Government and Policy

Shanghai merges two administrative districts

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-08 23:03

SHANGHAI - The Shanghai municipal government has merged two administrative districts, encompassing the birthplace of Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Bund with various exotic architecture, into two larger ones, local authorities said Wednesday.

The State Council has approved the plan to combine Luwan District, where the first congress of the CPC was held in 1921, and the Huangpu District, which is known for the "Bund" -- the financial center of the "Far East" in the 1920s, according to the municipal government.

The new district is now known as Huangpu District, as it is located in the east to the Huangpu River.

The combination will help to complement the advantages of the two districts and explore a new economic growth point, said Yu Hongsheng, director of the Urban Development Research Center of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

The old Huangpu District was located in downtown Shanghai, covering an area of 12.49 square kilometers, with a population of nearly 430,000 people. The revenue of the district was 15.8 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) in 2010.

The Luwan District was the south of downtown Shanghai, covering an area of 8.03 square kilometers, with a population of more than 269,000 people. Its revenue was 13.7 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) last year.

The Shanghai World Expo in 2010 was built along the Huangpu River in the two districts.

As a world-class metropolis with 2.3 million residents, Shanghai should have a larger central business district to explore its potential, said Shan Hanyao, president of Shanghai Warton Economic Institute.

Beijing announced the combining of four key administrative districts into two in 2010. The former Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chongwen and Xuanwu districts at the core of Beijing merged to form the new Dongcheng and Xicheng districts.