Shanghai is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, with Hangzhou Bay in the south, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to the north and west. As early as 1844, Shanghai had become a port open to the outside world and rapidly developed into the largest city in the Far East.
Today's Shanghai has become China’s largest port city, and Shanghai Port is one of the busiest ports in the world. Shanghai is also China’s largest industrial and commercial city, with a full range of industries and prosperous domestic and international trades. It is a well-developed science and technology center in China, bringing together many well-known research institutes and universities. Today, Shanghai, which has the tide of “the Paris of the Orient”, is still developing rapidly, showing its rich and colorful urban culture to the world.
Shanghai has the personality of blending Eastern and Western cultures. In modern history, the Bund in Shanghai was once classified as a foreign concession, and various Western-style houses have become a true portrayal of Shanghai’s “Ten-mile Boulevard of Foreigners”. In the 1930s and 1940s，various foreign commercial organizations gathered here to make the Bund develop into an Asian financial center, the world’s third largest financial center, and the “Oriental Wall Street", It was not until August 1943 that the Bund ended the centuries-old concession period. Because the Bund has 52 Western-style buildings with different characters, it is also known as the "International Architecture Expo'' and has become one of Shanghai's most important landmarks.
In clear contrast to the Western architectural style of the Bund is the City God Temple of Shanghai. The traditional Chinese architectural complex, like a lovely Asian beauty, tells people about Shanghai’s history and culture. The old City God Temple and the Yuyuan Garden are must-see places for any visitor to Shanghai. Shanghai City God Temple was built in the Ming Dynasty and has a 600-year history. The main buildings in the temple include the main hall, the city hall, and the goddess temple. The nearby Yuyuan Garden is the representation of Jiangnan (South of the Yangtze River) classical gardens and was also built in the Ming Dynasty. The scenery of the small bridges and the garden pavilions in the Yuyuan Garden is exquisite and beautiful. The five dragons that line the wall of the courtyard have different shapes and classic oriental features. In 1982, Yuyuan was listed as a key national heritage protection site.
“Longtang”(traditional alley) is a unique form of residences in Shanghai. There is a saying, “If there were no ‘longtang’, there would be no Shanghai, even no Shanghai people.” “Longtang” is different from traditional Jiangnan residential houses. It is not a form in Western architecture hut is a result of the fusion of traditional architecture and foreign architecture. Therefore, the “Longtang” houses are a symbol of modern Shanghai.
Chinese people often say that "Two thousand years of history depends on Xi’an, one thousand years on Beijing, and one hundred years of history depends on Shanghai.” Shanghai is the epitome of modern China and has an important cultural heritage. Represented by the development of the Pudong area, modern Shanghai has become China’s new window for economic development and open reform, as well as a bond that is linking China to the world. Shanghai in the new century is a representative of modernization, internationalization, and fashion. She warmly welcomes friends from all over the world!
Cultural Notes
“Shanghai Beach”
The first foreign concession was established on a deserted beach in the original Shanghai county — Huangpu Beach, later known as the Bund. The old Shanghai had highly developed sea transport, which made use of the beach as the docking facility, so the old Shanghai is also called “Shanghai Beach”.