松江) prefecture (fu). In the XII Shanghai was already an important center of the cotton industry.

In the early 19th century, Shanghai became China's main industrial and commercial center due to its strategic location, near the Yangzi River, which facilitated trade with the West. At the end of the First Opium War, in 1842, the British demanded, through the Treaty of Nanjing, that Shanghai and other ports be opened to international trade, so that various areas of the city were left under "concessions": English, French and american. In 1932, Shanghai was the fifth largest city in the world and home to 70,000 foreigners.

In 1937, after the Battle of Shanghai, the city fell to the Japanese. This occupation lasted until 1945. During the Second World War it became a point of refuge for thousands of Europeans.

Shanghai Street in the late 1970s

With the triumph of the Chinese Revolution in 1949, many of the foreign businessmen moved their businesses to Hong Kong. However, Shanghai quickly regained its economic importance in the 1980s and 1990s, and today it is one of China's industrial powerhouses.

Geography

Situated in the Yangtze River Delta on China's east coast, Shanghai is roughly equidistant between the cities of Beijing and Hong Kong. The municipality encompasses the peninsula between the Yangtze River and Hangzhou Bay, Chongming Island (the third largest in China) and several small islands. It borders Jiangsu Province to the north and west, Zhejiang to the south, and the East China Sea to the east. The Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze, divides the city in two: on its western bank is the old town or historical center, Puxi, and on the eastern bank is the financial district, Pudong.

Shanghai sits on an alluvial plain so most of its 6,218 km² are flat terrain with an average elevation of 4 meters above sea level. The highest point is on Dajinshan Island at 103 meters. That is why your new skyscrapers need to be built with deep and strong foundations to prevent them from collapsing. The city has several rivers, canals, streams and lakes, being known for the richness of the water from the drained area of Lake Taihu.

During the 1950s, the people's government built, in what was formerly the hippodrome created by the British, the People's Square, where emblematic buildings such as the City Hall, the Shanghai Museum or the Shanghai Grand Theater were installed. On the other hand, in Lujiazui, the CBD of Shanghai, 50 new skyscrapers will be built, adding to the 110 existing ones with a futuristic appearance. In this district, the Shanghai International Financial Center was erected in June 2010, which is the tallest building in Shanghai, with 101 floors and 492 meters high. The project will be finished in 2012.

Pudong, city financial centre

However, environmental awareness is growing and the city is investing in environmental recovery projects, including among the city's projects the creation of new cultural centers that expand the offer within the city. One of these projects is the cleanup of the small Suzhou River that runs through the historic center of the city, which was completed in 2008. The government also encourages the use of low consumption LPG buses and taxis, and although air pollution is lower than other Chinese cities such as Beijing, its rapid development during the 1990s and 2000s keep it at a high level compared to other cities in the balloon in similar conditions.

Climate

Although Shanghai is not directly in contact with the sea (the coast is 40 kilometers from the city center); The proximity of the mouth of the Yangtze River (20 kilometers away) and Taihu Lake mean that the city maintains high levels of humidity throughout the year. Shanghai has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with marked seasons: in winter, the northerly winds from Siberia cause real temperature drops and there are 6.2 days of snowfall per year. In summer, temperatures and humidity are high, making this season another very hard time for the local population. The highest temperature recorded in the city was 38 °C and the lowest was -15 °C.

Occasionally there are snows and notable summer storms. In addition, typhoons are not uncommon in Shanghai, although none of them have caused significant damage. The mildest and coolest seasons of the year are spring and autumn, which are often cloudy and dry. Shanghai enjoys 1,778 hours of sunshine per year and the rainfall period is concentrated between spring and autumn, with the monsoons.

Average Shanghai climate parameters
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	22.1	27.0	29.6	34.3	35.5	37.5	39.0	39.9	38.2	34.0	28.7	23.4	39.9
Average temperature (°C)	8.1	10.1	13.8	19.5	24.8	27.8	32.2	31.5	27.9	22.9	17.3	11.1	20.6
Average temperature (°C)	6.1	8.75	10.35	15.7	21.05	24.75	29.0	28.65	25.15	19.85	13.95	7.9	17.55
Temp. medium (°C)	2.1	3.7	6.9	11.9	17.3	21.7	25.8	25.8	22.4	16.8	10.6	4.7	14.1
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	−10.1	−7.9	−5.4	−0.5	6.9	12.3	16.3	18.8	10.8	1.7	−4.2	−8.5	−10.1
Total precipitation (mm)	74.4	59.1	93.8	74.2	84.5	181.8	145.7	213.7	87.1	55.6	52.3	43.9	1166.1
Precipitation days (≥ 0.25 mm)	9.9	9.2	12.4	11.2	10.4	12.7	11.4	12.3	9.1	6.9	7.6	7.7	120.8
Hours of sun	114.3	119.9	128.5	148.5	169.8	130.9	190.8	185.7	167.5	161.4	131.1	127.4	1775.8
Source: BBC 2008

Demographics

Shanghai's economic success has great appeal to millions of Chinese. To control the influx of people, the city government created a registration system for residents with a residence permit in Shanghai. The population has remained stable despite Shanghai being the economically dominant city in China, after a rapid population increase in the 1950s and 1980s. Since the 1990s, the increase has been slower.

Children in a Minhang district nursery in the 1970s

In 1957 there were 6.9 million people in the city, in 2007 there are about 9.7 million inhabitants. The population density in the city is 12,946 inhabitants per square kilometer. In the municipality, the population density is 2,903 inhabitants per square kilometer and there are 18.4 million people in it. Of them, 13.7 million residents are registered with permanent residence (户/户口, hùkǒu) and 4.7 million residents are registered with temporary residence (流动人口/流动人口, liúdòng rénkǒu).

Population growth is being driven solely by immigration, as the natural growth of permanent residents is very low due to the huge decline in birth rates (something characteristic to date in all cities in China). The annual growth rate of residents with a residence permit was around 4% in 1957, this percentage quickly fell below 1% and finally, in 2000, it reached a negative value: -0.19%. The natural growth rate was -0.14% in 2005, the birth rate: 6.08 per 1,000 inhabitants, and the death rate: 7.54 per 1,000 inhabitants.

The following table shows the historical growth of the city's population both without the suburban area (the first two) and with it included.

Politics

Shanghai municipal government headquarters building

Shanghai has been a crucial political center of China since the 20th century. The first National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Shanghai. In addition, many of China's top government officials in Beijing are known to have risen in Shanghai in the 1980s from a platform critical of the radicalism of the Cultural Revolution, earning them the nickname "Shanghai Clique" for years. ninety. Shanghai's top officials, the party chief and the mayor, have always been prominent on a national scale. Four Municipal Party Committee secretaries or mayors have risen to senior positions in the central government, including former President Jiang Zemin, former Premier Zhu Rongji and current President Xi Jinping.

Administration

Shanghai is a direct administration municipality, that is, it is controlled from the central government as well as the provinces. Shanghai is divided into 16 urban districts, although each district has its own urban core, the city government and main administrative units are located in the Huangpu district, which also serves as the commercial area of the city, including the famous Nanjing Road.. Many universities in Shanghai are located in the residential areas of Yangpu and Putuo districts.

Shanghai Divisions

Shanghai District Map

Eight of the districts govern Puxi or Shanghai's old town on the west bank of the Huangpu River. These nine districts or neighborhoods are known as the "real Shanghai" (上海市区) or heart of the city (市中心):

• Huangpu District (~区γ; Huángpŭ Qū)
• Xuhui District (Q Xúhuì Qū)
• Changning District (quarters corridor Qū)
• Jing'an District (spoke diagnosis Jìng'ān Qū)
• Putuo District (........)
• Zhabei District (北국 Zháběi Qū) — fused to Jing'an in 2015
• Hongkou District ()γ)γ Hóngkoviću qū)
• Yangpu District (tiles区γ Yángpѕ Qū)

Seven districts are satellite cities, suburban or rural:

• District of Baoshan (transcriptional Băoshān Qū) — Baoshan County until 1988
• Minhang District (Mррр Mκnháng Qū) — Shanghai County until 1992
• Jiading District, Jiading County, 1992
• Jinshan District (wastarget Jīnshān Qū) — county until 1997
• Songjiang District (HISPANIC Sōngjiāng Qū) — county through 1998
• Qingpu District (γ)γ Qīngpŭ Qū) — County until 1999
• Fengxian District (区γ Fèngxián Qū) — county until 2001

On Chongming Island:

• Chongming County (明strict) Chóngmíng Xiàn)

Economy

Shanghai Stock Exchange in Lujiazui District

The city of Shanghai is the main commercial and financial center of China and one of the most important in the world. The Shanghai Stock Exchange, despite not being fully open to foreign investors, is already considered the second largest in the world. Modern development began with the economic reforms of 1992, a decade after many southern provinces, but Shanghai has since quickly outgrown these provinces and has maintained its role as a business hub on Chinese soil. Shanghai is also home to the largest market share in mainland China. It is one of the busiest ports in the world, since 2005 it has ranked first among the world's busiest ports in terms of cargo, handling a total of 570 million tons of cargo in 2007. According to container traffic, it has surpassed Hong Kong to become the second busiest port in the world, after Singapore.

Shanghai and Hong Kong vie to be the economic center of China, one officially communist and the other officially capitalist. Although Hong Kong has a stronger legal system; better integration in the international market; greater economic freedom and experience in services and banks; lower taxes and a fully convertible currency, Shanghai has stronger ties to the Chinese interior, better coordination with the central government, and a greater base in manufacturing and technology. Shanghai has increased its role in finance, banking, and as a major corporate headquarters destination, fueling demand for a high level of education and modernized work. The city has recorded double-digit growth for fifteen consecutive years since 1992. In 2007, nominal GDP grew by 13.3% (1.2 trillion yuan) and in 2008 by 9.7% (1.37 trillion yuan). yuan). The Shanghai Stock Exchange is the most powerful in the world with its SSE index growing at 130% in 2006.

Like many other areas in China, Shanghai is experiencing a construction boom. In Shanghai, modern architecture is characterized by its unique style, especially on the higher floors, with several top-floor restaurants resembling flying saucers. Most of the buildings in Shanghai that are being built today are high-rise. There is now a strong concentration of urban planners to develop more "green areas" between apartment complexes in order to improve the quality of life for Shanghai residents, quite in line with the "better city-better life" theme of Expo 2010.

Notable industrial zones include Z.D.E.T. Shanghai Hongqiao, Jinqiao Export Economic Processing Z., Z.D.E.T. Minhang and Z.D. high and new technology Shanghai Caohejing, see list of Z.D.E.T. from Shanghai.

Infrastructures with economic impact

Skyscrapers

The city of Shanghai has a large number of high-rise and designer skyscrapers. Most of them are located in the districts of Pudong, Huangpu, Xuhui, Jing'an, Changning and Zhabei.

Panorama of Pudong, the city's financial district

Pudong
Pudong district is home to a large number of buildings, including the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC), the Jin Mao, the One Lujiazui, etc. The Shanghai Tower, the second tallest skyscraper in the world, stands out above the rest. In turn, there are also large projects under construction or not yet built; the vast majority are in a small space surrounding the famous curved section of the Huangpu Jiang.

Huangpu
In this district there are a large number of buildings such as Tomorrow Square, K11, Shimao International Plaza. Most of these are of a commercial nature, as this region is one of the most influential in Shanghai's economy. There are also a large number of hotel and residential buildings, since this is a district with great tourist attractions and is one of the most populated in Shanghai. A good example is the Oasis Skyway Garden Hotel.

Xuhui
Although this district is mainly residential, it contains modern skyscrapers in one part. These are of all kinds, some adorn other structures such as stadiums, museums, libraries, etc.; among these are the Grand Gateway Shanghai.

Jing'an
There are a lot of buildings here, most of them are located in a small area; among which stand out the Plaza 66, the Shanghai Plaza Wheelock.

Changning
In the Changnin district, there are a good number of skyscrapers such as the Changfeng Hotel, the Cloud Nine, the Maxdo Center; most of the skyscrapers in this district exceed the barrier of 150 meters.

Zhabei
In this district there are a large number of buildings such as the BM Plaza Shanghai, there are also projects under construction such as the Greentech Tower.

Tourism

Shanghai has some very picturesque areas, such as this Minhang district channel.

Tourism is an important sector of the Chinese economy and Shanghai is one of the favorite locations for tourists when traveling to China. For example, on China's National Day alone, which is part of one of the country's three "golden weeks" for tourism, the city welcomed more than 4 million tourists.

One of the city's tourist attractions is its historic promenade along the Huangpu River, the Bund, where twenty-four buildings are located that show the remains of British colonial power and that make up a whole range of architectural styles such as Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, Beaux-Arts or Art Deco. Among them are the Customs House (with its famous Big Ching bell in analogy with Big Ben), the old Bank of Hong Kong and Shanghai, the Peace Hotel and the Bank of China. This promenade surrounded by classic buildings contrasts with the modern and futuristic district of Pudong, located opposite the Bund, on the other bank of the river and where many skyscrapers emerge, including the imposing Pearl of the Orient Television Tower. The tower is the third tallest in the world at 468 meters and has three imposing spheres. Another essential tower in the city is the Jin Mao and its 88 floors.

Yuyuan Gardens and bazaar were founded in 1559 by the official Pan Yunduan. They are located in the historic center of the city and have been restored several times due to, among other things, being looted in the XIX century by Westerners. Another of the famous places in Shanghai is the Headquarters of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, now converted into a museum that witnesses the meeting between Li Hanjun and Mao Tse-Tung on July 23, 1921 in one of the rooms. It was restored in 1998.

People's Square stands on the city's old hippodrome and is shaped like a crescent. It houses the Shanghai Grand Theatre, the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, the Municipal Government Building and the Shanghai Museum. Throughout history, important events have taken place in the square, such as the Red Guard demonstrations in the 1960s and the popular protest in 1989. One of the streets that lead to the square is the mythical and pedestrian Nanjing, in which where there are numerous shops and businesses, making it one of the main attractions for foreign tourism in Shanghai. Another well-known street in Shanghai is Zhapu lu, full of restaurants, illuminated signs and continuous traffic.

The Jade Buddha Temple

In the Temple of the Jade Buddha you can find Buddha statues from Burma in the XIX century and made with jade.

Xintiandi, for its part, is an area of old shikumen (traditional Shanghai houses) reconstructed and now an attractive leisure offer with bars, restaurants, cinemas and shops, located in the heart of the historic city.

Very popular are also the French Quarter in Shanghai, whose legacy is a series of houses in a characteristic French colonial architectural style, and the Jing'an Temple.

Tourist attractions

• Shanghai was elected in 2002 to organize Expo 2010.
• Three of China's tallest buildings are in Shanghai: the East Pearl Tower, the East Pearl Tower, the Jing Mao skyscraper, and the Shanghai World Financial Centre, which is the highest in the country and in 2008 the sixth in the world.
• Shanghai organized on 26 September 2004 for the first time the China Formula 1 Grand Prix.
• This city is the only one in the world that has a commercial Transrapid system.
• In 2016 a new amusement park was built Disney named Shanghai Disneyland Resort in Pudong District and attracts millions of national and international tourists.

Transportation

Shanghai Port, one of the most important in the world

Ports

The most important ports are:

• Port of Wusongkuo (Wusong): the oldest port in Shanghai, is located at the mouth of the Huangpu River in the Yangtzé.
• Waigaoqiao Port is located on the right (south) marguen of the Yangtzé River mouth and is the first free trade zone in China.
• Deep-water port of Yangshan: limestone problems in the other ports that prevented the entry of post-panamax vessels contribute to the decision to build at the end of the centuryXX. a large enlargement, which will be translated into large port of Yangshan. The location of the port was chosen in the Yangshan Islands, located in Hangzhou Bay, about 32 km from the continent, which have limestones between 15 and 20 meters. To save that distance the Donghai Bridge was built.

Railroads

The Transrapid train leaving Shanghai-Pudong International Airport

Shanghai Railway Station is the most important hub of rail transportation in Shanghai. The city has excellent connections with the most important cities around it, such as Beijing (12-hour journey) or Hong Kong (25-hour night journey).

In cooperation with the Shanghai Municipality and SMT (Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co.), the German Transrapid built the Shanghai Maglev, the world's first commercial Maglev or magnetic levitation train in 2002, from the street station Longyang to Pudong International Airport. The 30 km of the route are covered in 7 minutes and 21 seconds, reaching a top speed of 431 km/h.

The Shanghai Metro is one of the largest and fastest growing systems in the world (the first line opened in 1995).

Airports

Shanghai has two airports: Hongqiao International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport, the latter of which has the third busiest traffic in China. Pudong handles more international traffic than Beijing with more than 17.15 million passengers handled in 2006 out of the 12.6 million passengers that the capital's airport received. It is located 30 km southeast of Shanghai and was inaugurated on 1 October 1999. It has three terminals and is the headquarters of the national company Air China, located in the modern T2, whose 485,000 m² of built area is twice the size of T1.

Hongqiao International Airport, for its part, was the most important airport in the city before the construction of Pudong. It is located 18 km to the southwest and mainly serves direct domestic and international routes to Tokyo on the Haneda Airport, Hong Kong, Macao and Seoul City.

Roads

Shanghai's major expressways are named after the points they connect to. Two of the main ones are Shanghai-Nanking and Shanghai-Beijing. More than six national highways (with the prefix "G") from Beijing and the region around Shanghai connect to the city. Shanghai has six free elevated expressways (skyways) in the urban core and 18 municipal expressways (with the prefix "A"). There are ambitious plans to build expressways to connect Shanghai with the urban core of Chongming Island, and links to nearby towns such as Zhouzhuang, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Ningbo will be improved.

Transportation services

Map of Shanghai Metro

Shanghai has an extensive public transportation system, based mainly on buses, and a rapidly expanding metro system. For a city the size of Shanghai, road traffic is quite smooth and comfortable, but increasingly seriously threatened by the rapid increase in private car use.

Shanghai Metro and Light Rail number eighteen lines as of November 2021. According to the municipal government's development schedule, by 2035 more lines will be added for a total system extension of around 2,000 km. Bus and subway fares range from ¥3 to ¥9, depending on the distance. In 2007, an average of 2.18 million passengers per day passed through the Shanghai Metro.

Taxis in Shanghai are plentiful and market competition has driven prices affordable for the average resident (¥11 and ¥14 after 11pm).

Before the 1990s, cycling was the most popular form of transportation in Shanghai, but the city has banned many bikes from main streets to ease traffic congestion. However, many streets have cycle lanes and some intersections are equipped with "Traffic Assistants" that help provide added safety at the crossing. On the other hand, the city government has promised to add 180 kilometers of bicycle lanes in the coming years. With the increasing purchasing power of citizens, owning a car has experienced tremendous growth in Shanghai in recent years. The number of passenger cars is limited, however, by the number of license plates available at public auction. Shanghai also has the world's largest bus system with nearly a thousand bus lines.

Culture

The Shanghai Museum, located in the Plaza del Pueblo

Three fundamental stages can be distinguished in the cultural evolution of Shanghai: the one before the end of the Second World War culminating in the coming to power of communism, the one that remained under the iron surveillance of the communist government, and the one after the rule of these.

Before the war, literary splendor was remarkable. The writer Lu Xun pioneered modern Chinese literature during his time in Shanghai, influencing numerous Chinese authors. Lu Xun has a museum dedicated to him located in Shangying Lu's house, the place where he spent the last years of his life. On the cinematographic scene, films such as Josef von Sternberg's The Shanghai Haunting (1941) or Orson Welles' The Lady from Shanghai (1948) gave Shanghai an image of a city of vice. Under communist rule, local film production was very low, parallel to that of the rest of the country.

Currently, the great importance of television series, which depict the life of the inhabitants of Shanghai, is observed. Ode to Joy is one of the most popular, which describes the life of 5 girls in Shanghai and represents economic problems, clash of cultures, the importance of appearances in current Chinese culture, etc.

Currently, Shanghai has a wide cultural offer in which the Shanghai Ballet Company, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Municipal Performance Company stand out. The most notable buildings are the Shanghai Auditorium, the Majestic Theatre, and especially the Shanghai Grand Theatre, which is the epicenter of the city's music and theater scene. Both traditional and modern operas are often performed in these last two buildings, as they are one of the great passions of the Shanghai population.

The Mercedes-Benz Arena, former Expo Cultural Center during the 2010 Shanghai Universal Exhibition

Local architecture has a wide and varied range of architectural styles. The Bund, located on the banks of the Huangpu River, contains a rich collection of buildings from the turn of the 20th century century, others neoclassical such as the HSBC Building or art deco like the Sassoon House, a building currently included in the Peace Hotel. Several areas of the former foreign concession are well preserved and even despite the rapid growth of the city, the historic center still has traditional-style buildings such as the Yuyuan Garden. Recently, a significant number of new architectural styles have been developed, ranging from the eccentric to modern and futuristic skyscrapers. Some examples of new architectural trends are the aforementioned Shanghai Museum or the Shanghai Grand Theatre.

The Tea House in the Middle of the Pond, one of the most typical buildings in Shanghai, in the vicinity of the Yuyuan Garden

The only cultural element that is purely Shanghainese are the shikumen (石库门), the traditional houses. Each residence is connected and organized into straight alleys, known as nòngtang (弄堂). This type of building bears a certain resemblance to the typical terraced houses and petit hôtels of Anglo-Saxon countries, distinguished by the high and heavy brick wall in front of each house. The name shikumen literally means 'stone gate'.

In terms of skyscrapers, the Shanghai World Financial Center (492 meters high) is the largest skyscraper in China and ranked second in the world. The Oriental Pearl Tower, one of the symbols of Shanghai, is 468 meters high and is located in the center of the city. However, the most spectacular building being built in Shanghai is the Shanghai Tower, also located in the Pudong district, which will end up crowning the city's skyline. This will measure 632 meters, will consist of 118 floors and its completion is expected for 2010.

Museums

Since 2013 and according to the orders of the most recent five-year plans of the Chinese government, the city has seen a rapid development in its cultural infrastructure, since by 2018 Shanghai was expected to be a " city of global excellence", thus giving the necessary impetus for the appearance of new museums throughout the city.

Within Shanghai, the most important museum is undoubtedly the Shanghai Museum, the China Museum of Art or the Shanghai Municipal Museum of History. The former contains more than 120,000 Chinese historical pieces displayed on its four floors. It was inaugurated in 1952 and rebuilt in 1994. Its exhibition is entirely Chinese, representing the chronology of Chinese history through ceramics, sculpture, painting or calligraphy. It is one of the most important museums in China. On the other hand, the Shanghai Municipal Museum of History is the most modern and expensive in the city. It offers its visitors a journey through the history of the city through the use of new technologies

By 2021, the city added to its cultural heritage the impressive Shanghai Astronomy Museum, which will become the largest museum in the world dedicated to understanding space not only in China, but in the entire world.

Religion

Due to its cosmopolitan history, Shanghai boasts a rich mix of religious heritage, as displayed in the religious buildings and institutions scattered throughout the city. Taoism is of great importance with a presence in temples such as that of the City of God, in the heart of the ancient city, and another dedicated to that of the Three Kingdoms of Guan Yu. Wenmiao (文庙) is a temple dedicated to Confucius in the Huangpu district. Buddhism has had a presence in Shanghai since ancient times. Another important temple is the Temple of the Jade Buddha, which bears the name of a large statue of Buddha sculpted in jade. To this temple is added another temple of high importance for the city, which is the Jing'an Temple, built in the year 247. In recent decades, dozens of modern temples have been built throughout the city. A predominant religion in Shanghai is Mahāyāna Buddhism, and Taoism. For its part, Islam arrived in Shanghai seven hundred years ago and a mosque was built in 1295 in the Songjiang district. Shanghai has the highest percentage of Catholics in mainland China. Among the Catholic churches, the Cathedral of Saint Ignatius (徐家汇圣依纳爵主教座堂). In other Christian beliefs include the Orthodox and Protestants. During World War II thousands of Jews came to Shanghai in an effort to flee the Hitler regime.

Gastronomy

Shanghai cuisine (上海菜), also known as hu cai (滬菜, pinyin: hù cài) is a variety of Chinese cuisine, and not just limited to the city of Shanghai but is very popular among the people of China. The food in this area is very sweet, the sweetest in the whole country according to the Chinese inhabitants. The variety of 饺子 (jiaozi) stands out, which in the Shanghai area is a dumpling that incorporates soup inside. Salty 月饼 (yuebing), puff pastry with meat or shrimp filling, is eaten all year round. In the south they are eaten salty and in the north, sweet.

Some argue that it can be said that it does not have a cuisine with its own identity, it is a refinement or modification of the neighboring cuisines of the adjacent provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Sports

Shanghai International Circuit

The local soccer team is Shanghai Shenhua and was founded in 1993. Another more recent club from the same city is Shanghai Port and both play in the Chinese Super League. Another equally important sport is basketball and the local team is the Shanghai Sharks and competes in the Chinese Basketball Association. The hockey team is the China Dragon and is a member of the Asian Ice Hockey League which includes the countries of China, Japan and South Korea.

A Formula 1 race takes place in Shanghai, the Chinese Grand Prix.

In addition, the city annually hosts the Shanghai Masters, which is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament series, which in its inaugural year received the award for the best Masters 1000 tournament of the year, voted for by the players themselves. of the ATP.

Twinned cities

Shanghai is twinned with the following cities and regions:

Notable people