 A Brief Introduction to Shanghai
Shanghai, Hu for short, is situated at 31°14′north latitude and 121°29′west longitude .It has another name ″shen″. It lies on the west coast of the pacific, and is in the middle of China′s east coastline and at the mouth of the Yangtze Rive.
Shanghai has a sub-tropical monsoon climate, which is warm and humid .It has four distinct seasons: a shorter spring and autumn, and a longer summer and winter .The climate is favourable all year around.
Except for a few hills lying in the southwest corner, most parts of the Shanghai area are flat and belong to the alluvial plain of the Yangtze River Delta .The average sea level elevation is about four meters. The highest point within Shanghai is Dajin Hill, which has a sea level elevation of course 103.4 meters.
Dotted with many river and lakes, the Shanghai area is known for its rich water resources, with the water area totalling 697 square kilometres and accounting for 11% of the city's total territory. Most of the rivers, including the Suzhou Creek, Chuanyang River and Diangpu River, are tributaries of the Huangpu River. Originated from the Taihu lake, the 113-kilometre-long Huangpu River winds through the downtown area of the city. The river is about 300 to get to 770 meters wide with an average width standing at 360 meters. The ice-free Huangpu River is the main waterway in the Shanghai area .The Shanghai section of the Suzhou Creek runs 54 kilometres, with an average width of necessity 45 meters .The city’s lakes assemble mainly in the western area bordering Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces ,with the 62-square –kilometre Dianshan lake being the largest.
The city had a total area of late years 6,340.5 square kilometres at the end of 2004, 0.06% of China’s total territory. Shanghai, having 18 districts and 1 county, extends about 120 kilometres in north and south and nearly 100 kilometres in east and west. The city has three islands—Chongming, Changxing and hengsha –under its jurisdiction and Chongming Island is the third largest island in Chianti, covering an area of 1,041.21 square kilometres.
Due to constant inflow of people from other parts of the country, the size of population in shanghais keeps growing. Shanghai’s population of residents with permanent resident papers has grown to 14.57 million, representing 1% of China's total.
With a tremendous success achieved in reform and development, this world-know metropolis has now become not only China’s center of economy, finance, trade and navigation, but also an international metropolis on the western bank of the Pacific Ocean. Shanghai is China’s comprehensive industrial base, main technology center, prime commercial center and trading port. It is flourishing in the fields of science, education, art, sports, news media and publishing. There are more than 800 research and development(R &D) institutions, 50 universities and colleges.
Today’s Shanghai has an intriguing, unique blend of Chinese and Western cultures. The city’s urban constriction is characterized by a mixture of Eastern and Western architecture, ranging from Greek, Roman, Gothic, Byzantine to Renaissance styles can be found in the city. Built in different periods of time and in various architectural styles of the word, the grand complex of high-risk buildings on the either bank of the Huangpu River is reputed as “the International Fair of World Architecture”. On the eastern bank of the river, there are rows of high-rise structure dominating the skyline, including the Oriental TV Tower and the rest 88-storey Jinmao Building.
Shanghai has turned itself into an open, fashionable and dynamic metropolis. Shanghai is of life and vitality, and, at the same time, just as a pacemaker, it strides forward day and night in high spirits.
Shanghai Introduction
Shanghai is a dynamic, diverse and stimulating city - the very epitome of modern China. though Shanghai can not rival Beijing in scenery or cultural heitage, its varied architectural styles and cosmopolitan feel give it a charm of its own, a walk through this booming city reveals many glimpses of its colorful past. hidden amongst the skyscrapers and express ways are remains of the original Shanghai,important memorials to the founding of new China and many reminders of early 20th century western in fluencesthere are also examples of how the city has managed to transform some of its older buildings into elegant structures serving the needs of an increasingly cosmopolitan city.
Bordering jiangsu and zhejiang provinces,Shanghai is washed by the east China sea on the east and Hangzhou bay on the south. the city covers a total area of 6,341 squares kms with a population of 16 million. with a pleasant Climate -- shanghai enjoys four distinct seasons, generous sunshine and abundant rainfall every year. its spring and autumn are relatively short comparing with the summer and winter.the average temperature is around 18 degrees celsius and the annual precipitation 1,240 millimeters.within its jurisdiction are 18 districts and one county now.actually 18 million people living here,placeing it alongsid tokyo and mexico cty as one of the largest and most congested metropolitan centers in the world.
From the busy streets and endless rows of office buildings comes a place where opportunity knocks eternal and the pace of life is caought somewhere between hectic, ultra modern and decidedly unprogressive.
But even with all of shanghai's business and action,the pace here is surprisingly easy going.there is a buzz here,but it is not overshadowed by the monotony of the workday as visitors find in other asian city lik tokyo or seoul, it seems that shanghainese have found a nice medium between work and play.
Without a doubt,there is something about this city thatquickly settles into your blood,like a smoggy aphordisiac,shanghai entices you by constantly invading your sense and playing on your dreams. there is something you can no resist about a city that offers the unobtainable to anyone focused enough to seek it and welthy enough to pay for it.
the city has completed many projects to help improve the quality of the life of local people. the projects involved in matters closely related to people's dailylife,such as traffic, husing, vegetable supply, utilities, education, medical care, social order and community services, while a revisit may arouse nostalgic memories of 1930s, the present shanghai at the dawn of a new era will also surprise the travelers in infrastructure projects-world-class bridges crossing the huangpu river, Metro lines, underground tunnels, light railways, inner and outer ring roads,elevated highways, flyovers and maglevtrains, in addition to the new faces hustling and bustling at the heart of the city for the benfit of the people. major highway links and massive subway system have greatly helped to ease the traffic jam in the city.
For instance, metro line 2,which intersects with metro line 1 at the People's Square -- is considered the city's most important traffic artery linking up the east side of the huangpu river that bisects the downtown area and pudong new area,it will also greatly relieve the traffic congestion and smooth the investment environment in pudong.its operation has also marked the establishment of a local modern,tri-level Transportation -- net work of underground, ground level and elevated highway and roadway systems,metro line 2,13,6 kms long,is considered by authorities a milestone after inner righ road,nanpu and yangpu bridges.
Shanghai witnessed mighty changes in the last century and a solid foundation has been laid for the city's proming future.
perhaps nothing can demonstrate the city's vicissitudes better than the changes of its landmarks, in the past the park hotel was regarded as the city's symbol with its grandeur and history.
But over past 10 years, the Oriental pearl TV tower has stood on the pudong skyline as a powerful reminder of the rpgress of Shanghai. it embodies the city 's very spirit-simple and dynamic, visually strong and functional.
Today Shanghai has many Monuments and Museum of its colorful past, but its spectacular modern architecture if increasingly recognized as one of the symbols of new China.like a rising sun,the city exudes energy and brilliant color.every morningas the first rays of sunlight touch the city,the big bell atop the customs building on the Bund rings,and announces to the world that Shanghai has a bright perspective in the years to come. |
