Pudong New Area 浦东新区

Setting and landscape

This was sea until a little over two thousand years ago; Yangtze silt still extends the tidal flats by tens of metres a year. The district has more than 100 kilometres of coastline, and Waigaoqiao (外高桥), facing both river and sea, is a natural deep-water harbour. Heqing Country Park (合庆郊野公园), the district's only country park, lies on the outskirts by the East China Sea.

History

The name Pudong first appears for one of five salt works set up in Huating County (华亭县) between 1166 and 1174. In 1949 it was not yet a map name but loosely meant Chuansha County (川沙县) with Nanhui County (南汇县) and other land on the east bank, and for a long time the only link to Puxi (浦西) was by ferry. On 18 April 1990 the central authorities announced the development and opening of Pudong. The Nanpu Bridge (南浦大桥), the first bridge to Pudong, opened in December 1991; the New Area was created in 1992 around Chuansha, and the former Nanhui District was merged into it in 2009.

What to see

The Oriental Pearl Tower (东方明珠), a symbol of the opening-up, stands on the site of the old Pudong Park (浦东公园), and the Shanghai Tower (上海中心大厦) stands in central Pudong. Lujiazui Central Green (陆家嘴中心绿地), opened in July 1997 at the Pudong end of the Yan'an East Road tunnel, has a lake shaped like a map of Pudong. Along Century Avenue (世纪大道) are the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum (上海科技馆), opened in 2001, and Shanghai Museum East (上海博物馆东馆), with eight permanent galleries, from bronzes to jade. Century Park (世纪公园), about 140 hectares, is the largest park inside Shanghai's Inner Ring Road.

The Shanghai Astronomy Museum (上海天文馆) in Nanhui New City (南汇新城) is listed by the Shanghai government as the world's largest planetarium by floor area, and the China Maritime Museum (中国航海博物馆) was the country's first national maritime museum. The Pudong History Museum (浦东历史博物馆) traces the area from its formation as land in the Tang and Song to its opening-up in 1990.

Food and local products

Pudong's own heritage list includes Niudu pickled mustard greens (牛肚雪菜), cured without colouring or preservatives and prized for being savoury, crisp and yellow, and the soy products of Qingmei Yaoyuan (清美姚元), a craft brought from Shangyu (上虞) in Zhejiang in 1919. National listings include Shanghai woollen embroidery (上海绒绣), the Pudong school of pipa playing (浦东派琵琶) founded by Ju Shilin (鞠士林) of Nanhui, and Pudong storytelling (浦东说书) performed in the local dialect.

Highlights

• Oriental Pearl Tower 东方明珠: Built on the site of the old Pudong Park; a symbol of Pudong's opening-up.
• Shanghai Museum East 上海博物馆东馆: On Century Avenue, with eight permanent galleries of ancient Chinese art.
• Century Park 世纪公园: About 140 hectares, the largest park inside Shanghai's Inner Ring Road.
• Shanghai Astronomy Museum 上海天文馆: In Nanhui New City; described as the world's largest planetarium by floor area.
• China Maritime Museum 中国航海博物馆: China's first national-level maritime museum, with six themed halls.
• Niudu pickled mustard greens 牛肚雪菜: On Pudong's heritage list since 2017; cured without colouring or preservatives.