List of administrative divisions of Shanghai explained

Municipality of Shanghai
Type:Municipality
Seat:Huangpu District
Subprovincial New Areas:1
Districts:15
Towns:106
Townships:2
Subdistricts:106
Communities:4,463
Villages:1,571
Footnotes:Web site: Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau . 上海民政-上海市行政区划情况统计表(截至2019年06月30日) . Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau website . August 20, 2019 . June 30, 2019 . zh-CN.

Shanghai is one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of People's Republic of China, and is further divided into 16 districts. 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 also merged into Huangpu. Huangpu is now the location of the city hall, The Bund, and shopping areas including the famous Nanjing Road, Huaihai Road, and Xintiandi. Across the Huangpu River, Pudong includes Lujiazui, 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 was merged into Pudong.[1] Other prominent business and shopping areas include Xujiahui in Xuhui District, Jing'an Temple in Jing'an District, Hongqiao in Changning District, Wujiaochang in Yangpu District, and North Sichuan Road in Hongkou District. Many universities in Shanghai are located in Yangpu, Minhang, and Songjiang Districts.

Seven of the districts are situated in Puxi (literally Huangpu West), or the older part of urban Shanghai on the west bank of the Huangpu River. These seven districts are collectively referred to as downtown Shanghai (Chinese: 上海市区) or the city centre (Chinese: 市中心).The downtown district also includes Pudong New Area. (Within the outer ring line)

Chongming, Changxing, Hengsha, and Yuansha Islands at the mouth of the Yangtze River 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. This chart lists only county-level divisions of Shanghai.

County Level
NameS. ChineseHanyu PinyinDivision code[2] Area (km2)[3] Population (2022 census)[4] Density (/km2)
  Huangpu District[5]
Chinese: 黄浦区 Chinese: Huángpǔ Qū 310101 HGP 20.46 582,100 28,451
  Xuhui DistrictChinese: 徐汇区 Chinese: Xúhuì Qū 310104 XHI 54.76 1,114,800 20,358
  Changning DistrictChinese: 长宁区 Chinese: Chángníng Qū 310105 CNQ 38.30 695,700 18,164
  Jing'an DistrictChinese: 静安区 Chinese: Jìng'ān Qū 310106 JAQ 36.88 966,000 26,193
  Putuo DistrictChinese: 普陀区 Chinese: Pǔtuó Qū 310107 PTQ 54.83 1,243,600 22,681
  Hongkou DistrictChinese: 虹口区 Chinese: Hóngkǒu Qū 310109 HKQ 23.48 714,800 30,443
  Yangpu DistrictChinese: 杨浦区 Chinese: Yángpǔ Qū 310110 YPU 60.73 1,230,500 20,262
  Pudong New AreaChinese: 浦东新区 Chinese: Pǔdōng Xīnqū 310115 PDX 1,210.41 5,767,700 4,765
  Minhang DistrictChinese: 闵行区 Chinese: Mǐnháng Qū 310112 MHQ 370.75 2,673,200 7,210
  Baoshan DistrictChinese: 宝山区 Chinese: Bǎoshān Qū 310113 BAO 270.99 2,250,100 8,303
  Jiading DistrictChinese: 嘉定区 Chinese: Jiādìng Qū 310114 JDG 464.20 1,854,800 3,996
  Jinshan DistrictChinese: 金山区 Chinese: Jīnshān Qū 310116 JSH 586.05 815,200 1,391
  Chinese: 松江区 Chinese: Sōngjiāng Qū 310117 SOJ 605.64 1,938,800 3,201
  Qingpu DistrictChinese: 青浦区 Chinese: Qīngpǔ Qū 310118 QPU 670.14 1,292,700 1,929
  Fengxian DistrictChinese: 奉贤区 Chinese: Fèngxián Qū 310120 FXI 687.39 1,147,100 1,669
  Chongming DistrictChinese: 崇明区 Chinese: Chóngmíng Qū 310151 CMG 1,185.49 607,300 512

Further divisions

See main article: List of township-level divisions of Shanghai. As of 2009, these administrative divisions are further divided into the following 210 township-level divisions: 109 towns, 2 townships, 99 subdistricts. Those are in turn divided into the following village-level divisions: 3,640 neighborhood committees and 1,722 village committees.[6]

Recent changes in administrative divisions

Date Before After Note Reference[7] [8]
1980-10-30 Baoshan County Wusong District established
1981-02-22 Xuhui District Minhang District established
Shanghai County established
1988-01-12 Baoshan County Baoshan District reorganized
Wusong District merged into
1992-09-26 Shanghai County Minhang District merged into State Council [1992]130
1992-10-11 Chuansha County Pudong New Area reorganized State Council [1992]145
Nanshi District
Huangpu District
Yangpu District
Jiading County Jiading District reorganized State Council [1992]147
1997-04-29 Jinshan County Jinshan District reorganized State Council [1997]29
1998-04-29 Songjiang County Songjiang District reorganized State Council [1998]16
1999-09-16 Qingpu County Qingpu District reorganized State Council [1999]113
2000-06-13 Nanshi District Huangpu District merged into State Council [2000]65
2001-01-09 Fengxian County Fengxian District reorganized State Council [2001]2
Nanhui County Nanhui District reorganized State Council [2001]3
2009-04-24 Nanhui District Pudong New Area merged into State Council [2009]52
2011-05-20 Luwan District Huangpu District merged into State Council [2011]59
2015-10-13 Zhabei District Jing'an District merged into State Council [2015]183
2016-06-08 Chongming County Chongming District reorganized State Council [2016]97

Historical divisions

Republic of China era (1911 - 1949)

County / CityPresent division
Shanghai City
Chinese: 上海市
Huangpu, Xuhui, Changning,
Jing'an, Putuo, Hongkou,
Yangpu
Shanghai County, Jiangsu
Chinese: 上海縣
Minhang
Songjiang County, Jiangsu
Chinese: 松江縣
Songjiang
Nanhui County, Jiangsu
Chinese: 南匯縣
Pudong
Qingpu County, Jiangsu
Chinese: 青浦縣
Qingpu
Fengxian County, Jiangsu
Chinese: 奉賢縣
Fengxian
Jinshan County, Jiangsu
Chinese: 金山縣
Jinshan
Chuansha County, Jiangsu
Chinese: 川沙縣
Pudong
Jiading County, Jiangsu
Chinese: 嘉定縣
Jiading
Baoshan County, Jiangsu
Chinese: 寶山縣
Baoshan
Chongming County, Jiangsu
Chinese: 崇明縣
Chongming

Notes and References

  1. Chinese Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2010
  2. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/tjbz/xzqhdm/201504/t20150415_712722.html 最新县及县以上行政区划代码(截止2014年10月31日)
  3. http://tjj.sh.gov.cn/tjnj/nj19.htm?d1=2019tjnj/C0202.htm Chinese
  4. https://tjj.sh.gov.cn/tjnj/nj22.htm?d1=2022tjnj/C0202.htm Chinese
  5. Huangpu District's area and population are the sums of Huangpu and Luwan districts in sources, as the two merged in 2011.
  6. http://www.stats-sh.gov.cn/tjnj/nje10.htm?d1=2010tjnje/E0101.htm Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2010 - Administrative Division
  7. Web site: zh:中华人民共和国行政区划沿革 (1949-2006). http://www.gov.cn/test/2006-02/27/content_212020.htm. www.gov.cn. Government of the People's Republic of China. 11 January 2016.
  8. Web site: zh:县级以上行政区划变更情况 (1999-present). http://202.108.98.30/description?dcpid=1. www.mca.gov.cn. Ministry of Civial Affairs of the People's Republic of China. 11 January 2016.