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Urban Development History of Shanghai, China
[Part I: The Feudal Age] [Part II: Concession; Foreign Settlement] [Part III: Great Shanghai Scheme]
[Part IV: After Liberation] [Part V: Culture of Longtang] [Part VI: Problems and Opportunities]
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[Basic Geography] [Data for modern Shanghai]
When nine hundreds years ago Shanghai was a little frontier town for oversea commercial ships, no one could image that it would become the first metropolis in Far East and the fifth biggest city in the world in 1930s. In the past 150 years, its area grew from 2 square kilometers to 3,248 square kilometers (downtown area in 2001), and its population grew from 200,000 to 16.74 million (in 2001). Now, “Great Shanghai” is the biggest Chinese city, which attracts many Chinese and Foreigners.
Shanghai is a fascinating city, which formed and boomed in the turbulent age of 20 century. It is its complex, miscellaneous and miscible character that attracts so many people to live in. This article mainly discusses the history of Shanghai city development and the evolution of its administrative system, which will help to understand the city better.
There are six parts in the paper:
I. The feudal age: mainly discuss the character of traditional Chinese town with city wall and its administrative system in the end of Qing Dynasty.
II. Concession; Foreign Settlement: talk about the establishment, development and return of these foreign settlements by western powers. These special districts that were called “nations in our country” by Chinese brought many advanced administrative forms into Shanghai and play a very important role in the city’s history.
III. Great Shanghai Scheme: the first city development scheme of Shanghai by the Chinese city government. Though it was aborted because of the WWII, its achievements helped Shanghai to become the first metropolis in Far East in 1930s.
IV. After Liberation: because of the central government different shanghai policy, with economic booming, the city development was very fast in the past 10 years, which indeed change the city’s visage. This part also concerns the current administrative system in Shanghai, which will be more efficient and transparent after reforming in the future.
V. Culture of Longtang: a special culture in special period, through which you can touch the daily live of Shanghaiese. By the reconstruction of Longtangs, this special culture will be disappeared in a few years
VI. Problem and Opportunity: Though there were some problems, everything will be better in the future.
Shanghai is located on the edge of Yangtze River Delta and faces East China Sea on the east. On the south there is the Bay of Hangzhou and on the west there are Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province. It is on the middle of China north coastline and is a transportation hub and big seaport in East China. The area of Shanghai is 6340.5 square kilometers, which is made of 3248.7 square kilometer downtown and 3091.8 square kilometers suburban area. It includes the third largest island in China, Chongming Island (1041 square kilometers).
Except a few small hills in the southwest, Shanghai is a large alluvial
plan traversed by the
Huangpu River. The average height above sea level is 4 meters. There are many
rivers and streams in shanghai. They belong to the Huangpu River system, which
is 113 kilometres long, average 360 meters wide and the most important
watercourse for Shanghai.
Shanghai belongs to the pleasant northern subtropical maritime monsoon climate, with four distinctive seasons. The city has sufficient sunshine and rainfall.
l Population: 16.74 millions (March 2001) 25.5 percent higher than the figure released in the fourth census in 1990. The increasing number of people coming into the city from other provinces is the main reason for the growth. About 72 percent of the increase in population is people from other provinces. (1.3 billion for China in 1999)
l
Population Density: 2,118
people per square kilometer. 2,871 people per square kilometer in downtown.
(134.4 people per square kilometer for China in 1999)
l
Population
Growth: Shanghai has
maintained an annual birth rate of 0.55 percent, with an annual natural
population growth rate of minus 0.132 percent.
Shanghai is the only city in China to keep a negative population growth rate.
However, Shanghai still has its problem as well, such as the growing population
of the elderly. Of the total population, the number of people over 65 is growing
the fastest, with an increase rate of 62.9 percent. (0.9 annual % for China in
1999)
l
GDP: 368.8
billion Yuan (about US$ 46.1 billion in 1998) (946.3 billion for China in 1998)
l
GDP per capita:
US$ 4,180 (2001) (761.1 for China in 1999)
l
GDP growth:
average annual growth rate of 9.1 percent (7.1 for China in 1999)
l
Inflation: 1.0%
(2000)
l
Export: US$
18.79 billion (2000)
l
Urban
population: 15 million (410.8 million for China in 1999)
l
Foreign
Investment: US$ 34.9
billion (1979-1998)
l
Religion: Buddhist, Daojiao, Muslim, Christian, other.
l
Languages: Chinese,
Shanghaiese.
l
Infant
mortality rate: 5.05 per 1,000 (30.2 for China in 1999)
l
Life expectancy: 78 years
(70.1 for China in 1999)
l
Living area per person: 14
square meters
l
Adult literacy: 94.6%
l
People per telephone: 3.7
(11.65 for China in 1999)
l
People per mobile: 14.5
l Public park per person: 3.62 square meters
l Ethnic groups: The permanent residents of Shanghai come from China's 44 ethnic groups. The Han nationality accounts for 99.53% of the total. The most of others are from Hui, Man, and Mongolian nationalities,.
l Agriculture: The suburban area of Shanghai is located at the southern end of northern subtropical zone. The soil is fertile and there are 333,000 hectares of arable land. Crops grown include rice, wheat, cotton, oil-bearing seeds and vegetables. As far as the yield per unit for staple crops is concerned, Shanghai ranks among the highest in the country. Animal husbandry in the suburbs has developed rapidly, the major components being the pigs, poultry and milk cow. Native produce such as mushroom, garlic, rabbit hair, frozen fowl, living pig, instant -frozen vegetable, whitebait and crab-fry sell well on overseas markets.
l Industry: Shanghai's large and highly skilled work force, broadly based scientific establishment, tradition of producer cooperation, and excellent transportation and communications facilities have all contributed to the city's stature as the leading industrial center in China. This industrial establishment produces a great variety of capital and consumer goods, including specialized dies, lathes, electronic assembly equipment, watches, cameras, radios, fountain pens, glassware, leather goods, stationery products, and hardware. The city's well-established chemical and petrochemical industries serve as a basis for the production of plastics, synthetic fibers, and other products. Textile manufacturing is also significant.
[Part IV: After Liberation] [Part V: Culture of Longtang] [Part VI: Problems and Opportunities]
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