Pudong
Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name Pudong was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic city center. It now refers to the broader Pudong New Area, a state-level new area which extends all the way to the East China Sea.
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.
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 which 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. 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.[2]: 158 Pudong's description as a New Area served to distinguish it from existing SEZs.[2]: 158 It had even more open policies than existing SEZs, in terms of attracting foreign direct investment and developing the local economy.[2]: 158
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.[2]: 157
