Shanghai is the biggest city in China. With its 14.6 million residents it houses almost as much people as the whole Netherlands. The literal meaning of ‘Shanghai’ is ‘at sea’ and that is exactly where it lies. Shanghai hosted the 2007 Summer Special Olympics. Although not comparable with the normal Olympics it was still the biggest sports event of 2007.
Since 2005 the port of Shanghai is the largest in the world, because it has outgrown the port of its sister town Rotterdam. With this huge port and all the companies settled in Shanghai, it is the trading and financial centre of China. The enormous economical growth that China is going through is the most visible here. There are many modern skyscrapers and the modern living style of the residents is clearly visible. Shanghai has the status of ‘Special Economical Zone’ which means that the government allows investments of foreign companies and also doesn’t meddle with the activities of these and other companies.
In Shanghai we will find many things related to electrical engineering. For example one of the biggest power plants in China, and the R&D departments of AMD and Lenovo.
Shanghai has been controlled by many different powers. This includes Japan, during World War II, which left traces that you can still see at some places.
The tallest tower in Asia, the distinctive Oriental Pearl Tower, is located in Shanghai. Its lower sphere is now available for living quarters, starting at very high prices. The Jin Mao Building located nearby is mainland China's tallest skyscraper, and ranks fifth in the world.
In contradiction to Beijing, Shanghai has cleaner streets, less pollution and the public transport system is much more extensive. It has the world’s largest bus system with nearly one thousand bus lines and it has the first commercial magnetic train in the world that travels at 430km/h. Another remarkable thing is the longest bridge in the world connecting Shanghai with the Yangshan Islands.
When we visit Shanghai the temperature will be about 3 °C at night and about 10 °C at daytime which is a little warmer than in Beijing. Rain can also be expected a little more than in Beijing though, but it is still nothing compared with the rainfall at summertime.
