Matthew Laurence

Shanghai (上海 Shànghǎi), with a population of more than 23 million (with over 9 million migrants), is the largest and most developed city in China. Shanghai is split in two by the Huangpu River (黄浦江 Huángpǔ Jiāng). The most basic division of the area is Puxi (浦西 Pǔxī) West of the river, versus Pudong (浦东 Pǔdōng), East of the river. Both terms can be used in a general sense for everything on their side of the river, but are often used in a much narrower sense where Puxi is the older (since the 19th century) city center and Pudong the mass of new (since the 1980s) high-rise development across the river.