Looking across the Huangpu River at the new buildings in Pudong, Shanghai. The viewpoint is from the Bund, the old commercial district of Shanghai, which is located on the eastern side of the Huangpu River. A contributory of the Yangzi River, the Huangpu was not a very big river. Historically, however, the Huangpu played an important role in the economic development of Shanghai, especially the stretch of its bank known as the Bund. Here, over one and a half century ago, Western and Chinese merchants started the commercial development that would turn a quiet, muddy town into a world-class metropolis.

Pudong literally means “West of the Huangpu River.” For a long time, the western side of the Huangpu River remained undeveloped, partly due to the lack of bridges on the Huangpu River. In the past twenty-five years, Shanghai has made Pudong the focus of economic growth in the region, and within this relatively short period of time, the area that used to be mostly farming field emerged as one of the world’s most dynamic commercial and financial centers.

The tower in the left side of the picture is the “Pearl of Orient,” which, in addition to serving as a television broadcast tower, supports a sightseeing platform and a turning restaurant. The second tallest building in the picture, the one with a pointed top, is Jinmao Dasha, a skyscraper that combines hotel services, shopping, exhibition, entertainment, and office spaces. Measuring 420.5 m (1,380 ft) in height, Jinmao is the tallest building in China and the third tallest in the world (as of 2007). It does not look very tall in the picture because it stands some distance away and is also towered over, literally, by the Pearl of Orient, which rises to 468 m (1,535 ft).