From the outset, this strategic decision had Deng Xiaoping's wholehearted support. Returning to Bejing from an inspection of

Shanghai in the spring of 1990, Deng Xiaoping emphasized to the central government officials concerned: "I've retired, but

there are still a few things I want to mention, namely, the development of Pudong, you should pay more attention to it." In

1992, the retired Deng Xiaoping made a series of important speeches during his stay in Wuhan, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shanghai.

In Shanghai, he even confessed his mistake publicly. He said: "One of my big mistakes was leaving out Shanghai when the four

Special Economic Regions were established. But for this, the whole reform and opening-up picture in the Yangtze River Delta

and Basin, the whole of China even, would be completely different." In order to make good his error, he required Shanghai to

"look new within one year, and be completely transformed within three." Therefore, Jiang Zemin, General Secretary. of the

CPC, put forward in his report at the Fourteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1992: "With the

development of Shanghai Pudong playing the leading role, we should further develop and open up cities along the Yangtze

River, building Shanghai into an international center of economy, finance and trade as soon as possible and facilitating a

new leap in the economies of the entire Yangtze River Basin and Delta." Therefore, the development and openingup of Pudong,

as a national development strategy, was promoted and implemented at full speed.

In 1994, the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress of Shanghai passed the Overall Plan for Pudong New Area.

This top-ranking plan provided a legally-effective construction blueprint for Pudong.
   
The plan stipulated six functional zones, namely, Lujiazui financial and trade zone. Jinqiao export processing zone.

Waigaoqiao bonded zone, Zhangjiang high-tech zone, Liuli modern residential zone and the new international airport zone. all

linked to the other bank across the Huangpu River by a comprehensive transportation system.

Construction according to this blueprint went ahead on a large-scale. Simultaneously the four state-level key development

zones of Lujiazui. Jinqiao, Waigaoqiao and Zhangjiang underwent infrastructure, formal and functional development. All were

striving to be new world-class, export-oriented, multi-functional and modern. Such rapid, large-scale development was

unprecedented in Shanghai's history and also very rare in world urban history. In a dozen short years. Pudong underwent a

staggering transformation.

In the past, the movement of people and goods between the two banks had depended upon ferries. Now the Nanpu, Yangpu, Xupu,

Fengpu and Lupu bridges span the Huangpu, whilst beneath the river are six river crossing and sightseeing tunnels, including

the Dapu Road, Yan'an Road East (double-level), Dalian Road and Fuxing Road East. Pudong and Puxi, separated since antiquity

by the Huangpu River, were linked at last, and the vehicle crossing time cut from two or three hours to a mere six minutes.
Lujiazui, across the river from the Bund in Puxi, was originally a barely populated place with shabby houses, small factories

and patchwork fields. Now it has become a world-class commercial center on a par with New York’s Manhattan and Tokyo’s

Shinjuku. Lujiazui tower Asia’s densest and most modern skyscrapers, among them the 468-meter Oriental Pearl TV Tower and

420.5-meter Jinmao Building, which have become the new landmarks of the city. The Shanghai Maglev  line was built here—the

world’s first commercially operational magnetic levitation train line. Trains shuttle between Longyang on Subway Line 2 in

the west and Shanghai Pudong International Airport in the east, and it has a total length of 30 km, a design speed of 430 km

per hour and a journey time of only eight minutes. This unprecedented high-tech transportation project was built using all-

German technology at a cost of 9 billion yuan. It was completed in less than two years, starting on March 1,2001 and opening

to traffic on December 31,2002. If the Oriental Pearl TV Tower has established Shanghai’s height in the new century, then

the Shanghai Maglev symbolizes Shanghai’s speed. This height and speed have completely changed Shanghai’s city image and

shaped its new international appearance.

In the past, many Shanghainese "would rather have a bed in Puxi than a house in Pudong." Nowadays, Pudong has the best air

and environment in Shanghai – and the best-selling houses. Its skies are clear and its trees are green, full of birdsong and

fragrant blossom. It has become a hot place for Chinese and foreigners to invest and start a career, and a pleasant

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