Black Christmas disaster

Shanghai (; Chinese: 上海, Shanghainese pronunciation [zɑ̃̀.hɛ́] (listen), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: [ʂâŋ.xàɪ] (listen)) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China. The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. With a population of 24.89 million as of 2021, Shanghai is the most populous urban area in China and the most populous city proper in the world. It is the only city in East Asia with a GDP greater than its corresponding capital. As of 2018, the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area, which includes Suzhou, Wuxi, Nantong, Ningbo, Jiaxing, Zhoushan, and Huzhou, was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (nominal) of nearly 9.1 trillion RMB ($1.33 trillion). Shanghai has been one of the world's major centers for finance, business and economics, research, education, science and technology, manufacturing, tourism, culture, dining, art, fashion, sports, and transportation, and the Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest container port. In 2019, the Shanghai Pudong International Airport was one of the world's 10 busiest airports by passenger traffic, and one of the two international airports serving the Shanghai metropolitan area, the other one being the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. Originally a fishing village and market town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to both domestic and foreign trade and its favorable port location. The city was one of five treaty ports forced to open to European trade after the First Opium War. The Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession were subsequently established. The city then flourished, becoming a primary commercial and financial hub of Asia in the 1930s. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the city was the site of the major Battle of Shanghai. After the war, with the communists takeover of the mainland in 1949, trade was limited to other socialist countries and the city's global influence declined. By the 1990s, economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping a decade earlier resulted in an intense redevelopment of the city, especially the Pudong New Area, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment. The city has since re-emerged as a hub for international trade and finance; it is the home of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one of the largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalization and the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone, the first free-trade zone in mainland China. As of 2020, Shanghai was classified as an Alpha+ (global first-tier) city by the GaWC and ranked as having the 3rd most competitive and largest financial center in the world behind New York City and London by the Global Financial Centres Index. It has the largest metro network of any city in the world, the fifth-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world, the fifth-largest number of skyscrapers of any city in the world, the fifth-largest scientific research output of any city in the world, and highly ranked educational institutions including Fudan, Shanghai Jiao Tong, Tongji, East China Normal, Shanghai, Donghua, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, East China University of Science and Technology, and University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.Shanghai has been described as the "showpiece" of the booming economy of China. Featuring several architectural styles such as Art Deco and shikumen, the city is renowned for its Lujiazui skyline, museums and historic buildings including the City God Temple, Yu Garden, the China Pavilion and buildings along the Bund, which includes Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Shanghai is also known for its sugary cuisine, distinctive local language and vibrant international flair. As an important international city, Shanghai is the seat of the New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states and the city hosts more than 70 foreign representatives and numerous national and international events every year, such as Shanghai Fashion Week, the Chinese Grand Prix and ChinaJoy. Shanghai is the highest earning tourist city in the world, with the seventh most five-star hotels in the world, and the third tallest building in the world, the Shanghai Tower. In 2018, Shanghai hosted the first China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's first import-themed national-level expo.

People's Square is a large public square in the Huangpu District of Shanghai. It is south of Nanjing Road (West) and north of Huaihai Road (East). People's Square is the site of Shanghai's municipal government headquarters building and the standard reference point for measurement of distance of almost all highways in the Shanghai municipality is set in the north of the square, near the fountain.

The Great World (Chinese: 大世界; pinyin: Dà Shìjìe; Shanghainese: Da Syga) is an amusement arcade and entertainment complex located in Shanghai, China. Built in 1917 on the corner of Avenue Edward VII (now Yan'an Road) and Yu Ya Ching Road (now Middle Xizang Road), it was the first and for a long time the most influential indoor amusement arcade in Shanghai, so much so that it spawned imitations all over China. It had gained a reputation as the “No. 1 Entertainment Venue in the Far East.”While the traditional style entertainment offered by the Great World today faces great competition from newer forms of entertainment and electronic media, it remains an important tourist attraction popular with visitors to Shanghai from other parts of China. Such is the influence of Great World, that its Chinese name (Da Shijie) has become the name of a locality in its vicinity, "Dashijie". Dashijie Station, on Line 8 of the Shanghai Metro is located nearby and is named after Great World. It was closed in 2003 due to an outbreak of the SARS epidemic, and the reopened at its centennial after repairs, in March 2017.

Cadillac·Shanghai Concert Hall is located on the intersection of Yan'an Road and South Tibet Road of Huangpu District, Shanghai. It was founded in 1930 as Nanking Theatre. In 1949, its name was changed to Beijing Cinema. In 1959, it was renamed Shanghai Concert Hall. The hall can accommodate 1,122 seats, 640 on the ground floor and 482 on the second floor. The stage is 8.35 metres by 16 metres, covering around 100 sq. metres. The Concert Hall was designed by Chinese architect Fan Wenzhao (范文照) in European style. In order to make way for Yan'an Elevated Road, the hall was relocated in 2007. The project embarked at 10 am on April 15, and cost 50 million RMB. The 5,800 ton concert hall was first lifted 1.7 meters, moved east 66.4 meters, and finally lifted another 1.7 meters at the new site, using Enerpac hydraulic cylinders. The project concluded on January 1, 2008. The Shanghai Concert Hall reopened on September 26, 2008.

Dashijie (Chinese: 大世界; pinyin: Dàshìjiè; lit. 'Great World') is a station on Shanghai Metro Line 8 and Line 14. It began operation on December 29, 2007. The shortest distance between two stations on the Shanghai Metro system is that between Dashijie and People's Square. The station in linked to an underground shopping complex containing a McDonald's and other fast food outlets. The station is named after the Great World entertainment complex (in Chinese, "Da Shijie"), traditionally Shanghai's largest amusement arcade.

The Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation (Chinese: 上海文化发展基金会; pinyin: Shànghǎi Wénhuà Fāzhǎn Jījīn Huì) is a non-profit organization established in November 1986 by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. It manages public and private donations to finance cultural and artistic projects across Shanghai.

Bloody Saturday, also known as Black Saturday and the Great World bombing, was a misdirected attack on civilians by the Republic of China Air Force on 14 August 1937 during the Battle of Shanghai of the Second Sino-Japanese War. On the day, the Chinese Air Force, in an unsuccessful attempt to attack the Japanese cruiser Idzumo moored next to the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai, accidentally bombed the city centre, resulting in the deaths of some thousand civilians.

The Shanghai Race Club was a horse racing club located in Shanghai, China. The Club was based at the Shanghai Racecourse (跑马厅; 跑馬廳), and the two names are often used interchangeably. Originally the Race Committee of the International Recreation Club, the Race Club was first established in 1850, with the building of Shanghai's first racecourse. In 1862, it detached itself from the Shanghai Recreation Club to become an independent body. The Club's activities were affected by the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. After the Communist takeover of Shanghai in 1949, the Club was placed under military administration in 1951 and its properties taken over by the government in 1954.

The Greater Shanghai Plan (simplified Chinese: 大上海计划; traditional Chinese: 大上海計劃; pinyin: Dà Shànghǎi Jìhuà) was a 1927 plan for the city of Shanghai, China, drawn up by the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China in Nanking. It was presented at the 123rd meeting of the Shanghai City Government in July 1929 and as one of its provisions allocated 7,000 mu (~4.6 km2) in the modern day Jiangwan Subdistrict of Shanghai's Yangpu District for the construction of a government headquarters and administration centre. Had it been completed, the government headquarters building would have stood close to the junction of today's Hengren Road (恒仁路) and the Qingyuan Ring Road (清源环路) (31.3131°N 121.5255°E / 31.3131; 121.5255). Following the fall of Shanghai to the Japanese in 1937, implementation of the plan stopped. By October 1938, the occupying army had come up with their own "Greater Shanghai Metropolitan Plan" (Chinese: 上海大都市计划; pinyin: Shànghǎi Dà Dūshì Jìhuà), which was a modified version of the original. When the war ended in 1945 with the Japanese surrender, the Nationalist Government returned to power. It did not continue with the plan but instead constructed a number of new roads and repaired damaged buildings. From then until 1952, land previously allocated under the plan was gradually subsumed by development of the Jiangwan District.

People's Park (Chinese: 人民公园; pinyin: Rénmín Gōngyuán) is a public park in Huangpu District of central Shanghai. It is located south of Nanjing Road, a major shopping street, and north of People's Square. Originally the northern part of the Shanghai Race Club's race course, the park was created in 1952. With several major museums and Shanghai's main shopping street nearby, it is one of the top tourist destinations in the city.

Lippo Plaza is a 38 floor tower in the Luwan District of Shanghai, China and was completed in 1998. It was built by architect Frank C Y Feng and Associates Limited.

People's Square (simplified Chinese: 人民广场; traditional Chinese: 人民廣場; pinyin: Rénmín Guǎngchǎng) is a large interchange station of the Shanghai Metro, located below People's Square, also next to People's Park and Nanjing Road, in the city center of Shanghai. The station is one of the busiest metro stations in mainland China, handling a daily traffic of over 700,000 passengers.The opening of the downtown sections of Lines 12 and 13 in late December 2015 has allowed for alternative routes around the station, reducing the daily traffic by around 10%.The station is an interchange between Lines 1, 2 and 8, making it an important interchange station boasting close to twenty exits. This station is exceptionally busy because of a unique combination of it being an interchange between a west-east and north-south line, as well as being surrounded by office buildings, shopping malls and several tourist attractions. This combination causes it to be extremely busy during peak times, but it remains very busy during the rest of the day as well. In early 2009, a new side platform for Line 8 riders heading south (to Shendu Highway) opened. This platform was converted from a former link to Line 1. Passengers from Shiguang Road station heading south can exit from either door. Since 2013, in the station hall of People’s Square the Metro operator set up a music corner. Every Saturday, both professional and amateur musicians and artists hit the stage. The tiny music corner has become a bridge for cultural exchanges. At the 500th show in September 2018, Matt Knowles — director of culture and education at the British Council in Shanghai - said what made it so special was that Shanghai Metro had turned a commercial space into a cultural one, giving people a chance to pause and reflect.