SHANGHAI

Shanghai is located geographically midway between Beijing and Hong Kong. And also mentally. Shanghai is China's most intense area of economic development, and growth is so intense that it is approaching boiling point.

Skyscrapers are taking old property's place, they are appearing like mushrooms in the rain. Around the city centre, on the other hand, spreads an area which is the size of Uusimaa, covered with factory halls.

Due to its logistically excellent location, foreign investment and cheap Chinese labour, Shanghai has developed into China's leading port and industrial city. The city is situated on the east coast of the country, and in Chinese the word Shanghai quite literally means "on the sea".

The Yangtse River is described as a dragon, whose head is Shanghai and whose body is wrapped around China, encircling a potential market area of 400 million people - ten per cent of the world's population. Shanghai is the lock that grants access to the interior of the country.

Throughout its history Shanghai has been a trading centre, and the influence of the British, French and US colonial period is still visible. The city has a colourful past. It was opened to Western trade in the mid-19th century. For a hundred years the city was China's gateway to the West. It led the way in many areas, being the first Chinese city to acquire cars, trams, traffic lights and the railway. It remained almost unchanged up to the 1950s, but just over ten years ago a period of rampant renewal began.

A buzzing tourist city
Shanghai is one of China's most popular tourist cities. It is a buzzing destination that attracts around seven million visitors a year. But only around one per cent of these are from Western countries and perhaps only one in a thousand from the Nordic countries.

People from other parts of Chin consider the Shanghaiese to be arrogant, cunning, stylish, trendy and quick to act. If Beijingers can talk about anything and Cantonese can eat anything, the saying goes that Shanghaiese can make anything.

The Shanghaiese are known to be the most style-conscious people in China - others follow closely how they dress and apply make-up. The city is a shopping Mecca. It's the place to find the best silks and the cheapest products.

The Shanghaiese are very proud and consider themselves to be the most international people of China. They have their own cuisine and a dialect that no-one else can understand. The city is certainly the most expensive in China, with the highest standard of living and the wildest night life.

Huge differences in income
Long interaction with foreigners has made the Shanghaiese more open than the inhabitants of the interior. Even so, signs are mostly in Chinese and service is often rather chilly. They may understand English - if the mood takes them.

"The hardware, namely the tourist sights, are OK, but there's still room for improvement in the software, i.e. the level of service," admits Shanghai's leading tourist official, Connie Leigh.

The city's mass of around four million casual workers earn 50-90 euros a month and work 14 hours a day, seven days a week. A monthly wage of 300 euros is considered to be excellent. From the street kiosks you can buy an evening meal for 50 cents, while dinner in a top restaurant can easily cost the monthly pay of a construction worker. The inequality is vast; figures show that the standard of living in Shanghai is the highest in China.

Ice cubes and umbrellas
In winter, visitors would be well advised to take along with them long underwear and a warm coat. In the summer, on the other hand, the cooling qualities of ice cubes are much sought-after. And an umbrella is useful all year round.

Shanghai is situated at the same latitude as Cairo, Lahore and Jacksonville, Florida. The summer is long, hot and humid, the autumn and spring short. The winter is colder than might be expected at such a latitude. The sea brings damp air, strong winds and it is often cloudy. The best times of year to visit Shanghai are April-May and September-November. The summer months can be painfully hot and humid. In the late summer, typhoons sweep over the city from the East China Sea, bringing tempestuous gales and cloudbursts in their wake.

The heavy industry, incidentally, makes the air quality in Shanghai one of the worst in China.