Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

is one of the four

direct-controlled municipalities A direct-controlled municipality is the highest level classification for cities used by unitary states, with status equal to that of the provinces in the respective countries. A direct-controlled municipality is similar to, but not the same as, a ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and is further divided into 16

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. There is no single downtown district in Shanghai as the urban core is scattered across several districts, although Huangpu is generally considered the center of Shanghai. Today's Huangpu is the result of the mergers of three old districts: the original Huangpu District merged with Nanshi District in 2000, and in 2011

Luwan District Luwan District (; Shanghainese: lu1uae1 chiu1, pinyin: Lúwān Qū), formerly romanized as Lokawei, was a district located in central Shanghai until its merger with Huangpu District in June 2011. It had an area of and population of 350,000 as o ...

also merged into Huangpu. Huangpu is now the location of the city hall,

The Bund The Bund or Waitan (, Shanghainese romanization: ''Nga3thae1'', , ) is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central Shanghai. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road (East Zhongshan Road No.1) within the former Shan ...

, and shopping areas including the famous

Nanjing Road Nanjing Road (; Shanghainese: ''Noecin Lu'') is a road in Shanghai, the eastern part of which is the main shopping district of Shanghai. It is one of the world's busiest shopping streets, along with Fifth Avenue, Oxford Street, Orchard Road, T ...

Huaihai Road Huaihai Road or Huaihai Lu (; Shanghainese: ''Wahae Lu'') is a road in Shanghai, China. The central section of Huaihai Road is one of the two major shopping streets in central Shanghai; the other is Nanjing Road. Compared with the more touristy N ...

, and

Xintiandi Xintiandi (, Shanghainese: ''Shinthidi'' lit. "New Heaven and Earth",Warr, Anne: ''Shanghai Architecture'', The Watermark Press, 2007, fig. "New World") is an affluent car-free shopping, eating and entertainment district of Shanghai. Xintiand ...

. Across the

Huangpu River The Huangpu (), formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River. The Huangpu is the biggest river in central Shanghai, with the Suzhou Creek being its maj ...

Pudong Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic city ...

includes

Lujiazui Lujiazui, also known under its Shanghainese name Lohkatse (, , lit. meaning " heLu (surname 陸), Lu family's mouth"), is a locality in Shanghai, a peninsula formed by a bend in the Huangpu River. Since the early 1990s, Lujiazui has been dev ...

, the financial center of Shanghai as well as China, and has been undergoing rapid development since its formation in 1992. In April 2009

Nanhui District Nanhui District (), formerly romanized as Nanhwei, was a district of Shanghai until it was merged into Pudong New Area in May 2009. It had a land area of about and a coastline. The population of Nanhui was as of August 2006. On May 6, 200 ...

was merged into Pudong. Other prominent business and shopping areas include

Xujiahui Xujiahui (, , romanized as: Zikawei, Ziccawei, or Siccawei) is a locality in Shanghai. It is a historic area of commerce and culture administratively within Xuhui District, which is named after the locality. The area is a well-known precinct for ...

Xuhui District Xuhui District is a core urban district of Shanghai. It has a land area of and a population of 982,200 as of 2008. The Xuhui District is named after its namesake, the historic area of Xujiahui. Xujiahui was historically land owned by Ming dyn ...

, Jing'an Temple in

Jing'an District Jing'an District () is one of the central districts of Shanghai. In 2014, it had 1,180,000 inhabitants in an area of . The district borders the Hongkou District to the east, Huangpu District to the east and south, Putuo District to the west, ...

, Hongqiao in

Changning District () is a district of Shanghai. It has a land area of and had a population of 620,000 . The district government is located at 1320 Yuyuan Rd. Zhongshan Park is located in the district. Economy Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is located ...

Wujiaochang Wujiaochang ({{zh, s=五角场, Shanghainese: ''Ng-koh-zan'') is an roundabout-centered area in Yangpu District, Shanghai, China hence its name. (Wujiaochang means "five-cornered Square"; as it is centered on a roundabout of five roads.) It is divi ...

Yangpu District Yangpu District is one of the 16 districts of Shanghai. It is located in northeastern part of downtown Shanghai, bordering the Huangpu River on the east and south, Hongkou District on the west, and Baoshan District, Shanghai, Baoshan District on ...

, and North Sichuan Road in

Hongkou District , formerly spelled Hongkew, is a district of Shanghai, forming part of the northern urban core. It has a land area of and a population of 852,476 as of 2010. It is the location of the Astor House Hotel, Broadway Mansions, Lu Xun Park, and H ...

. Many universities in Shanghai are located in Yangpu,

Minhang Minhang District is a suburban district of Shanghai with a land area of and population of 2,429,000 residents as of 2010. The original Minhang consist of present-day Jiangchuan Road Subdistrict (Former Minhang Town) and the eastern strip of Wu ...

, and

Songjiang Songjiang, from the Chinese for "Pine River" and formerly romanized as Sungkiang, usually refers to one of the following areas within the municipal limits of Shanghai: * Songjiang Town (), the former principal town of the Shanghai area * Songjia ...

Districts. Seven of the districts are situated in

Puxi Puxi ( Chinese: , p ''Pǔxī'', Shanghainese ''Phu上-shi平'', lit "Huangpu West Bank") is the historic center of Shanghai, China, and remains the home of approximately 48% of Shanghai's residents in an area of 288 km². ''Puxi'' is distin ...

(literally Huangpu West), or the older part of urban Shanghai on the west bank of the

. These seven districts are collectively referred to as downtown Shanghai () or the city centre ().The downtown district also includes Pudong New Area. (Within the outer ring line) Chongming,

Changxing () is a county of the prefecture-level city of Huzhou, in the northwest of Zhejiang province, China. Situated on the southwest shore of Lake Tai, it borders the provinces of Jiangsu to the north and Anhui to the west. It has a total area of an ...

, Hengsha, and Yuansha Islands at the mouth of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

are governed by Chongming District.

Administrative divisions

All of these administrative divisions are explained in greater detail at

Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there a ...

. This chart lists only county-level divisions of Shanghai.

Further divisions

As of 2009, these administrative divisions are further divided into the following 210

township-level divisions The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there ...

: 109

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

, 2

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

, 99

subdistricts A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district. Equivalents * Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language * Kelurahan, in Indonesia * Mukim, a township in Brunei, Indon ...

. Those are in turn divided into the following village-level divisions: 3,640 neighborhood committees and 1,722 village committees.Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2010 - Administrative Division
/ref>

Recent changes in administrative divisions

Historical divisions

Republic of China era (1911–1949)

References

{{authority control

Administrative divisions Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

*Districts