Cities > Shanghai City
Overview
Chinese Name: 上海市English Name: Shanghai City
Climate Conditions: Subtropical Monsoon Climate
Airports: Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Train Stations: Shanghai Station, Shanghai South Station, Shanghai Hongqiao Station, Shanghai Songjiang Station, Shanghai West Station
Background
Shanghai (Shanghai) is a centrally-administered municipality of the People's Republic of China, where the Shanghai dialect belongs to the Wu language family, located in eastern China at the mouth of the Yangtze River. It is bordered to the north by the Yangtze River, to the east by the East China Sea, to the south by Hangzhou Bay, and to the west by Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, covering a total area of 6,340.5 square kilometers.Shanghai is situated on the alluvial plain of the Yangtze River Delta and features flat terrain. It has a subtropical monsoon climate, with the Huangpu River being the largest river. As early as 6,000 years ago, humans lived in this area. In 751 AD, the first county was established in Shanghai. By 1292 AD, the Yuan Dynasty government approved the establishment of Shanghai County, marking the beginning of the city’s development. It was designated as a directly-administered municipality in May 1949. Shanghai is a center for international economy, finance, trade, shipping, and technological innovation in China, with the tertiary industry as its pillar. It has thriving sectors in foreign trade logistics, financial services, information services, tourism, real estate, and other emerging service industries, becoming a major driving force for economic growth.
Climate
Shanghai has a subtropical monsoon climate with distinct seasons, ample sunshine, and abundant rainfall. Typically, the spring and autumn are shorter, while winter and summer are longer. When the subtropical high pressure over the Western Pacific stabilizes around the lower Yangtze River and near Shanghai, it results in rainy, muggy, and humid plum rain weather. As of 2022, the average annual temperature in the city is 17.7°C, with an extreme minimum temperature of -6.7°C (in Chongming District) and an extreme maximum temperature of 40.9°C (in the central urban area). There are approximately 50 days with daily maximum temperatures reaching or exceeding 35°C. The average annual precipitation in the city is 1,086.8 mm, with 116 rainy days, including 12 days with rainfall greater than 25 mm and 4 days of heavy rain exceeding 50 mm. The annual sunshine duration is 1,829 hours, varying from 1,535 to 2,135 hours across different districts, with Baoshan District having the most sunlight and the central urban area the least.Overview Customs and Traditions
New Year's Eve Customs
On the eve of the Lunar New Year (the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, or the 29th in smaller months), commonly known as “年三十" (Year’s Thirty) or “年夜” (New Year's Night), some housewives in old Shanghai would use orchids, narcissus flowers, and wintersweet flowers as essential decorations for the New Year. Some vendors would sell these flowers turned into floral arrangements and ball decorations throughout the night until dawn, and this habit of buying flowers to decorate homes during the Spring Festival continues to this day. Additionally, the “New Year’s Eve dinner” is the most significant meal for Shanghai residents, where the family must gather together to enjoy a lavish feast known as a “reunion dinner” or “family joy.” The traditional dishes for the New Year’s Eve dinner typically include the “Eight Treasures” (老八样), although the preparation varies slightly by region. One dish that is indispensable is the assorted casserole.Qingming Festival Customs
During the Qingming Festival, residents of Shanghai have customs such as eating green rice cakes, steamed lotus root, burning wild rice, making visits to gravesites, and cleaning tombs. On this day, adults in the past would place one or two willow branches by their doors as a springtime symbol of peace and family harmony that conveys good wishes, known as “Willow Door Qingming.” Additionally, friends would often gather for outdoor activities like kite flying, tug-of-war, and swinging, with kite flying (also called “releasing hawks”) being the favorite leisure activity. Kites are generally flown after the Lantern Festival and gradually stopped after Qingming, hence the term “Qingming Duan Yao,” referring to the day of “kite-cutting.” The term “kite” has a similar sound to “demon” in the Shanghai dialect, and thus “cutting the kite” means “removing evil.” Some people even write “Demon be gone, health assured” on kites before releasing them, symbolizing the removal of illness and bad luck for their family.Special Festivals
Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival, anciently referred to as “Shangyuan Festival” or “Yuan Night,” is one of China's significant traditional festivals, commonly known as “正月半” (Half of the First Month) in Shanghai. The custom of hanging lanterns on Yuan Night is what gives it the name “Lantern Festival.” During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, large-scale lantern fairs formed in the Huang Temple and Yuyuan Garden areas, as well as in regions like Songjiang, Jiading, and Qingpu, with the most vibrant and historically rich public activities occurring in Yuyuan Garden and the City God Temple. Typical customs include eating rice balls, enjoying lanterns, and solving riddles. Some stores would integrate business promotions with the Lantern Festival, showcasing various products and performing dramas and films. Since 1995, the Yuyuan New Spring Folk Arts Lantern Festival (shortened to “Yuyuan Lantern Festival”) has been held annually from the first to the eighteenth day of the lunar New Year, lasting eighteen days with an annual zodiac theme, incorporating modern technology into the festival, which is recognized as a national-level intangible cultural heritage representative project (third batch).Shanghai Peach Blossom Festival
Initiated in 1991, the Shanghai Peach Blossom Festival is the city's first flower festival, with creative themes that have left deep impressions on citizens and tourists. Near the Nanhui Peach Blossom Village, there are nearly 500 acres of peach orchards, lakes, and various precious tree species that serve as the main attractions of the festival. The 2023 festival included collaborations with towns like Chuan Sha New Town, Zhoupu Town, Xinchang Town, Huinan Town, Laogang Town, and Datun Town, featuring elements of flower seas, peach groves, farms, homestays, horse racing, lantern festivals, camping, and markets, highlighting various cultural and leisure activities, as well as a Peach Blossom Night Food Market and a Jiangnan Peach Blossom Dream Night Tour.Shanghai Cherry Blossom Festival
Started in 2011, the Shanghai Cherry Blossom Festival is held annually from March to April in Gucun Park, with over 1,600 acres dedicated to cherry blossom cultivation. The 2023 festival featured five major sections: discovering new ways to enjoy cherry blossoms, tasting cherry blossom culture, visiting the cherry blossom hospitality lounge, fully enjoying the charm of cherry blossom life, and experiencing the beauty of cherry blossoms in spring, with a total of 21 series of activities, allowing people to experience the joy of the festival through events like cherry blossom selection, the Gu Xiaoying cultural market, women's cherry blossom runs, and spring photography competitions.Shanghai International Tea Culture Tourism Festival
Shanghai is one of the largest tea distribution centers in China and has the most teahouses among 50 major international cultural metropolises worldwide. The Shanghai International Tea Culture Tourism Festival is one of the most influential international tea culture tourism brands in Shanghai. Since its inception in 1994, it has successfully hosted 28 sessions. The 29th Shanghai International Tea Culture Tourism Festival will promote activities like evaluating the “Top Ten Famous Teas” and the ten “Most Beautiful Tea Country Travel Routes,” awarding exemplary organization certificates and medals to actively participating organizations.Arts
Drama
As early as 1850, there was an amateur theater troupe performing “The Equalizer” in the British Concession, and students from church schools began acting out famous Western plays in English, which started the trend of staging contemporary dramas. By 1929, influential figures like Xia Yan and Zheng Boqi founded the Shanghai Art Theater; in 1930, the Drama Society, Nanguo Society, and Xinyou Theater Company united to form the “Shanghai Dramatic Movement Federation,” later renamed the “Chinese Leftist Dramatic Alliance,” launching revolutionary theatrical activities featuring plays like “The Flood” and “Carmen.” In 1941, with the outbreak of the Pacific War, many theaters, including the Shanghai Theatre Company, were forced to cease performances. In August 1950, the Shanghai People's Art Theatre was established; in 1995, it merged with the Shanghai Youth Drama Troupe to become the only state-owned drama theatre group in Shanghai—“Shanghai Drama Art Center,” with major productions including “The Corruption of Officialdom,” “The Cry of the Black Slave,” “The Assassination of Zhang Wenxiang,” “The Family Feud,” and “Golden Blood.”Theatrical Art
Shanghai is often referred to as “half of China’s opera world,” where multiple theatrical styles coexist and develop. The city is home to various forms of Chinese opera, including Kunqu, Peking, Yue, Huangmei, Hu, Yang, Xuci, Yong, Shao, and Cantonese operas. Peking opera was named in Shanghai, while Yue and Hu operas originated here. Shanghai opera, in particular, became the subject of adaptation by other forms. In the 1920s and 1930s, many famous opera performers such as Mei Lanfang, Zhou Xinfang, and Yuan Xuefen emerged. The Yue opera film “The Butterfly Lovers,” featuring performances by Yuan Xuefen and Fan Ruijuan, became the first colored opera film after the establishment of the People's Republic of China.Film
Shanghai is the birthplace of Chinese cinema. On July 3, 1896, the first screening of a “Western Film” was held at Xuyuan in Shanghai. By spring 1908, Italian expatriate Lauro filmed a documentary called “The First Electric Tram in Shanghai,” marking the start of filmmaking in Shanghai. The term "director" first appeared in a film magazine published in 1914 and was subsequently popularized across the film industry, leading to a surge in film production. Various film companies emerged throughout different periods, including Tianma Film Studio, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Shanghai Science Education Film Studio, Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio, and Shanghai Film Technical Factory. The first news documentary in Shanghai was Lauro's “The First Electric Tram,” made in 1908; the first short story film “The Difficult Husband and Wife,” filmed in 1913, innovated the early Chinese film narrative; in 1918, the Commercial Press’s film department produced educational shorts like “Raising True Kindergarten” and “Getting Rid of Mosquitoes and Flies,” among the earliest educational films in China; in 1926, the Wan brothers filmed “The Great Disturbance in the Studio,” which is celebrated as China's first animated film. In 1995, seven films produced in Shanghai received recognition as part of the “Top Ten Chinese Films in 90 Years.Dining and Shopping
Shanghai boasts a rich blend of culinary cultures from around the world, stylish shopping options, and a vibrant commercial atmosphere. Western cuisine features flavors from over 30 countries, while Chinese cuisine offers dishes from almost every region in the country, famous dining areas include Laochenghuang Temple, Yunnan Road, Huanghe Road, Xianxia Road, and notable commercial streets include Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street and Huaihai Road. Key shopping centers include the Port Hongkong Plaza and Xujiahui's Hongkong Plaza, as well as Shanghai-Hong Kong Plaza and CITIC Tai Fook Plaza on Nanjing West Road.Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower
The Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower (abbreviated as "Oriental Pearl") is located on the waterfront of the Huangpu River in the Lujiazui area of Pudong New District. It is nestled among modern buildings in Lujiazui while providing a view of the historical Bund across the river. As one of Shanghai's landmark cultural attractions that integrates urban sightseeing, fashionable dining, shopping, historical exhibitions, Huangpu River cruises, and performance events, it was the tallest tower in Asia and the third tallest in the world at the time of its completion in 1993. It was officially opened to the public on November 18, 1994. The tower consists mainly of three inclined supports, three vertical columns with a diameter of nine meters, the podium, the lower sphere, five smaller spheres, the upper sphere, a space capsule, and a launching antenna mast, standing at 468 meters. The tower features 11 spheres of varying sizes connected from the blue sky to the ground, resembling two enormous ruby-like orbs from afar, recreating the famous line from the Tang poem “The Song of the Pipa”: "Big pearls and small pearls fall on a jade plate."Shanghai Wild Animal Park
Shanghai Wild Animal Park is located at 178 Nanliu Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai. It is one of China's first five AAAAA tourism attractions and a popular science education base. This theme park integrates wildlife husbandry, exhibition, breeding protection, and popular science education, and it is divided into three zones: a walking area, a driving area, and a “Water Area Exploration.” The park is home to over 200 species and over 10,000 rare wild animals from around the world, including giant pandas, golden monkeys, golden takin, and crested ibises.Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum is situated in the administrative and cultural center of the Pudong New District. Covering an area of 68,000 square meters and with a building area of 100,600 square meters, it is a major public welfare social cultural project funded by the Shanghai municipal government. As the only comprehensive science and technology museum cluster in China with large facilities for a science museum, a natural history museum, and an astronomical museum, it has become a cultural landmark of Shanghai and one of the most visited tourist spots. The museum features 11 permanent exhibition halls, including "Biosphere Exploration," "Crust Exploration," "Designer Cradle," "Light of Wisdom," "Home on Earth," and "Information Age," as well as two special exhibitions—“Spider World” and “Animal Kingdom.” It also has two sculpture corridors dedicated to ancient Chinese technology and explorers, along with information walls of academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, plus a science cinema composed of four specialized theaters (giant screen, dome, 4D, and space).Shanghai Museum
Shanghai Museum is one of the first national-level key museums jointly established by the central and local governments and is one of the first batch of national first-class museums and national key protection units for ancient texts. Established in 1952, it comprises the East Hall, People's Square Hall, and the North Hall (under construction), located at 1952 Century Avenue, Pudong New District, and 201 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu District, Shanghai. As of 2024, the museum collections include over 1.02 million cultural relics, among which are more than 145,000 precious items, covering 33 categories, making it one of the museums with the most comprehensive collection of ancient Chinese art in the world.Yuyuan Garden
Yuyuan Garden is located at 168 Fuyou Road and was established in 1559, giving it over 460 years of history. The name "Yuyuan" conveys a meaning of safety and amiability, reflecting the garden owner's filial sentiment toward his parents symbolizing "pleasure for the elders." Covering over 20 acres (18,137 square meters in area and over 4,000 square meters of construction), the garden is home to many ancient Ming and Qing buildings, such as Sansu Hall, Dianchun Hall, and the Grand Rockery, as well as collections of Hu-style paintings, furniture, artifacts, and ancient trees, earning its titles as “the most extraordinary in the Southeast” and “the crown of Southeast gardens.”Specialty Foods
Shanghai's traditional cuisine primarily features rich sauces, but with economic development, dishes have gradually shifted towards lighter, more refreshing flavors. This has led to the emergence of a Jiangnan-style dietary model, combining the culinary styles of Shanghai and Zhejiang and regions in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Shanghai cuisine includes both "Benbang" (local flavor) and "Haipai" (variety influenced by Shanghai culinary customs), with the latter reflecting modified flavors from Shanghai dining customs. Additionally, Shanghai residents prefer lightly salted foods, especially seafood, with the city ranking first in fishery consumption among Chinese cities.Red Braised Pork
Red braised pork is one of Shanghai’s signature dishes made from pork belly, soy sauce, wine, and sugar. It is a must-have dish for many Shanghai families’ New Year’s Eve dinner, symbolizing prosperity. Shanghai-style red braised pork is characterized by rich oil and dark sauce, resulting in tender, sweet pork with a soft texture.Eight Treasure Duck
Eight Treasure Duck is an essential dish for Shanghai's New Year’s Eve dinner, emphasizing salty and savory flavors. The preparation involves opening the back of a bone-in duck and stuffing it with scallops, ham, chicken liver, diced chicken, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, chestnuts, sticky rice, shrimp, and green peas. It is then placed in a bowl, covered with parchment paper, and steamed. Upon serving, it is topped with shrimp and green peas sautéed in the original broth. The finished dish appears red and glossy, with tender duck meat and rich, flavorful sauce.Salted Fresh
Salted Fresh is one of Shanghai's dishes, originating from the Huizhou region, and is among the favored soups in the city. In the name, "salted" represents salted meat, "fresh" refers to fresh meat, and "dome" indicates slow cooking over low heat. It is said this dish used to be called salted fresh stew, and due to a mispronunciation by Zuo Zongtang when it came to Shanghai, it became known as Salted Fresh. This dish is enjoyed for its salty and savory flavor and tender meat, made with doughy salty meat or ham, small ribs, beancurd sheets, spring bamboo shoots, asparagus, and scallions. Although preparations may vary, the ingredients generally include spring bamboo shoots, pork (various cuts), cured meats, hams, and beancurd sheets.Oil-Battered River Prawns
Oil-battered river prawns are a famous dish from Shanghai, essential for both festive banquets and home dining. The prawns are categorized as either “hard-fried” or “soft-fried,” typically using medium-sized prawns. They are deep-fried in hot rapeseed oil until the shells are crispy and shiny and the insides tender. Due to their savory flavor and ease of consumption, many people enjoy them as side dishes with drinks.Squirrel Fish
Squirrel fish is a very traditional local dish resembling the shape of a squirrel, using live mandarin fish, shrimp, pine nuts, and green peas as key ingredients. The fish is cut into a flower pattern, resembling "pine needles," deep-fried until crispy, and then served with a special sauce drizzled over it. The dish features contrasts of crispiness on the outside while remaining tender on the inside, with a sweet and sour flavor profile.Specialty Snacks
Pear Paste Candy
It is said that pear paste candy originated during the Tang Dynasty, with over 160 years of history starting in old Shanghai. Historically, people who could not afford medical treatment boiled traditional Chinese herbs, sugar, and pear juice together to create this remedy. Subsequently, the first pear paste candy shop, “Zhu Pin Zhai,” was founded by Grandma Zhu in the old City God Temple of Shanghai in the fifth year of the Xianfeng era (1855). This “pear paste candy,” known for its cough-reducing and phlegm-relieving effects, evolved from a medicinal product to a delicacy with rich flavors such as tasting samples, pear paste drinks, pear paste lollipops, floral series pear paste sweets, and popular items like peach-flavored pear paste.Gaoqiao Muffin
Gaoqiao Muffin, also known as “Hu Jiao Baibao,” is a traditional delicacy from Gaoqiao Town in Shanghai, named for its light fluffy texture, which has its origins in 1900. In Gaoqiao Town, people enjoy serving these muffins to guests, particularly during celebrations like a full-month ceremony and wedding banquets. The entire process of making muffins includes kneading, shaping, filling, rolling, and baking. By the 1950s, they had become a renowned product in Shanghai. The production techniques have been recorded in the “National Food Technology Guidelines,” and it was recognized as a high-quality product in Shanghai in 1983 and awarded as a national quality food product by the Ministry of Commerce in 1985.Butterfly Pastry
Butterfly pastry hails from France and has become a traditional snack in Shanghai, with a development history spanning about 150 to 160 years. Named for its layered, folded structure resembling a butterfly, its ingredients include flour, butter, water, and sugar. The flaky layers require a process of rolling and folding repeatedly while sprinkling sugar consistently. The finished butterfly pastry is golden brown, with a rich buttery flavor that is not greasy, a crispy texture that crumbles easily, and each bite is sweet.Qibao Rice Cake
Qibao Rice Cake is a unique local snack from Shanghai, originating in Qibao Temple. It is made by pounding glutinous rice and Japonica rice into a fine powder, mixing with sugar water, sifting, rolling into fine particles, and then steaming in a one-foot square steamer. It is available in various flavors, such as sesame, red bean paste, jujube, and osmanthus, and historically, families in Qibao Town would steam rice cakes during festivals, symbolizing the wish for prosperity and happiness.
