Shanghai has grown from a small village to a metropolis in the past turbulent 100 years. Now the city's high-leveled modernization charms people the world over.

Nostalgic visitors come to the city to seek familiar aromas. Young travelers arrive to breath its dynamic air. There are many reasons to fall in love with Shanghai, a city full of convenience. Almost every block has 24-hour convenience stores, and there are many 24-hour transportation lines running through Shanghai's always lighted business centers, bar streets and residential blocks. Local people seem never to worry about where to eat-restaurants are everywhere in the city.

A sense of civics

Shanghai was not born as a fully formed city convenient for living. The city's lifestyle has its own reasons.

After the Opium War (1840-1842), Shanghai was forced to open up as a trade port. Many British, followed by French and Americans, set up concessions in the area after the war. They built houses in Western architectural styles, led modern lives and did business in their own ways.

Home to a large number of Westerners, Shanghai became an adventurous land for overseas companies anticipating big gains in the East Asian market. Under numerous projects that led to a soaring economy, Shanghai changed dramatically from a village to a modern consumer society.

Although expatriates only accounted for a small part of the population in Shanghai at that time, their concepts of civil affairs-public transportation, electricity, tap water, sewage, fire safety and streetlights-impacted the local people's life. Shanghai was the first city in China to use public facilities. This convenient and hygienic lifestyle aroused local residents' ardor for civil affairs, and helped make Shanghai a modern city.

In addition to civil affairs, Shanghai's development can also be attributed to immigrants. The earliest large migration dates back to the 1860s, when the Taiping Movement (1850-1864), a religiously inspired antifeudalist peasant uprising, spread to Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Refugees in the two provinces took their fortunes with them and rushed to Shanghai.

Shrewd merchants found real estate opportunities immediately after the huge migration. Numerous Shikumens, stone houses with a blend of Eastern and Western architecture, were built and rented out. The crowded living conditions made people seek commercial services to supplement the inconvenience of living in the crowded streets. Many of the buildings along the streets housed grocery stores-the predecessors of today's 24-hour convenience shops.

Shanghai also has a long history as a city that never sleeps. The endless drone of music from nightclubs and the continuous roaring of textile machines have long filled the air. The busy nightlife required all-day public transportation-what eventually became the tradition of Shanghai's 24-hour bus lines.

A dynamic and efficient city

A photo shot last century shows the speed of walkers in the city's street is equal to running. To be efficient and professional are the  traditional working standards of Shanghai. Accustomed to these working standards, Shanghai residents turned the same attitude to their living standards. Lifestyle in Shanghai is similar to other western cities, which explains why many expatriates and overseas visitors feel at home there.

After the founding of New China in 1949, the city regained its independence. Western fashions disappeared together with Shanghai's concessions. The city was treated as the country's most important production base and entrusted with the crucial task of developing China's future.

But the lifestyle shaped over the past 100 years did not change overnight. Local people still adhered closely to the standards, such as the high efficiency of work and the high quality of life. Grocery stores were allowed to remain as the only privately owned properties in the city at that time. Street ventures sprouted everywhere among the city blocks.

Night traffic lines were developed more than ever before as the government built more factories for the country's construction. Residential blocks were built one after another, arrayed in lines for the workers who were the masters of the country.

Houses built for local workers were equipped with the best gas and hygienic facilities of the time. The revolution for China's independence didn't intend to wipe out a convenient lifestyle, but it had just given more people the chance to enjoy an easier life.

A city blends the old and new

Shanghai is never satisfied with itself. The city's glamor does not just dazzle in its western buildings surrounded by phoenix trees, or linger at the large workshops of the old factories. It also charms people with its energetic development.

It can be shocking for people who have visited Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone surrounded by a fence of skyscrapers. It is also impressive for people who venture to Shanghai Oriental Art Center and discover the avant-garde architecture there. Yet the most charming tour of Shanghai could be a visit to its luxurious business street-the Nanjing Xilu, flanked by flagship stores and extravagant shopping malls.

Those have been the new aspects of the city that have taken shape since China opened up in the late 1970s. Constructed with astonishing speed, the new parts of the city display the current trend of metropolis. Visitors can experience what the city offers, and choose from the city's blend of the old with the new.

(Beijing Review July 30, 2007)