Shanghai: The Most Populous City | Panoramic Video

Shanghai is a city where the past and the future embrace within a dense urban landscape. One of the most rapidly developing metropolises on the planet, it impresses not only with its scale but also with the way tradition intertwines with the avant-garde. It is the largest city in China, the most populous metropolis in the world, and the biggest seaport on the planet.

The lands on which Shanghai now stands were already inhabited in the 3rd millennium BCE — people here fished, cultivated rice, and produced salt. Over the centuries, the city repeatedly changed its appearance, rulers, and destiny, until it became what it is today: the economic and cultural flagship of the East. Its especially rapid development began in the 1990s, when it received the status of a special economic zone and transformed into one of the world’s largest financial centers.

What sets Shanghai apart from other metropolises is its urban poetics. The Pudong district, which rose almost from nothing in just a few decades, showcases everything modern architecture is capable of: towers that seem to come straight from science fiction, most notably the Oriental Pearl Tower with its purple spheres, the 632-meter-tall Shanghai Tower — the tallest building in China, and the famous World Financial Center, nicknamed “the bottle opener” for its trapezoidal top.

But Shanghai is not only about glass, concrete, and neon. It is also old French quarters, alleys with preserved buildings from the Republican era, and Buddhist temples hidden among the skyscrapers. This is a city where you can go from a busy highway to a quiet teahouse in a minute, from a sparkling fashion boutique window to calligraphy on an ancient scroll.

A unique attraction is the Bund — the city’s calling card. Along the banks of the Huangpu River stand dozens of buildings in styles ranging from neoclassicism to Art Deco. It is a kind of architectural time capsule where the colonial past meets contemporary urbanism. And opposite — the ultra-modern towers of Pudong, like a reflection of the future in the river's waters.

Shanghai is also known as a hub of innovation, fashion, cinema, and contemporary Chinese theater. It has hosted major exhibitions, including Expo 2010, and continues to attract artists, architects, and entrepreneurs from around the world.

In the evening, when millions of lights turn on, Shanghai reveals its true face: lively, pulsating, and constantly changing. To grasp the scale of this city, all you need to do is rise above it — just as the panoramic 360° video allows, offering a breathtaking view of one of the most impressive modern metropolises.