"Tal_A's Shanghai Page" a Shanghai Travel Page by Tal_A

Shanghai, literally the "City on the Sea," has in the 1990s become the center of China's economic resurgence. Shanghai's allure begins with its glamorous past. In its heyday, it was known for the best culture and arts in Asia, the greatest architecture, the strongest business. Dance halls, brothels, glitzy restaurants, international clubs, even a foreign-run race track made it a city with everything for anybody who was rich. Poverty ran alongside opulence, and many of the lower-class Chinese provided the cheap labor that kept the city running.
Today Shanghai has once again become one of China's most open cities ideologically, socially, and economically. This openness has made the city the new hot attraction for foreign investors. As millions of dollars pour in, especially to Pudong, Shanghai has again become home to tens of thousands of expatriates. Foreign influence has made today's Shanghai a Chinese consumer heaven. Domestic stores rub shoulders with the boutiques of Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Ralph Lauren. Shanghainese women are among the most fashionable in China, having abandoned Mao's blue uniforms. Among the youth, mobile phones and pagers are de rigueur, essential accessories for their newfound stylish image.