Shanghai is a global financial center and major tourist destination in China. It had over 6 million international and 110 million domestic tourists in 2008. The document discusses Shanghai's current tourism situation and opportunities for improvement. It describes Shanghai's transportation network of airports, subways, buses, and railways. It also discusses the city's diverse cuisine and famous landmark buildings. While Shanghai's tourism services are excellent, the document notes issues like past subway accidents and fake food products that need addressing to make the city safer and more attractive for visitors. Strengthening staff training, upgrading technology, and increasing food safety inspections are suggested for improving Shanghai's tourism industry.

1. Shanghai’s Tourism Services and Economy
ECON 2990-01
Professor Hafiz Rahman
Zixing Shen T00047655
Longxiang Wang T00534222

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Abstract
Shanghai, is the global financial center, and is one of the four direct-controlled
municipalities of China. It is located in the Yangtze River Delta in East China, and sits on the
South edge of the mouth of the Yangtze in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. Shanghai
also lies on China's east coast roughly equal distance from Beijing and Guangzhou. The
municipality borders the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the North, South and West, and is
bounded to the East by the East China Sea (Etymology and names, n.d.). It is a significant
Chinese city which had 6.64 million tourists of inbound and 110.06 million tourists of domestic
in 2008 (Information on Shanghai Tourism Industry, n.d.), and it also influences Chinese
economy. Hence, it is meaningful to know about Shanghai’s tourism which can affect economy,
research on issues about tourism and think about solution of these issues.
Introduction
Nowadays, since traveling is becoming much more convenient than before, people have
numerous choices when deciding on a place to enjoy their vacation. Consequently, the name
influence, access, and food would be some influential factors that affect the judgment of most
tourists. Currently, Shanghai is turning into the International metropolis; more and more people
around the world are starting to visit this city. Doubtlessly, Shanghai is an excellent city to
travel, but it still needs to improve so that more people will be attracted to visit. Hence, in this
research project, we will talk about the current situation and improvement of transportation, food
and tourist attractions in Shanghai.
Current Situation about Shanghai
Transportation in Shanghai
Shanghai has two airports, one is the Pudong Airport, and the other is Hongqiao airport. As we
all know, airports are the absolutely unavoidable factor in tourism, because foreign tourists first
choice of transportation is usually be airplane. With the expansion of flight connections, more
tourists will visit Shanghai. The Pudong airport controls 60 percent of flights in Shanghai, and
Hongqiao airport handles the remaining 40 percent. These two airports are also playing a huge
role in the Chinese aviation industry because it is one of the biggest flight hub in China. Half

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goes to domestic cities, half reaches to foreign cities all over the world. For example, New York,
San Francisco, Madrid, Paris, Bangkok, Tokyo, etc. (Transportation - By Air, n.d.). They not
only bring tourists into Shanghai, but also to other cities in China. Another type of transportation
is the subway lines that spread across the city. Shanghai Metro has 14 metro lines, and 337
stations that reaches every corner of the city. Over 8 million people use the metro in a normal
weekday (Metro, n.d.). It is actually a huge boosts for sightseeing because it allows tourists to go
to several places in limited duration. In fact, it also eases the traffic a lot. Shanghai also has a
very extensive bus system. Over 1000 numbers of bus drive through the city (Buses in Shanghai,
n.d.). The bus system helps students, business people, and tourists arrive close to their
destination. The railway connects other main cities in China. For example, Jinghu railway
connects Beijing and Shanghai, Huhang railway connects Hangzhou and Shanghai (Public
transport in Shanghai, n.d.). In my opinion, Shanghai has a very thoughtful transportation
system. It is really friendly to not only tourists but also to the citizens in it.
Foods in Shanghai
Foods in Shanghai are very diverted. When traveling, eating meal is one of the biggest sources of
entertainment. When we go somewhere, we will expect the food in this region to be delicious.
Shanghai’s food is called ‘Hu Cai’ (the Shanghai cuisine, n.d.), and its cuisine usually has a great
optic, nice smell, and fantastic taste. Din Tai Feng is one of the most popular restaurant among
Shanghai citizens right now. This restaurant has many branches not only in Shanghai but also
abroad. For example, there is one in Seattle. It is famous for its Xiaolongbao, Jianbao, etc.
Guests can see the cooks making food through the glass in the kitchen, and that is one point to
attract people. Nevertheless, if tourists who come from other countries do not prefer Chinese
food or miss their own country food, they will have no problem, because Shanghai, as a food
capital, has plenty of restaurants that provide food from all over the world. In addition, the night-
life is alarmingly exciting in Shanghai. Since Shanghai has become more and more international,
it has many world-class clubbing places (Nightlife in Shanghai , n.d.). Diversity of concepts, big
floor, and high quality of alcohol will not disappoint tourists. The entertainment at night and the
great variety of meal choice is very attractive to people who have never been to Shanghai.
Famous Landmark Building in Shanghai
Shanghai has a very intense evolution since 1990s. So many skyscrapers have been built
in the last 30 years. One of the most famous building is the Oriental Pearl Tower. The Oriental

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Pearl Tower was completed in 1994 (Oriental Pearl Tower, n.d.), and ever since it has been built,
it has been used for many movies, dramas, and even some advertisements. It becomes more and
more famous inside and outside of China. Now, other buildings have been built constantly, and
this city has become a city full of skyscrapers. For tourists each of these buildings are possible to
be their destination and the object in their camera frame. In addition, most of them are business
towers, which means they also brings many businessman from abroad, and many Meeting
Incentives Conference Exhibition (MICE) into Shanghai. It is a big factor to increase the
economy growth. Hence, these buildings are now necessary in Shanghai in many aspects.
Disadvantages and Improvement
Nowadays, although Shanghai’s tourism service is excellent, it still is insufficient to be
improved.
Transportation’s Issues and Improvement
Shanghai’s transportation still has various issues. In 2011, there was a subway accident in
Shanghai, and hundreds of people were injured there when a subway train slammed into the rear
of another train in a sprawling transit line (Barboza, 2011). It is a big issue not only for local
people, but also for tourists who want to travel in Shanghai. When people plan to travel in
Shanghai, the first thing they need to think about is how to move to Shanghai. If they hear about
some serious accident before they come to Shanghai, what will they think? Obviously, they will
be scared to travel in Shanghai, and it is not a good thing for Shanghai's tourism. Thus, we
should solve this issue to make visitors feel safe and not worry. In my opinion, the first thing we
need to do is strengthen staff training and tell them to pay close attention to the subway
condition. If staff can notice something wrong before an accident happens, it will be much safer
for visitor. There may be some problems that human beings cannot notice before an accident, so,
we need more advanced technology as well as the renovation of the subway. As a result,
advanced technology and system equipment upgrades need examination and approval of
government agencies and departments to cooperate and support.
In addition, urban traffic is another issue for Shanghai’s transportation. As we all know,
there is a big population in China, especially in big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. Shanghai
is generally considered the largest Chinese city, and in 2014, there was a total population of
24,151,500 in Shanghai (Demographics of Shanghai, n.d.). The big population will lead to issues

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of traffic jams, and it will influence the emotions of the visitors who travel in Shanghai. When
you visit Shanghai and spend a long time traveling to different destinations, you will feel
unhappy. If traveling time is shortened, you will be pleased to recommend Shanghai to your
friends to visit. So, it is important to solve or remit travel problems. First of all, we need to
handle traffic accidents rapidly, towing away the accident car quickly is a good way to ease
traffic. Secondly, we need to build more roads to ease traffic. Thirdly, we need to use some
intelligent transportation systems to speed up the traffic. For example, using a number of
different signals to let drivers know the situation of front traffic, installing satellite positioning
system inside the cars and using radio bulletins to notify drivers about the current road
conditions. Fourthly, setting more special lanes to improve road traffic conditions greatly. These
technologies and strategies can improve the condition of transportation effectively in Shanghai.
Foods’ Issues and Improvement
Cuisine is always the thing that visitors look for when they travel to another place, and
the first thing we need to pay attention to is the safety of the cuisine. Unfortunately, Shanghai’s
food possesses some issues. Shanghai’s food safety inspectors and police raided a wholesale
market and found packages labelled “New Zealand mutton” at one supplier that had no
production date or list of ingredients. Invoices indicated that some of the meat had already been
sold to several restaurants, including outlets of Yum-owned Little Sheep (Yum continues to fail
to live up to its name, linked to fake lamb scandal (Update), n.d.). Little Sheep is one of the most
famous hotpot brand in China, and I believe visitors will try this brand when they travel in
Shanghai, especially the people who come from other countries. When visitors hold the happy
mood to enjoy hotpot at Little Sheep and then get ill because of the unqualified meat, will they
feel happy about traveling in Shanghai? Of course not. Therefore, it is urgent to solve this issue.
In my perspective, first of all, it is important to increase the penalties of counterfeiting. Some
enterprises and individuals produce fake food to obtain benefit because they do not take the
penalties seriously; therefore, they do not have fear. As a result, if there are some severe
consequences, these people may stop producing fake food. Secondly, it is important to strengthen
the food regulatory coordination between the central and local. Lastly, it is important to increase
the government regulatory transparency and public participation.
Name Brand Building’s Disadvantages and Improvement

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Name brand buildings are some other things that attract tourists in Shanghai, and they
still need to be improved. Shanghai, as a well-known city around the word, needs to promote its
name brand building globally. I believe the best way to promote is utilizing the Internet for
attractive advertising. Because of the fact that a number of target visitors are using the Internet
right now, it is the most convenient and profitable way to promote its name brand building with
excellent effects. Besides, when visitors are attracted by the advertisement and then visit these
name brand buildings, one of the most important thing is to protect tourists’ safety. In 2010, one
of Shanghai's symbolic buildings, the Oriental Pearl Tower, caught on fire (Oriental Pearl Tower
catches fire, 2010). Although there were no casualties, I believe visitors must be terrified at that
time, and the visitors who were in that situation may regret traveling in Shanghai. Hence, this
importance of issue should be acknowledged, and it is important to decrease the potential safety
risk. In my perspective, first of all, we need to improve the safety management system and the
accident emergency response on the basis of existing. Secondly, we need to strengthen safety
education training work for new brand buildings’ staff. Thirdly, the safety supervision inspection
is also an important aspect to be aware of.
Conclusion
All in all, Shanghai, as a big name city around the world, has already done a good job in
tourism and drives the economic growth, but it still needs improvement in transportation, food,
and name brand building to promote economic development affectively and gain a better future.

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Word count: 1810
References
Barboza, D. (2011, September 27). Shanghai Subway Accident Injures Hundreds. Retrieved from
The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/world/asia/shanghai-
subway-accident-injures-hundreds.html?_r=0
Buses in Shanghai. (n.d.). Retrieved from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buses_in_Shanghai
Demographics of Shanghai. (n.d.). Retrieved from WIKIPEDIA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Shanghai
Etymology and names. (n.d.). Retrieved from WIKIPEDIA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai#Etymology_and_names
Information on Shanghai Tourism Industry. (n.d.). Retrieved from china tour online:
http://www.chinatouronline.com/china-travel/shanghai/shanghai-tourism/index.html
Metro. (n.d.). Retrieved from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Metro
Nightlife in Shanghai . (n.d.). Retrieved from China Highlights:
http://www.chinahighlights.com/shanghai/nightlife.htm
Oriental Pearl Tower. (n.d.). Retrieved from WIKIPEDIA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Pearl_Tower#References
Oriental Pearl Tower catches fire. (2010, April 13). Retrieved from NEWS:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-04/13/c_13248081.htm
Public transport in Shanghai. (n.d.). Retrieved from WIKIPEDIA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport_in_Shanghai
the Shanghai cuisine. (n.d.). Retrieved from WIKIPEDIA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_cuisine
Transportation - By Air. (n.d.). Retrieved from travel china guide:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/shanghai/transportation/air.htm
Yum continues to fail to live up to its name, linked to fake lamb scandal (Update). (n.d.).
Retrieved from shanghaiist:
http://shanghaiist.com/2013/05/06/yums_little_sheep_linked_to_fake_mutton_scandal.ph
p

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