Incredibly crowded, densely packed, Shanghai is the biggest port and the center of technique, trade, finance, information and culture in China. With energy and confidence, Shanghai is having new dreams. The polluted rivers are being cleaned up and greenways and new parks are emerging. Historic neighborhoods, both Chinese and colonial, are being spared the bulldozer and transformed into avenues of shops and cafes. New theaters and cultural centers are attracting top performers from China and abroad.

Shanghai plays an important role in China's social and economic development. With a population of 16 million, Shanghai contributes 1/12 of China's total industrial output value, 1/6 of China's port cargo handling volume, 1/4 of China's total exports and 1/8 of China's financial revenue. In 2003, Shanghai's GDP reached 622.8 billion RMB (equivalent 75.31 billion USD) up around 90 times over that of 1952 according to the comparable prices. The average annual growth rate became double digit during the last several decades and hit 11.8% last year.

In 1952, Shanghai's average per capita GDP was only 430 Yuan (equivalent USD 52). In 1978, it reached 2,498 Yuan (USD 302), surpassed 10,000 Yuan (USD 1,209.2) for the first time in 1990 and soared to 34,600 Yuan or 4,180 USD in 2000.

Shanghai has long been a major textile manufacturer, producing material for China's domestic fashion industry. It is also China's second largest iron and steel producer and a major refining centre for copper, lead, and zinc. An oil refinery supplies materials for the city's petrochemical and synthetic fibre industries. Chemicals, plastics, cars, pharmaceuticals, electrical appliances, and fertilizers are also produced, in addition to paper, agricultural machinery, precision instruments, and shipbuilding. Other industries include vegetable oil milling and oil refining.

Foreign capital has been floating to this booming city since it began overall reforms over a decade ago. Up to the end of last year, Shanghai had received 31,440 foreign invested projects, total value of which amounted to over 73 billion USD.

hanghai's well-deserved reputation as China's commercial capital has grown faster in recent years as infrastructure development has resulted in vastly improved transportation (including new highways, bridges, tunnels, subway lines, a new international airport and increased port capacity). Business centers in Puxi have continued to be a magnet to foreign executives overseeing their operations in China, and the Lujiazui financial district in Pudong is home to China's largest stock exchange¡ªthe Shanghai Stock Exchange. The newly built magnetic levitation train enhances Shanghai's stature as a world class business center.