Chinese Urban Transformation

7Shanghai: A Vision of a New Global City

In the first half of the 20th century, Shanghai was dynamic and international, far ahead of many other Chinese cities. Although Shanghai did not see the same immediate rapid development of the Pearl River Delta region after opening-up began in 1978, from the late 1980s it recaptured its role as China’s gateway to the world and the world’s entry point to China. This was the focus of Shanghai’s World Fair Expo 2010. In 2016, Mayor Yang Xiong proclaimed that Shanghai would become ‘a global city of excellence’ by 2040 and placed this at the heart of his vision. Shanghai aspires to be considered in the same category as London and New York, and while it is yet to become as international as those cities, its ...