Shanghainese people (; Shanghainese: ''Zaanhe-nyin'' ) are people of Shanghai Hukou or people who have ancestral roots from Shanghai. Most Shanghainese are descended from immigrants from nearby provinces of

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

and Jiangsu. According to 1990 census, 85% of Shanghainese people trace their ancestry to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Only a minority are Shanghai natives, those with ancestral roots in Shanghai. The

Old City of Shanghai The Old City of Shanghai (; Shanghainese: ''Zånhae Lo Zenshian''), also formerly known as the Chinese city, is the traditional urban core of Shanghai. Its boundary was formerly defined by a defensive wall. The Old City was the county seat for t ...

was a minor settlement until the later Qing Dynasty and many districts of the present municipality of Shanghai originally had separate identities, including separate but related dialects of

Taihu Wu Taihu Wu () or Northern Wu () is a Wu Chinese language spoken over much of southern part of Jiangsu province, including Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, the southern part of Nantong, Jingjiang and Danyang; the municipality of Shanghai; and the northern p ...

. In recent decades, millions of Chinese have moved to the city, both as internal immigrants and as

migrant workers A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers who work outsi ...

. The 2010 Chinese census found 9 million of Shanghai's 23 million residents (almost 40%) were migrants without a Shanghai hukou, triple the number from the year 2000 census. These "New Shanghainese" () are generally distinguished from the Shanghainese proper as they usually refuse to learn the Shanghainese language and force local Shanghainese to speak Mandarin. Comparisons can be made between the vast proportion of immigrants and immigrant-descendants that make up the population of Shanghai and that of New York City in the United States, historically a hub for immigrants to the country.

Definition

The term "Shanghainese" may thus apply to several different groups of varying exclusivity. Legally, it refers to those holding a hukou for one of the local governments in the municipality of Shanghai. Culturally, it most often means those who consider Shanghai to be their home city,. The term Shanghainese may also refer more broadly to people from areas of the Jiangnan cultural region in Jiangsu and

. Additionally a great number of people from Shanghai itself have ancestry in these adjacent regions.

Shanghainese diaspora

Although Shanghai was long a cosmopolitan city as one of Qing Dynasty's treaty ports, its people was not connected with the large-scale emigration seen amongst the Fujianese and Cantonese. Maritime commerce did, however, create a Shanghainese community in Hong Kong. These Shanghainese or their forebears fled China prior to the formation of the People's Republic of China by the Communist Party of China in 1949. Some actors and actresses on the

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...

network, a television network based in Hong Kong, are originally from Shanghai, such as Liza Wang,

Tracy Ip Tracy Ip Chui Chui (; born 10 September 1981 in Hong Kong with family roots in Shanghai) was Miss Hong Kong 2005. Background Coming from a family of four, Ip lives with her parents. Her mother wanted to compete at Miss Hong Kong but due to her ...

and

Lydia Shum Lydia Shum Din-ha or Lydia Tin Ha Sum (; 21 July 1945 – 19 February 2008) was a Hong Kong comedian, MC, actress and singer. Known for her portly figure, signature dark rimmed glasses and bouffant hairstyle, she was affectionately known to pee ...

. More recently, appreciable numbers of Shanghainese have migrated to other countries. There is a significant Shanghainese community in Sydney, especially in the suburbs of Ashfield, Burwood and Epping. Less-prominent communities exist in the Chinatowns of other large metropolitan areas such as New York and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, as well as

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

References

{{Shanghai, state=collapsed Subgroups of the Han Chinese Shanghai

Definition

Shanghainese diaspora

See also

References