Introduction to Geography of Shanghai
Shanghai, China, the nation's largest city and principal seaport, and one of the most populous cities in the world. It is on the Huangpu Jiang (Huangpu River), which empties into the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) estuary north of the city. Officially, Shanghai is a special municipality called a shihand is one of the 30 main administrative units into which China is divided. The municipality's boundaries lie far beyond the city proper and enclose suburbs, small rural communities, and farmland.
Shanghai proper lies on the west side of the Huangpu and, like the entire municipality, is situated on the flat, low floodplain of the Yangtze delta. Flowing through the city are several small streams, including the Wusong, which is crossed by many bridges and is much used by small boats. Shanghai's central business district lies near the junction of the Wusong and the Huangpu.
Extending along the west bank of the Huangpu is Zhong Shan Road, which before the Communists took over China in 1949 was known as the Bund. It was the principal center of the International Settlement, from where Western (mainly British, French, and American) interests controlled much of China's foreign commerce for about a century. Parts of the Settlement area, especially along Zhong Shan Road, have a somewhat European appearance. Nanjing Road, the principal commercial street, has a number of department stores, restaurants, and theaters. Port facilities and industrial areas line the banks of the Huangpu downstream from the business district.
Economy
Its location at the seaward end of the densely settled and highly productive Yangtze River valley has helped make Shanghai China's leading port and commercial city. Most of central China's goods destined for foreign or domestic ports pass through Shanghai, as do manufactured products headed for China's interior.
As a manufacturing city, Shanghai ranks first in China and among the most important in Asia. It has long been a center of light industry, especially the making of textiles. In the early 1960's the Chinese government began intensive efforts to develop heavy industry in Shanghai. Many factories were enlarged and modernized and new ones were built. Shanghai is a major producer of iron and steel, ships, motor vehicles, chemicals, electrical equipment, petroleum products, and such consumer goods as electric appliances, bicycles, and paper goods. Shanghai is also a major printing and publishing center.
Three major transportation routes—two railways and the Yangtze River—link Shanghai with the interior. The Yangtze is navigable by large ships for 630 miles (1,010 km) to Wuhan. Hongqiao International Airport, southwest of the city, is one of China's largest air terminals.
Places of Interest
Two of Shanghai's prominent landmarks are hotels on or near Zhong Shan Road—the Shanghai Mansion, a vast structure on the Wusong's north bank, and the Peace Hotel. On the east bank of the Huangpu is another major landmark, the Oriental Pearl Television Tower, which rises more than 1,500 feet (460 m). Near the center of the city is the old town district, a roughly circular area about one mile (1.6 km) in diameter that was once enclosed by walls. It is a maze of narrow streets and contains a number of traditional Chinese gardens and temples. The splendid Yu Yuan Garden dates from the 16th century.
Two public areas, People's Square and People's Park, occupy the former site of the British-built racecourse on Nanjing Road. Facing the square and park are the Municipal Library and the Workers' Cultural Palace. The Shanghai Art and History Museum, occupying a former bank building, has extensive displays on the evolution of Chinese art. Also in Shanghai are the tomb of the poet Lu Xun, an acrobatic theater, a museum of natural history, and a zoo.
Shanghai is one of China's leading educational centers. Among institutions of higher learning are Fudan, Shanghai, and Tongji universities and colleges of engineering, education, foreign languages, medicine, and textile science. There are also a number of research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
History
Shanghai was an unimportant trading center from Ming times (1368–1644) until the mid-19th century. By the Treaty of Nanking (1842), which ended the Opium War between China and Great Britain, Shanghai was made a treaty port, opening the city to foreign trade. In 1843 a section of Shanghai was leased in perpetuity to the British for commercial and residential purposes. Later, similar “concessions,” as the special leases were called, were granted to France and the United States.
In 1863 the British and American concessions were joined to form the International Settlement. Under the foreign concessions, which were enlarged several times, Shanghai developed rapidly, becoming the financial and commercial center of the Far East.
In 1932 the old town district was attacked and partially destroyed by Japanese troops. Intimidated, the Chinese ended the trade boycott against Japan that they had begun after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Japan invaded China in 1937, and Shanghai was under Japanese occupation until 1945. Britain and the United States relinquished their concessions in 1943 and France in 1946.
Shanghai was taken by the Chinese Communists in 1949 and they seized the extensive foreign holdings in the city, forcing most foreigners to leave. Following the Chinese government's introduction of economic reforms in the late 1980's and early 1990's, Shanghai became an important international trade and finance center.
Population: Shanghai proper, 12,887,000; the municipality, 16,407,734.