Shanghai is a scintillating city bristling with rapid cultural change. Since market restrictions were lifted, Shanghai has embraced the forces of business and design, shaping a fresh, new city that is sophisticated, innovative and living a life it has never lived before. Shanghai is China's most important hub and staging point for goods and is connected via international airways to 59 cities worldwide.

Shanghai is China's largest city, its largest port and its largest industrial base. The city also plays a prominent role in the areas of education and culture with numerous universities, research establishments, theaters and museums.

While it can not match the epic history of Beijing or Xi’an's grander sights, Shanghai is the hotspot of modern China; a cosmopolitan city buzzing with the concept of 'lifestyle revolution', showcased in the architectural temples of art, fine dining and contemporary urban living on 'The Bund'. Monumental building projects push skyward and glinting department stores swing open their doors to a stylish elite.

The city’s prosperous sheen belies the ongoing social concerns for a disintegrating welfare system. Nobody can predict what the city will look like two decades from now, but as the Chinese saying goes, if the old doesn't go, the new won't come.

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