History

Shanghai’s coastal location led to its development as a major international port in the 1930s, financed in a large part by foreign capital and enterprise, which the architecture along the Bund aptly illustrates. For this reason many consider Shanghai to be a foreign-built city that is less like ‘the real China’ than any other part of the country. Even after the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, Shanghai’s unique qualities ensured the city remained distinct. In the 1990s, with economic restructuring and political policies that led to increased trade and the opening up of China to the outside world, the city began to promote itself as a major international city once again. Today, political leaders and entrepreneurs actively support the redevelopment of Shanghai to its former glory.

Politics

Shanghai is one of China’s four municipality regions, the others being Beijing, Chongqing and Tianjin. China has officially been managed by the Chinese Communist Party since 1949, although the system is now carefully described as ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics’. This basically means that, as the economy develops, certain aspects of capitalism, private property, consumerism and other formerly Western concepts are officially encouraged by the government. The problem with this hybrid system is that it often experiences the worst aspects of socialism, such as bureaucracy and red tape, and capitalism, such as a widening income disparity and increased unemployment among unskilled workers. While the country is centrally administered from Beijing, Shanghai’s unique status as one of the world’s largest trading ports has ensured political, social and trade freedoms that many other Chinese cities do not enjoy.

Religion

While China is officially an atheist country, many religions and faiths are practised here. In fact, it Is said that every Chinese wears a Confucian thinking-cap, Taoist robe and Buddhist sandals. The majority of Chinese are Buddhist or Taoist (98%), but there are small communities of other denominations (2%) such as Christians and Muslims.

Economy

Home to China’s biggest port, Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the world.

It has also evolved into a major regional city and a national centre of technology, industry, finance, trade and culture. Shanghai is China’s largest commercial centre and an important market for both foreign and local food and beverage and luxury brands.

In terms of investment, the manufacturing, real estate and infrastructure industries continue to absorb most of the finance. In the first six months of 2004, foreign direct investment grew by 15%, reaching [00a3]2.03 billion. The Yangtze River delta economy is an important part of the Chinese economy, especially as a key manufacturing base and export platform. Hong Kong is Shanghai’s largest ‘foreign’ investor. Shanghai is increasingly developing itself as a tourist destination and attracted nearly 3 million tourists from overseas in 2003, despite the threat of SARS. Japanese investment makes up the largest percentage of international capital, followed by the United States and South Korea.

Population

Officially, the Shanghai ethnic mix consists of mainly Han Chinese (about 92%), with the remainder being minority groups (China has more than 50 ethnic groups) and approximately 40,000 expatriates. Languages spoken are Mandarin Chinese (national), Shanghainese (local provincial) and English (but not to ‘international city’ standards yet).