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Pudong

District in Shanghai, People's Republic of China

  • 11 min read
  • 9 chapters
Shanghai skyline from The Bund
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The traditional area of Pudong is now home to the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and many of Shanghai's best-known buildings, such as the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Shanghai Tower. These modern skyscrapers directly face Puxi's historic Bund, a remnant of former foreign concessions in China. The rest of the new area includes the Port of Shanghai, the Shanghai Expo and Century Park, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, the Jiuduansha Wetland Nature Reserve, Nanhui New City, and the Shanghai Disney Resort.

History

Pudong—literally "The East Bank of the Huangpu River"—originally referred only to the less-developed land across from Shanghai's Old City and foreign concessions. The area was mainly farmland and only slowly developed, with warehouses and wharfs near the shore administered by the districts of Puxi on the west bank: Huangpu, Yangpu, and Nanshi. Pudong was originally established as a county in 1958 until 1961 when the county was split among Huangpu, Yangpu, Nanshi, Wusong and Chuansha County.

Premier Li Peng announced the policy of Pudong's opening and development on April 18, 1990. Speaking at a celebration for the fifth anniversary of the Shanghai Volkswagen Corporation, Li stated that "some policies of the economic and technological zones and Special Economic Zones can be implemented in the Pudong area". Li stated that future investors from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan were welcomed and that China would provide preferential conditions for cooperation and improve the investment environment. The occasion is often described as Pudong's "birthday". Nonetheless, development in the area was slow for the rest of 1990.

On October 1, 1992, the original area of Pudong County and Chuansha County merged and established Pudong New Area.

In 1993, the Chinese government set up a Special Economic Zone in Chuansha, creating the Pudong New Area. Deng Xiaoping had initiated its development three years earlier to build further confidence in Reform and Opening Up. Pudong's description as a New Area served to distinguish it from existing SEZs. It had even more open policies than existing SEZs, in terms of attracting foreign direct investment and developing the local economy.

The western tip of the Pudong district was designated as the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone and has become a financial hub of modern China. Several landmark buildings were constructed, including the Oriental Pearl Tower, and the supertall Jin Mao Building (420.5 m or 1,380 ft), Shanghai World Financial Center (494 m or 1,621 ft) and Shanghai Tower (632 m or 2,073 ft), the world's first trio of adjacent supertall skyscrapers. These buildings—all along Century Avenue and visible from the historic Bund—now form the most common skyline of Shanghai.

In official discourses on urbanization in China, Pudong is considered the paradigmatic example of the 1990s approach to urbanization.

On May 6, 2009, it was disclosed that the State Council had approved the proposal to merge Nanhui District with Pudong and comprise the majority of eastern Shanghai. In 2010, Pudong was host to the main venues of the Shanghai Expo, whose grounds now form a public park.

Pudong New Area consists of the original Pudong County (northeastern portion of Shanghai County), Chuansha County, and Nanhui County.

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