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At 31.14 degrees latitude and 121.29 degrees longitude, Shanghai sits in the middle of China's eastern coastline. To the direct east is the Pacific Ocean, while Hangzhou Bay sits to Shanghai's south; the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are to Shanghai's west and an estuary of the Yangtze River sits to the north.
Shanghai is part of the Yangtze River Delta flatlands. Aside from the mountains in the southwest, the rest is broad lowland alluvial plane, averaging four meters above sea level. Within Shanghai's boundaries are three of China's biggest islands: Chongming Island, Changxing Island, and Hengsha Island. Shanghai's total area measures at 6,340.5 square kilometers, accounting for 0.06% of China's total area, stretching 120 kilometers from north to south and 100 kilometers from east to west. Shanghai's territory includes 643.06 square kilometers of urban area, 3,697.44 square kilometers of suburban area, and 122 square kilometers of water cover. Shanghai's Chongming Island, China's third largest island, has a total area of 1,041 square kilometers.
Pudong New District, which includes a triangle-shaped piece of urban Shanghai east of the Huangou River and southwest of the Yangtze River Estuary, has an area of 523 square kilometers. It is right across the river from the 350 square kilometer Puxi District.
This is Shanghai's main body of flowing water. Orginally called Dongjiang or the "East River", the Huangpu River originates at Dianshan Lake, but only carries the name "Huangpu" after passing through Songjiang. Before 300 A.D., Huangpu River was extremely short, heading south and emptying into Hangzhou Bay. After changing course several times, the river current settled on a new direction, now heading northeast, effectively stretching the length of the river. The river solidified its new direction around the fifteenth century, becoming the Huangpu River we know today.
At 114 kilometers long, the Huangpu River flows past the five counties of Qingpu, Songjiang, Fengxian, Shanghai, and Chuan-sha, and flows into urban Shanghai where it merges with the Suzhou River, and then dumps into the Yangtze River. Also called the Wusong River, Suzhou River is the Huangpu River's biggest tributary. Beginning in the Jiangsu Province's Tai Hu Lake, the river heads east across the province and through urban Shanghai before merging with the Huangpu River near Waibaidu Qiao Bridge.
In the past, the Suzhou River nurtured Shanghai's prosperity. Boats and sampans began turning up on its waters during the reign of Qing Dynasty Emperor, Xian Feng. With the opening of Shanghai's ports and the development of the city, farmers from Jiangsu and Zhejiang began flooding into the city. With hearts full of hope, they headed up the Wusong and Suzhou Rivers on rocking boats, bringing along building materials, raw cotton, grains, and agricultural chemicals. Although their sampans were narrow and small, whole families often lived on them, and adults churned the boats' sculls to the chants of their family as they paddled into Shanghai, chasing their dreams.
In the 1920's and 30's, small steamships became popular along Suzhou River and slowly took over river traffic from the scull boats. Pulling freight for Chinese and foreign businesses, the steamships would come and go at fixed times from Shanghai to ports along China's inland rivers. With this new quick and efficient transport, national enterprises began investing in factories, and within a short period of time, dozens of national enterprises sprung up along the Suzhou River.
The Shanghai Western Industrial District eventually became the birthplace of China's national industry. Located to the west of modem day Hengfeng Lu Qiao Bridge, the industrial area stretched along Putuo, Changning, and Jingan. In recent years, the Suzhou River has become a popular shooting location for modem directors. Well-known films such as Zhang Yimou's Shanghai Triad and Lou Ye's Suzhou River have done much to increase the profile of the location. Today, Suzhou River still has 27 well-preserved bridges, the oldest of which, Waibaidu Qiao Bridge, was built in 1907. It is located at the head of the Suzhou River and is connected to Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu.