People are always the heart of a city. A city's appeal is determined not by its wealth or luxurious; lifestyle, nor by

the number of its skyscrapers, star-rated hotels, office blocks, shopping centers or auction houses... rather its appeal is

reflected in its cultural and spiritual individuality.
   
A city without character is merely a concrete forest and a source of wants, but not a home. A city without its own spirit

is a place to spend money or a Vanity Fair. but not a home. If a city's "hardware" can be likened to a physiological body,

its people's character and urban spirit represent its soul.

Just as there are no two identical leaves on earth, every city has developed its own individuality based on its geography,

history, culture and typical products. Shanghai is no exception. It has developed its character and urban spirit based on the

co-existence of history and modem life, the assimilation of Chinese and Western cultures, the integration of trend and

tradition, and harmony between man and nature. Its inclusiveness, courage to take the lead, emphasis on study and its

elegance all make a big impression.

Inclusiveness

The most distinctive aspect of the Shanghai character is, without a doubt, its broad inclusiveness. It is such inclusiveness

that played a key role in Shanghai s success; without it, its past brilliance and present achievements might never have

happened.

Shanghai s inclusiveness was the basic reason that the city became "the Paris of the East and the New York of the West" in

the 1920s and 1930s. Because of this, many ideas that could not survive elsewhere took hold in Shanghai; many philosophical

and artistic: trends were rejected in other cities were accepted in Shanghai: many cultural undertakings that struggled in

other surroundings succeeded in Shanghai; and many scholars unable to survive in other regions found a foothold for

development in Shanghai.
   
It was inclusiveness that brought Shanghai its modernity and prosperity, in this Oriental metropolis, there were

theaters, tea houses, bookstores and newspaper agencies, racecourses, stadiums, swimming pools, golf courses, jaialai --

everything you could possibly want. They could also read satirical novels, love stories, swordsmen novels, whodunits and

historical romances, or watch movies, modern dramas, Peking opera and various local operas, as well as foreign circuses,

vaudeville and magic performances. Here, they could have a neighbor from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Fujian, Anhui and

Shandong provinces, or run into British, French, Indian and Japanese in the street. They could order Western-style food or

different Chinese regional cuisines - Canton, Huaiyang, Sichuan, Hunan, northern China, and hear others ordering in many

regional dialects.
   
Such inclusiveness brought multi-cultural elements to Shanghai as people from different countries, races and regions

brought their individual cultures with them. The British brought their gentility, the French their philosophy, the Jews their

canniness and pioneering spirit, the Ningbo people brought their business skills, those from north Jiangsu their diligence

and endurance, the Cantonese their courage and fortitude, the Sichuanese their wit and savvy, and the Shandong people their

daring spirit. The exchange and assimilation of these diverse cultures enriched and invigorated Shanghai's own.
   
Shanghai dialect could be said a product of its inclusiveness. The present-day Shanghai dialect is not a simple

continuation of what was spoken here when Shanghai became a treaty port. For the first 30 or 40 years, incomers all spoke

their own dialects and it was not until the 1880s that Shanghai dialect began to take shape. According to scholars, Shanghai

dialect is based on four language groups; the first is the Suzhou language group, including the dialects spoken in Shanghai,

Baoshan, Nanhui, Kunshan, Jiaxing, Chongming, Huzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Hangzhou; the second is the Ningbo language family,

including the dialects spoken in Shaoxing, Yanzhou, Jinhua, Quzhou and Taizhou; the third is the Cantonese family; and the

fourth group is the dialects spoken in other areas, including that in north Jiangsu Province. The Suzhou group accounts for

75 per cent, Ningbo 10 per cent, Cantonese 0.5 per cent and other dialects 14.5 per cent of today's Shanghai dialect.

Shanghai's inclusiveness has also been a main reason for its rejuvenation since China s reform and opening-up. Today, the

city advocates a broad-minded acceptance of any advanced experience and any cultural output conducive to the city's further

development. All-embracing Shanghai has become an stage that attracts first-class theater companies and top-notch performers,

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