The municipality of Shanghai
Bordering on Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces on the west, Shanghai is washed by the East China Sea on the east and Hangzhou Bay on the south. North of the city, the Yangtze River pours into the East China Sea. Thanks to its advantageous geographic location, Shanghai has become an excellent sea and river port, boasting easy accesses to a vast hinterland.

Historically, Shanghai was opened for foreign trade concessions after the opium war ended in 1842 and became the gateway to the rest of China for international traders. Shanghai rapidly became the most important financial centre in the Far East with a large international population. After the communist victory in 1949, most foreign companies moved to Hong Kong. In 1990, Shanghai was permitted to start economic reforms and has since then experienced a huge development.

Shanghai extends about 120 kilometres from north to south and about 100 kilometres from east to west. Due to the constant inflow of people from other parts of the country, the population in Shanghai keeps growing. By the end of 2008 the population of long-term residents reached 18.8846 million. Shanghai is hosting the World Expo 2010 with the theme of Better City - Better Life, which has spurred city planners to develop more green areas in the ever growing cityscape. The famous Danish statue, The Little Mermaid, is exhibited at the World Expo in Shanghai this year.

Zhejiang Province

Zhejiang province with a population of 49.8 million is located in the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta and borders Shanghai on the northeast. The province covers a total continental area of 101,800 square kilometres, and the provincial coastline is the longest in the country, occupying 20 per cent of China’s entire coastline. In addition, the province has the largest number of island and islets in the country, exceeding 3,000 in numbers. The region has a varied and rich vegetation and wildlife, and is celebrated for its natural beauty. Zhejiang has become one of the most developed and richest provinces in China and the province’s GDP for 2009 is the 4^th highest in China.

The provincial capital of Hangzhou lies in the head of the Hangzhou Bay and is known as “heaven on earth”. It has beautiful natural surroundings, especially the West Lake which is recognized as one of the most beautiful spots in China. Zhejiang is also one of the seven ancient capitals in China and houses several cultural and historical buildings and sites. The Grand Canal of China, 1,794 kilometres long, flows from Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in the south. The canal once linked northern and southern China, and facilitated the flow of goods and materials across imperial China and is still partly in use today.

In addition to its obvious position as a key tourist attraction, Hangzhou is also the economic centre of the province and for centuries it has been a major trading centre and is still at the forefront of the economic development in China.

Jiangsu Province

Jiangsu is the most densely populated province in China with a total area of 102,600 square kilometres, and a population of 76.7 million in 2008. The geography is dominated by numerous lakes and a dense network of waterways, among which are the Yangtze River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Altogether Jiangsu has over 290 lakes of all kinds and two of the top five freshwater lakes in the country. Jiangsu borders Shanghai and Zhejiang to the south and the Yellow Sea to the east.

The provincial capital Nanjing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. Nanjing served as the capital for several dynasties. It was during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), that south Jiangsu emerged as a center of trade. From then onwards, south Jiangsu, especially major cities like Suzhou and Yangzhou, would be synonymous with opulence and luxury in China. After the 1911 Revolution, Chiang Kai-shek set up his power base in Nanjing. After the communist victory in 1949, the capital was moved to Beijing. In Chinese, Nanjing and Beijing literally means southern capital and northern capital. Today south Jiangsu remains one of the richest parts of China and Shanghai is a direct extension of south Jiangsu culture.

Jiangsu has been a tourist paradise ever since ancient times. Nanjing, the capital of several Chinese imperial dynasties, has diverse historical and cultural attractions, such as imperial mausoleums, old temples, traditional gardens and museums. Suzhou in the southern part of the provinces is, along with Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, known as Heaven on Earth. Nine classical gardens in Suzhou are designated by UNESCO as world cultural heritage.

Sources:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Hong Kong Trade & Development Centre

Shanghai government

Zhejiang government

Jiangsu government