Overview

Beginning as a fishing village 1,000 years ago, by the 1920s it was the "Paris of the East." English writer Aldus Huxley said "the city was life itself . . . nothing more intensely living can be imagined".

After the Opium Wars China was forced to open Shanghai, to British and other Western countries, for trade and residence. Later, it was also forced to allow direct investment by Westerners and Japanese, as a result of which Shanghai developed a distinctly Western character. The establishment of the new Communist Chinese government in 1949 changed the situation dramatically.

Gone are the days of European colonists, decadence, lavish villas, adventurers, and refugee Russian aristocrats, for whom Shanghai was a home away from home. As one of the largest cities in the world, Shanghai is also one of the most dynamic. In 1990 the Pudong district had nothing in it -- now it has more than 100 skyscrapers. More are still under construction -- and it's trying to outdo Hong Kong. Shanghai still retains a lot of traditional aspects, however, if you want to see them, do so soon because many of the old neighbourhoods will soon be gone forever.