According to the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau, there were 152,050 officially registered foreigners in Shanghai as of 2009. This is an increase of 50% from 2005, when the registered foreigner population was 100,011. The nationalities and population of the three largest registered foreigner groups are: Japanese (31,490), American (21,284) and Korean (20,700).[43] Note that these statistics only show officially registered residents, and that the actual number of foreign citizens living in Shanghai is likely much higher. For example by 2009, the South Korean community in Shanghai increased to more than 70,000 according to Xinhua.[44] Some foreign expatriates are staying in Shanghai as long-term settlers, renewing Shanghai's reputation as China's global city.[45] In addition, there are a large number of people from Taiwan living within the municipality (2010 estimates vary around 700,000).[46]
The life expectancy of Shanghai's registered residents in 2010 reached 82.13 years (79.82 for men and 84.44 for women), the highest in China. In the same year, the maternal mortality rate in Shanghai was 9.61 per 100,000, while the infant mortality rate dropped to 5.97 per 1,000 from 6.58 in 2009.[47]
[edit]Religion
Due to its cosmopolitan history, Shanghai has a rich blend of religious heritage as shown by the religious buildings and institutions still scattered around the city. Taoism has a presence in Shanghai in the form of several temples, including the City God Temple, at the heart of the old city, and a temple dedicated to the Three Kingdoms general Guan Yu. The Wenmiao is a temple dedicated to Confucius. Buddhism has had a presence in Shanghai since ancient times. Longhua temple, the largest temple in Shanghai, and Jing'an Temple, were first founded in the Three Kingdoms period. Another important temple is the Jade Buddha Temple, which is named after a large statue of Buddha carved out of jade in the temple. In recent decades, dozens of modern temples have been built throughout the city. A predominant religion in Shanghai is Mahayana Buddhism, and Taoism is also followed by many Shanghai residents. Islam came into Shanghai 700 years ago and a mosque was built in 1295 in Songjiang. In 1843, a teachers' college was also set up. The Xiaotaoyuan Mosque is located at 52 Xiaotaoyuan Lane,East Fuxing Road, South District. This is where the Shanghai Muslim Association is also located, which has a reputation known throughout the world. Shanghai has the highest Catholic percentage in Mainland China (2003).[48] Among Catholic churches, St Ignatius Cathedral in Xujiahui is one of the largest, while She Shan Basilica is the only active pilgrimage site in China. communities. Christianity in Shanghai includes Eastern Orthodox minorities and, since 1996, registered Christian Protestant churches. During World War II thousands of Jews descended upon Shanghai in an effort to flee Hitler’s regime. The Jews lived side-by-side in a designated area called Shanghai Ghetto and formed a vibrant community centered on the Ohel Moshe Synagogue, which is preserved remnant of this portion of Shanghai’s complex religious past.[49]
[edit]Education
Shanghai has one of the most developed education systems in China. It is the first city where the 9-year compulsory education is implemented in the country. The 2010 census revealed that among Shanghai's total population, 22.0% had college education, double the level from 2000, while 21.0% had high school, 36.5% middle school, and 1.35% primary school education. 2.74% of residents 15 and above were illiterate.[40]
Shanghai has more than 930 kindergartens, 1,200 primary and 850 middle schools. Over 760,000 middle schools students and 871,000 primary school students are taught by 76,000 and 64,000 teaching staffs respectively.[50]
Shanghai is also a major centre of higher education teaching and research with over 30 universities and colleges (List of universities and colleges in Shanghai). A number of country's most prestigious universities are based in Shanghai, including Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, East China Normal University, Shanghai International Studies University, and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
In 2010, Shanghai took the top spot in the latest round of the most comprehensive assessment of the world’s state schools. TheProgram for International Student Assessment (PISA) results revealed that Shanghai students scored highest in every aspect (Maths, Reading and Science) in the world. The study also indicates that public-funded schools in Shanghai have the highest educational quality around the world.[51]
[edit]Transport
[edit]Public transportation
See also: Public transport in Shanghai
Shanghai has an extensive public transport system, largely based on metros, buses and taxis. Payment of all these public transportation tools can be made by using the Shanghai Public Transportation Card.
Shanghai's rapid transit system, Shanghai Metro, incorporates both subway and light railway lines and extends to every core urban district as well as neighbouring suburban districts. As of 2010, there are twelve metro lines (including the Shanghai Maglev Train), 273 stations and over 420 km of tracks in operation, making it the longest network in the world.[52] On 22 October 2010, it set a record of daily ridership of 7.548 million.[53] The fare depends on the length of travel distance starting from 3RMB.
Shanghai also has the world's most extensive bus system with nearly one thousand bus lines, operated by numerous transportation companies.[54] Bus fare normally costs 2 RMB.
Taxis are plentiful in Shanghai and the flag-down fare is ¥14 (including ¥1 fuel surcharge) which covers the first 3 kilometers (¥18 between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am). Extra kilometers cost ¥2.4 each (¥3.2 between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am).[55] Most taxi drivers speak limited or no English, and non-Chinese speakers are advised to have their destinations written down in Chinese.[citation needed]
[edit]Roads
See also: Expressways of Shanghai
Shanghai is a major hub of China's expressway network. Many national expressways (prefixed with G) pass through or terminate in Shanghai, including G2 Beijing−Shanghai Expressway (overlapping G42 Shanghai-Chengdu), G15 Shenyang-Haikou, G40 Shanghai-Xi'an, G50 Shanghai-Chongqing, G60 Shanghai-Kunming (overlapping G92 Shanghai-Ningbo), and G1501 Shanghai Ring Expressway. In addition, there are also numerous municipal expressways prefixed with S (S1, S2, S20, etc.). In the city-center, there are several elevated expressways to lessen traffic pressure on surface streets, but traffic in and around Shanghai is often heavy and traffic jams are commonplace during rush hour. There are bicycle lanes separate from car traffic on many surface streets, but bicycles and motorcycles are banned from most main roads including the elevated expressways.
Private car ownership in Shanghai has been rapidly increasing in recent years, but a new private car cannot be driven until the owner buys a plate in the monthly private car license plate auction. Around 8,000 license plates are auctioned each month and the average price is about 45,291 RMB (5,201 Euro). The purpose of this policy is to limit the growth of automobile traffic and to alleviate congestion.[56]
[edit]Railway
Shanghai has three major railway stations: Shanghai Railway Station, Shanghai South Railway Station, and Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station. All three are connected to the metro network and serve as hubs in the railway network of China. Two main railways terminate in Shanghai: Jinghu Railway from Beijing, and Huhang Railway from Hangzhou. Hongqiao Station also serves as the main Shanghai terminus of three high speed rail lines: the Shanghai–Hangzhou High-Speed Railway, the Shanghai–Nanjing High-Speed Railway, and the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, China's most important high speed rail line.
[edit]Air
Shanghai is one of the leading air transport gateways in Asia. The city has two commercial airports: Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.[57] Pudong Airport is the main international airport, while Hongqiao Airport mainly operates domestic flights with limited short-haul international flights. In 2010 the two airports served 71.7 million passengers (Pudong 40.4 million, Hongqiao 31.3 million), and handled 3.7 million tons of cargo (Pudong 3.22 million tons, Hongqiao 480 thousand tons).
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