Urbanization and China: Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing

n Shanghai, the historic Bund grabs much of the spotlight -- the stretch of former banks and trading houses along the Huangpu River, built a century ago in a kaleidoscope of architectural styles, is a monument to the grandeur of another era. It can also be downright suffocating on weekends, with tourists jostling for selfie positions.

The Shanghai financier Liu Yiqian went from taxi driver to multimillionaire. He is also one of China's most prolific collectors of art.

FOR weeks, businessmen have speculated wildly about the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (SFTZ). This showpiece policy is meant to kickstart a broader reform agenda, due to be presented after a big party meeting in November. Despite its name, it is more of a special enterprise zone on the outskirts of China's commercial capital (see map). The prime minister, Li Keqiang, has personally championed the pilot.

As a result of economic reforms that began in the 1970s, the amount of commerce and trade in Shanghai has increased dramatically. Shanghai now has a stock market, several foreign banks, and a variety of hotels, clubs, bars, and restaurants. Since 1990 the central Chinese government has encouraged foreign investment by relaxing regulations and lessening bureaucratic procedures. Investment in Shanghai has increased substantially, giving rise to a huge construction boom. Retailing has also mushroomed, and the city now offers many of the finest department stores and shops in China.

Around 15 years ago, there was no Oriental Pearl TV Tower: Construction began in 1991 and was completed in 1993. At that time many construction workers still wore reed hats and road signs were painted in ink.

Why were you in Shanghai in 1986?

A week ago, he took this amazing shot, recreating the same framing and perspective as a photograph taken in 1987, showing what a difference 26 years can make

A visit to Shanghai's urban-planning museum is enough to understand the city's towering, overarching ambition.

The early 1990s saw Shanghai’s economic re-emergence. Given the strong traditions of the city people were confident this would also presage a cultural rebirth. Now, two decades later we have seen scant evidence of the city as an emergent global cultural centre. Indeed, the government remains extremely cautious about advancing such a vision for Shanghai.

All this was dramatically changed when the country opened up its markets to the West in the 1980s, and Shanghai was given the green light to "get rich".

In the last 15 years, the city has been transformed into a glittering metropolis of 21 million people, with more skyscrapers than New York and a public transport system that will soon overtake London's in size.

The city has tripled in size and its influence now extends throughout the whole Yangtze Delta region, the richest area in China.

Over the past decade or more, Shanghai has grown like no other city on the planet. Home to 13.3 million residents in 1990, the city now has some 23 million residents (to New York City’s 8.1 million), with half a million newcomers each year. To handle the influx, developers are planning to build, among other developments, seven satellite cities on the fringes of Shanghai’s 2,400 square miles. Shanghai opened its first subway line in 1995; today it has 11; by 2025, there will be 22. In 2004, the city also opened the world’s first commercial high-speed magnetic levitation train line.


Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/shanghai-gets-supersized-108338628/#s62FyHX8bYR6fEIq.99
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