The City of Shanghai 2003

Shanghai is one of the world’s great cities, with a colorful past, a frenetic present, and a future that will see it eventually back on top of the world as a major international financial and trading center. Shanghai is China’s largest city, its largest port and its largest industrial base. It is called the “Dragon Head” of East China – the leading force driving the economy forward.

The city’s population is around 15 million, of which about 8 million live in the city proper. There is a large floating population of itinerant workers, probably numbering 2 million. The city has a status equivalent to a province and reports directly to the central government. Shanghai is the financial center of China and hopes one day to match Hong Kong in terms of the strength and international character of its financial markets. It has the largest stock market in the country and is home to a number of other currency and commodity markets. The city has a sense of its own importance, potential and sense of destiny. The reason: Shanghai has been there before.