High life and low living

There's no real defined area now for Upper Shanghai. But the term, which is commonly used in the city, is not an invention of real estate agents or property developers. Throughout its history there has almost always been an upper and a lower Shanghai.

Upper Shanghai could at times refer to a geographical area often incorporating the high-end residential areas in the west of the city. Lower Shanghai wrapped up the area of cheaper housing - the rental gaps between upper and lower homes could be as much as 10 times in the old days.

There were historical reasons for this. Before the liberation of the city in May 1949, the city had been divided into the concessions. The most famous was the former French concession which sprawled around today's Huaihai Road. The former International concession was found around Nanjing Road and was home to compradors, foreigners and celebrities. Rich people lived lives of quiet luxury along roads like Yuyuan Road, Hunan Road and Yuqing Road.

Factory based

In northeast Yangpu, Zhabei, Putuo and Baoshan districts, there were different lifestyles. The people here were based around factories and for some in the city Lower Shanghai was to be found to the north of the Suzhou Creek - the opposite banks of the creek were home for those who lived in the upper part of the city.

Lower Shanghai was poor, overcrowded, bustling, and its narrow streets swarmed with workers. The streets - the jialong - were named after families who had settled there. Like Meijialong in the current Dongjiadu area in Huangpu district. Sometimes the streets were named after the items that were sold or made there, like Caoxiewan (straw sandal creek) Road or Luxi (reed mat) Street.

It wasn't just the homes that looked different. There were different lifestyles and custom. While affluent residents in Upper Shanghai drank coffee and danced the tango, in Lower Shanghai the people lived in shacks, washed clothes for a living and emptied their chamber pots on the street. But there were never great physical distances between the two. Just a few meters, a laneway or a street separated them.

Shanghai's urbanization started after the city was opened up for trade in 1843 after the Qing government lost the First Opium War (1840-42) with Britain. The opening-up led to the establishment of the concessions.

The first concession

Shanghai's first concession (and the first in China) was the former British concession and it was established in November 1845 after the Qing government and the Britain consul of the day announced "The Shanghai Land Regulations," which paved the way for other concessions. The US and France followed, setting up their concessions in 1848 and 1849. The former American concession was where Hongkou district is found today.

The former British and French concessions were more prominent, being found closer to the old town of Shanghai which was located where the Yuyuan Garden is now. Upper and lower areas kept changing. Shanghai's urban planning moved up a level in 1959, when the city expanded from its previous 600-square-kilometer area to an area covering 6,000 square kilometers. The old upper and lower parts of town were no longer so clear.

Before 1959, Shanghai didn't have any rural areas of its own. Shanghai was an industrialized city focused on trading. The city itself could never supply food, rice and daily necessities for its 4 million residents.

With the expansion this problem was solved by including vast swathes of countryside and farmland into the city area. The State Council approved the inclusion of Songjiang, Jiading, Fengxian, Nanhui (which merged into Pudong New Area in 2009), and Baoshan districts, Chuansha town (also now part of Pudong), as well as Chongming county.

Prior to the expansion, all the land beyond the Inner Ring Road in the west belonged to Jiangsu Province. Chongming county used to belong to Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Upper Shanghai has changed as the city developed and expanded.

At the same time, Shanghai's structure had been changing. The city had shifted its focus to commerce while manufacturing industries were gradually moved to the suburbs. With this transformation, the city landscape changed. After the factories moved out, downtown changed and the new look encompassed and extended Upper Shanghai.

Every new round of urban planning sees the old areas of Lower Shanghai vanishing and becoming new growth areas. And as these areas flourish and shake off their working-class backgrounds, the areas of Upper Shanghai are being renovated. Today's Upper Shanghai is more about the high-quality buildings and residences than it used to be.