The city held its first comprehensive anti-terrorist drill in an industrial park in Minhang District yesterday afternoon.
Government officials watched over the exercise, which involved more than 400 people from at least 11 departments.
Following a military parade, the drill started at 2:30pm when Wu Zhiming, director of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, issued the order.
The drill started with the Shanghai Emergency Response Center receiving reports that a storehouse full of chemicals had been hit with a large bomb and the explosion caused a serious leak of poisonous gas.
The report also said the terrorists responsible had taken over a nearby middle school and kidnapped its teachers and students, demanding the government release several prisoners.
After receiving the alert, the joint headquarters immediately offered instructions to departments dealing with the crisis, including fire control brigades, medical facilities and the environmental protection bureau.
Following the city's terrorism response plan, government forces managed to curb the spread of the deadly gas and solve the hostage crisis.
Officials said the drill, which lasted about 90 minutes, achieved its desired results.
Liu Yungeng, director of the Shanghai Anti-terrorist Coordination Office, stated it is essential for the city to take firm precautionary measures against terrorism.
"Only by doing so can we ensure the city's security and establish a harmonious society," he said.
The local government is trying hard to merge various social resources to set up an emergency response system that can meet the safety demands of extremely large cities like Shanghai.
In August, police at the city's Wusong Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection Station held a 30-minute anti-terrorist drill in which a suspected terrorist boarded a foreign container ship. Armed immigration police grappled with the man as he tried to jump into the river to escape.