About Shanghai
Shanghai offers students and unparalleled opportunity to experience China in a city undergoing economic rebirth and revitalization. Shanghai is the place to be to witness the cultural transformation of modern China (as well as to observe the economic and social disparities that remain). Shanghai has traditionally been one of the most important financial and business centers of Asia, becoming known as "the Wall Street of the East." After the Second World War and the establishment of the People's Republic of China, foreign investment was discouraged. Today, however, Shanghai is again one of the great trading and financial centers of Asia.
Shanghai is a remarkable phenomenon in the evolution of global metropolises today. There is no place like it. One must experience Shanghai to begin to comprehend this diverse and constantly changing place.
Pudong (in eastern Shanghai) is the site of the 2010 World Expo. The entire city is buzzing with excitement and construction as preparations are made to welcome an expected 70 Million visitors!
Shanghai facts:
This once sleepy fishing town has become the largest city in China and the country's most important commercial, financial, and industrial center. It is also one of the busiest ports in the world. Many have compared it to New York, and it is expected to be the next global city behind New York, London, and Tokyo.
Geography and Population
Shanghai is located on the Huangpu River, where the Yangtze empties into the East China Sea. More than 1% of China's citizens live in Shanghai. The city is home to nearly 20 million people, including a floating population (migrant workers) of 3 million.
Economics
Once the forces of capitalism were unleashed in the late 1980s, and with the support of the government, Shanghai became the leader in China's economic development, experiencing massive-scale investment and urban regeneration. Now China's wealthiest city, it is seen as a blueprint for the rest of the country.
Consumerism
Not surprisingly, with urban affluence in a growing cosmopolitan city comes ritzy restaurants, bars and hotels, brand awareness and shopping savvy. The growing consumerism, particularly of luxury goods, is fueling the desire for more and more corporations to take part in the action. Students in the China as a Global Market course (at the Alliance International Business program at SUFE) learn that less than .02% of Chinese people have a net worth of $1 million or more, yet China accounts for 11% of the world's consumption of luxury goods. With a 10% increase each year, China will lead this market at 23% consumption by 2014.
Architecture and Urban Development
This is a city of "old meets new," one that thrives on perpetual change and transformation. Two popular tourist areas are the pre-colonial Yuyuan Garden in the Old City, exhibiting traditional Chinese architecture dating back to 1577; and The Bund, and area along the western bank of the Huangpu River, known for its neoclassical-style buildings from Shanghai's early 20th-century colonial period. In stark contrast, sprouting up all over the city are hypermodern, even futuristic skyscrapers Ð a testament to Shanghai's increasing importance as a global financial center. A building boom has been underway as approximately 5000 high-rises have dotted the city landscape just in the past decade. With no labor shortage and ambitious strategies by city planners, a new Shanghai has evolved, seemingly overnight. Evidence of this building frenzy is found in the new Pudong district across the river from The Bund. This "financial district" with its emblematic Oriental Pearl Tower began development in the early 1990s and today abounds with skyscrapers. It will soon boast the tallest skyscraper in the world. Fortunately, to help balance out the development, there does seem to be a strong focus by city planners to increase the number of green areas throughout the city, the details of which are displayed at the "Better City - Better Life" exhibit in the Shanghai Urban Planning Expo Center.
Ethnic Mix
99% Han Chinese, with more than 50 ethnic groups comprising the remaining 1% of the population, including 50,000 Muslims and some 40,000 expatriates
Religion:
98% Buddhist and Taoist, 1% Christian, 1% Muslim and other denominations
Average Temperatures
Average January temperatures: 45¡F
Average July temperatures: 77¡F
The Alliance offers three unique programs in Shanghai:
At Fudan University:
At the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics:
