About Shanghai
Shanghai lies on the west bank of the Huangpu Jiang river, which flows into the Changjiang (Yangtze) 28 km farther upstream. The northern part of Shanghai is separated from the rest of the city by the Wusong Jiang river.
Shanghai is a special city in every respect. Only 50 years ago, it was still considered one of the most important metropolises of the world, as the trading and banking center of Asia.
Foreigners lent Shanghai its appearance, making it more western than Chinese. Twenty-story-high buildings reach skyward; there are vast hotel complexes, villas and palaces that a visitor from the West can more easily identify than a temple, for they were built according to Western architectural style by former business and military men.
Today the city continues to grow apace, with new underground stations, highways crisscrossing the city, the most modern stock exchange in the world, a swish new airport, two giant bridges and a whole new city in Pudong. Perhaps no city in the world is as futuristic, and Shanghai has become the very symbol of China's rise to economic powerhouse status.
SOME FAST FACTS:
FULL NAME: Shanghai
POPULATION: 13,400,000
TIME ZONE: GMT + 8 HOURS
LANGUAGE: Cantonese & Mandarin. English widely spoken
CURRENCY: RENMINBI
FLIGHT TIME: 11 hrs 30 mins (from London)
OCTOBER WEATHER: 60-75°F
FOOD: Chinese and Western Style.