City & tourism
Fifteen million people call Shanghai China home. For years it was the country's biggest and busiest port, the gateway to and from the West - not to mention the Yangtze River, which meets the ocean in the outskirts of the city. Because of this, the city is the chief metropolitan base in the country, its aging streets greeting millions of travelers per year just as they have done decade after decade. In fact, Shanghai China is often the first city many visitors encounter – many of the cheapest and quickest flights begin and end here.
The city itself is a barrage of colors, sounds and, above all, motion. Nothing seems to stay still in this city, not even the shops. As the largest financial and commercial center in the country, the city seems to be expanding exponentially. It's a bit strange to find such rapid growth in what was once a fiercely communist area – but that's just the name of the game in Shanghai China. The Pudong New Area is an important special economic zone in China - as the most prosperous business locations in China, Shanghai leads all the others in both retail and exports. Larger than the rest of Shanghai combined, what used to be acres of boggy farmland now dominates the city.
That's not to say the city hasn't embraced tourism. Shanghai China has a mild climate year round, has practical beaches within its city limits and features a number of popular Chinese festivals and holidays, including the Longhua Temple Bell Striking, the Longhua Temple Fair, the Nanhui County Peach Blossom Festival, the International Tea Culture Festival, the Orange Festival – even the Shanghai Tourism festival.
But a real Shanghai tour does not hinge on these festivities – there's plenty of things to see and do in the city at any time of the year. The Bund continues to be one of the most visited architectural landmarks in all of China – an imposing row of buildings that were once the country's version of Wall Street, back when Europeans controlled Shanghai. It still houses a number of important financial companies, but the interiors of the giant structures are hardly the draw here – not to mention the views of the city at night from the Oriental Pearl TV Tower are magnificent.
Another reminder of Shanghai's past is what is known as Old Shanghai. A winding collection of colonial lanes, it features the Yu Gardens amongst its landmarks. Scenic Frenchtown is a staple of Shanghai tourism, where shoppers go to do their thing, while others can wander the quaint streets featuring Art Deco apartments, plenty of examples of neoclassicism and villas that evoke a multicultural mix of European, Chinese – even American influences. St. Ignatius Cathedral draws those that seek the stoicism of religious architecture, while Sun Yatsen's Former Residence pulls in plenty of foreign and domestic travelers alike, just another example as to why Shanghai travel is so popular. A more recently constructed (20th century, anyway) tourist attraction is the Jade Buddha Temple, one of Shanghai's only active temples in the city. Located in the northwest corner of town, its centerpiece is a six foot high jade Buddha that is supposed to weigh over a ton – a procession of both tourists and worshippers come and go on an almost constant basis here.
Shanghai history
Around 5,000 years ago during the period of the Songze Culture, nowadays Shanghai started to take its shape of a plain in the Yangtse River Delta.
During the Spring-Autumn Period (770 BC), Shanghai belonged to the Wu State. Shanghai first belonged to Yue State , later to the Chu State . King Lie of Chu State appointed Huang Xie as his prime minister and bestowed him the title of Lord Chunshen. Shanghai was part of his feoff. The old name of Shanghai "Shen" was derived from this.
Shanghai did have another name, namely; "Hu". The name Hu originated from "Hu Du". Ancient fishermen in Shanghai invented a bamboo fishing device called "Hu". ("Du" in Chinese means "creek"). This area was therefore called "Hu Du" before it became know as Shanghai .
The actual name of " Shanghai " originated from the Song Dynasty (960-1276), when Shanghai was by that time becoming a new rising trade port. The mother river Huangpu River , floating across Shanghai into the Yangtse River , has 18 creeks. One of these creeks was called "Shanghai Creek" (close to nowadays “The Bund”). Therefore the town nearby was called Shanghai Town , and later on this whole area was named " Shanghai ".
During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Shanghai Town had greatly developed and the city set up a shipping administration. After a while, the town was promoted to a county, which consisted of today's urban areas, and three other counties of Shanghai ; Qingpi, Nanhui, and Chuansha.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Shanghai was to become China 's largest textile center. Shanghai 's business was sharply on the rise! At the 24th year of the Qing Emperor Kangxi's reign (1685), the Qing Government set up a Customs Department in Shanghai . After that, during the reigns of Qing Emperor Qianlong and Qing Emperor Jiaqing, Shanghai gradually became China 's major trading port and water transportation center for gains.
In 1843, after the Opium War, Shanghai was forced to become an open port by its colonialists. In 1845, Britain first set up its concession in Shanghai . In 1848, the United State set up its concession, followed by France in 1849. In 1863, the British and American concessions amalgamated into the International Settlement. Shanghai was actually partitioned into a Chinese Section, the International Settlement and the French Concession. In the following 100 years after 1843, Shanghai had become an important port for foreign colonialists to dump their goods, raw materials and money. Shanghai was thus known as "A paradise of the Adventurers".
On July 7, 1927 , Shanghai was proclaimed as a special municipality. In 1945, after the victory over the Japanese, the concessions were reclaimed. On May 27 1949 , Shanghai was really liberated…the era of Mao was awaiting the whole of China then.
Through the continual and long-term reform and construction by the successive municipal governments and the people, Shanghai has become an important industrial and commercial base in new China. Today, Shanghai has been developing to be the center of economy, finance, science and technology, information and culture, an international modernized metropolis in China.
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