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Social Undertakings
10/8/2004 17:20

Education

Higher Education

 

imageThe city is speeding up the development of a modern system of higher education that features complete disciplines and trains high-level specialized talents. In 2003, Shanghai had 57 regular institutions of higher learning and advanced vocational and technical colleges. They enrolled a total of 120,300 students and the total number of their students reached 378,500. Also, 22,500 postgraduates were enrolled and 10,100 graduated from local colleges and universities. Of the postgraduates graduated from schools, 1,994 obtained their doctor's degrees and 7,683 got their master's degrees. In the same year, the city had completed the construction of the Songjiang university district and the Pudong campus of the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with a total floor space of 484,000 square meters.

 

Regular Education   

Shanghai has introduced a high-standard and high-quality nine-year compulsory education system and completed standardization of primary and middle schools. By the end of 2003, the city had 686 primary schools, enrolling 648,300 students. It also had 844 regular middle schools with a total enrollment of 754,700 students. Of the total, 296,700 were studying in regular senior middle schools. Meanwhile, there were 83 secondary vocational schools with a total of 136,900 students. In the same year, the attendance rate of school-age children for the nine-year compulsory education exceeded 99.9% and the senior middle school level and college enrollment rates climbed to 99.2% and xx%, respectively.

Adult Education

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The city has reported rapid expansion in vocational and technical education and adult education in diversified forms and at all levels. By the end of 2003, 463, 100 people took courses in adult education. The city's 27 universities and colleges of adult education enrolled 72,200 students in 2003 and the total number of their students reached 198,000, including 81,000 regular college students.

Non-Public Education

 

More non-government-run schools have been set up in the city. By the end of 2002, there were 15 non-public colleges and universiimageties with total of 37,800 students. The number of non-public regular middle schools reached 187, enrolling a total of 133,300 students. There were also 40 non-public primary schools, enrolling a total of 59,300 students.   

Special Education   

This is a special social undertaking. By the end of 2003, the city had 31 schools providing special education for students with sight, hearing, vocal, mental or physical impairments. Their combined enrollment reached 5,500 students.

School Statistics (2003)

Category    School    Faculty & Staff (10,000 person)    Enrollment (10,000 person)

Total      1839    21.54    203.94

University & College 57     6.31     37.85

Polytechnic School   83     1.19     13.69

Vocational School 55     0.55     7.04

Skilled Workers' School  83     0.39     4.51

Middle School     844     7.60     75.47

Primary School    686    5.34     64.83

Special Education School 31     0.16     0.55

Sports

Boasting advanced sports facilities, the city every year hosts a series of important international and national sports events. In 2003, the city successfully hosted 11 international and 23 domestic events, including the Heineken tennis tournament and the Shanghai International Friendly Cities Games. In important international competitions, Shanghai athletes walked away with nine first prizes. In national competitions, Shanghai athletes won 27.5 gold medals, 31.5 silvers and 28.5 bronzes. Shanghai women¡¯s soccer team won the championship at the national super league, the national women soccer tournament and the national women¡¯s soccer league. Two local men¡¯s soccer teams, namely, Shenhua and International, won the first and second in the national league.

 Shanghai Stadium 

 

Covering a built-up area of 150,000 square meters, Shanghai Stadium is a comprehensive sports center with a unique architectural style. The building occupies a horse-shoe shape lot with a 300-meter diameter. With 80,000 seats, the stadium has an eye-catchingimage stretched membrane roof to help shelter the spectators from rain or sunshine and it has facilities not only for sports events, but also for cultural performances, fitness and recreation, boarding and catering offices, shopping and exhibitions. In addition, the world top class stadium has show halls on its south part, suitable for seminars, press conferences and other activities.

 

Hongkou Soccer Stadium 

Besides being the first specialized soccer stadium in China and Asia, Hongkou Soccer Stadium is an actually multi-functional sport complex. Covering a total construction area of 72,900 square meters and absorbing a total investment 300 million yuan, the stadium boasts 35,000 seats and 47 boxes. The soccer field has lawn heating and large-capacity drainage equipment, the first of its kind in China. The stadium cannot only hold world-level soccer games, but also has facilities for table tennis, fitness, roller-skating, cliff-climbing and other leisure and recreational activities. So, it provides an ideal fitness and recreation place for local residents.

Shanghai Yinqixing Indoor Ski Center   

 

Covering an area of 50,000 square meters and a construction area of 52,000 square meters, this is the first large indoor ski field in the country. It boasts a slope of 380 meters long and 80 meters wide, covered by 50-centimeter-deep artificial snow. The center also provides more than 3,000 sets of world brand name equipment. It hires more than 30 Chinese and Japanese coaches to offer guidance and help. There are also catering, lounge and children¡¯s areas for snow playing. The center was completed and started operation on October 18, 2002.

 

China Disabled People's Sports and Art Training Center  

 

This is the first national-level facilities of its kind in China. Located at Qibao Town in Minhang District, the center covers an area of 44,000 square meters. It has swimming pools, ball gamimagee halls and other function rooms for performance rehearsals. It also has a non-commercial seven-story apartment building. Of its total floor space of 21,400 square meters, 80,380 square meters are used for sports activities.

National Fitness Drive   

The city has witnessed constant improvement in the public fitness facilities and thriving of mass sports activities and spreading of the national fitness drive. In 2003, the city had 3,853 public fitness sites in local communities, including 163 fitness parks, 3,634 fitness stations in local neighborhoods and one fitness center, covering a total area of 2.432 million square meters. More than 46,700 pieces of equipment had been added to those fitness sites and parks.  

 

  

Public Health

In the first half of 2003, the city was hit by a sudden outbreak of SARS epidemic. The municipal government took emergency measures and set up an anti-SARS office. By bringing into full play its urban comprehensive management system, featuring ¡°two-tier government, three-tier management and four-tier network,¡± the city effectively controlled the spread of the virus. Shanghai had also formulated and implemented the ¡°Shanghai Three-Year Action Plan on Improving Public Health¡± and the ¡°Shanghai Three-Year Action Plan on Building a Health City.¡± By the end of 2003, the city had 2,319 medical and public health organizations, including 452 hospitals and 22 disease prevention and control centers. The city had 102,200 medical workers, including 43,100 licensed practitioners. There were altogether 81,100 hospital beds. In the year, 69 major hospitals in districts and county had extended their outpatient service hours. In addition, 18 hospitals at the city level had completed the renovation of their emergency rooms. In rural areas, 40 clinics had been standardized.

 

Cultural Facilities

Since 1990, the city has speeded up construction of cultural facilities, many of which having already been completed and put into operation. Such new facilities include the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Library, Shanghai Grand Theater, Shanghai Book City, Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, and the Oriental Green Boat juvenile education and recreational center. By the end of 2003, the city had 36 cultural palaces and mass art palaces, 35 public libraries, 45 archive halls, and 23 museums

 

  Shanghai Library   

 

Shanghai Library is a large, modern and multi-functional public library, covering a combined floor space of 83,000 square meters. The library consists of a main building and a support building. The main building has two towers and an annex. The two towers are 11 stories or 55.6 meters and 24 stories or 106 meters high, respectively. The library boasts a collection of 13.2 million volumes, 38 reading rooms, 24 research rooms, and eight audio-video rooms. The reading rooms have a total of 3,036 seats and in addition, there are a 842-seat conference hall, a 500-square-meter exhibition hall, and a 300-plus-seat seminar room equipped with mobile multi-channel simultaneous interpretation facilities. They all offer services for international academic exchanges.

Shanghai Museum 

 

 

imageLocated on the southern area of People's Square, Shanghai Museum covers a total construction area of 38,000 square meters. With a height of 29.5 meters, the museum has five stories above the ground and two underground stories. It was opened to the public by the end of 1995 and its total investment reached 576 million yuan. The upper part of the building is round and the lower part square, reflecting the ancient Chinese belief in the "hemispherical dome cosmology." The square shape indicates all directions on earth and the round shape implies the cycle of cultural evolution. In the first four stories above the ground, there are 10 galleries, including the Ancient Chinese Bronze Gallery, the Ancient Chinese Pottery and Ceramics Gallery, the Ancient Chinese Paintings Gallery and the Ancient Chinese Calligraphy Gallery. The top story is used for repairing cultural relics, mounting Chinese paintings and calligraphy and academic research projects. Boasting a collection of more than 120,000 rare cultural relics, Shanghai Museum enjoys a high reputation both at home and abroad.

 

Shanghai Grand Theater 

 

 

 

Situated on the northern side of the People's Avenue in the city center, Shanghai Grand Theater is a world class arena.

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 Covering a total floor space of 62,800 square meters, it has a main theater of 2,000 seats and a stage of nearly 760 square meters (a 420-square-meter back stage and two side stages, each having a size of 280 square meters). All its facilities can meet the demands for performance of first-class Chinese international ballet, opera and symphony troupes. In its huge arc roof, there is a 500-seat multi-functional hall, suitable for holding banquets, fashion shows and exhibitions.

 

Shanghai Book City      

 

Shanghai Book City is located in the middle section of Fuzhou Road, known as a Cultural Street. Covering a total floor space of 36,000 square meters and equipped with modern equipment and facilities, it is a multi-functional cultural building designed to help promote knowledge and information industries. The book city has 26 stories above the ground and a two-story basement. The building has an information center, a science research center, a conference center, a cultural and recreation center, as well as organizations associated with book publication and distribution. As the first super bookstore in the town, the book city also features a grand and graceful architectural style. At present, it sells more than 120,000 titles of books, audio-video and electronic publications.

 

Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center   

 

 

Covering a total floor space of 19,000 square meters, the center was completed and open to public in 1999. the center offers exhibitions, data searching, study and exchange, education and leisure and sightseeing services. With the theme of "City, Human, Environment and Development," the center has adopted advanced high-tech schemes and facilities to display the overall urban planning in Shanghai and its achievements in this regard. It has a 1:200 giant model of the city ceimagenter, covering 800 square meters. The roof of the center covers 3,000 square meters and is a grid in the shape of four petals of the White Magnolia flower, the city flower. In its basement, there is a 45-meter-long mock scene of an old Shanghai street, featuring old city architecture and scenes.

 

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum   

 

Promoting the theme of "Nature, Man and Science and Technology," the museum serves as a center for exhibition, education, scientific study and exchange, exhibits collection and production, and leisure and tourism. In 2001, it also served as the main venue for the APEC leaders' meeting. Covering a total construction area of 68,000 square meters and total floor space of 96,500 square meters, the 1,755-billion-yuan museum has seven exhibition areas for the Earth's Crust, Life, Light of Wisdom, Audio-Video Paradise, Cradle of Designers, Children's Garden, and Natural Science. It also has a large 3-D screen cinema, a 360 degree circular screen cinema and a 4-D screen cinema. In addition, there are souvenir shops, multifunction halls, bank services and dining halls. It was completed and open to the public by the end of 2001, with a capacity of receiving 3 million visitors.

 

Oriental Green Boat   

 

Located by the Dianshan Lake in Qingpu District, it is one of the top sites in the country, which is designed for juvenile education and entertainment. Covering more than 3,700 hectares, the center is divided into eight areas, including the Brave and Wisdom District, the Knowledge Boulevard, the National Defense Education, the Wildness Surviving, the Creation Activities, the Aquatic Sports, the Daily Life Practice, and the Sport Training zone. It plays an exemplary role in improving the overall quality of youngsters.

Radio, Film and Television    The city's radio and television stations have reported longer airing time and richer programs. The Shanghai Media Group had set up 10 radio frequencies to air specialized programs, with a total of 172.7 airing hours per day. The Shanghai People's Radio Station had four programs, airing an average of 75.9 hours a day. The Shanghai East Radio Station broadcast six programs (including one for Taiwan listeners), airing an average of 96.8 hours a day. The group also had 11 specialized TV channels, broadcasting an average of 1,475.1 hours of programs each week. Shanghai Oriental TV had four channels, broadcasting an average of 523.8 hours of programs a week. The Shanghai TV had seven channels, broadcasting an average of 951.3 hours each week. The Shanghai Education TV broadcast an average of 122.5 hours a week. By the end of 2003, the city¡¯s TV network also relayed satellite TV programs from 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country. Meanwhile, there were 30 cable TV stations (networks) in other parts of the country and world, including those in Macau, Japan and Australia, which rebroadcast the Shanghai satellite TV programs. In 2003, the city had also opened a movie channel, the first of its kind on local TV stations in the country. The city produced nine feature films in the year.

 

Press and Publication   

 

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The local press and publication industry is thriving. In 2003, the city had successfully hosted the 2003 Shanghai Book Fair, the Third Shanghai Book Copyright Fair and other activities. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Literature Publishing House and the Shanghai Century Publishing Group were reorganized. In the year, the city published 101 types of newspapers, including 18 daily newspapers. The city published a total of 1.705 billion copies of newspapers, 183 million copies of various kinds of magazines, and 274 million copies of books. The Oriental Morning Post was launched in the year and the Youth Daily and the International Financial Journal had undergone major revamping. Eleven books published in the city, including ¡°Jehol Biota,¡± ¡°Modern Neurosurgery,¡± and ¡°Yangtze Estuary Frontal Study,¡± won awards at the 11th National Excellent Science Publications conference.

 

Culture and Art   

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The culture and art are making marked progresses. In 2003, the city successfully hosted a series of major international events, such as the 2003 International Fashion Culture Festival, the Fifth China International Art Festival (Shanghai), the Seventh Shanghai International Film Festival and other cultural activities. In the year, Shanghai won more than 20 national and international art and cultural awards. The drama ¡°Shangyang¡± and Peking Opera ¡°The Prosperous Zhenguan Reign¡± had been selected by the state as the annual excellent stage plays. The movie ¡°Father¡± won the best film prize at the 27th Cairo Film Festival.  The Shanghai Museum had successfully staged the exhibition of Chunhua Ge Tie, the country¡¯s earliest known calligraphy collection, attracting more than 143,000 visitors.