An Overview of Shanghai

Shanghai, a coastal city in eastern China, is also the largest city in China, the richest city in the country, an extremely large industrial hub, and the 10th largest city in the world. Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea. Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance due to its favorable port location and is now the commercial and financial center of mainland China and is the busiest container port in the world. Though it is a mega-city today, it did not become an official city until 1927.

Over 98% of Shanghai’s residents are of the Han Chinese ethnicity, while 1.2% belong to various minority groups. However, the minority population has grown by 165.54% since 2000, much faster than the overall population growth.

Religion in Shanghai

There are many different and diversity religious sites in Shanghai, such as the City God temple (pictured above), a temple to Guan Yu, and the Jade Buddha Temple. The Saint Ignatius Cathedral is one of the largest in the world, and during World War 2, several Jews fled from Hitler to Shanghai. The famed Watchman Nee worked from this city, as well. It was from here that he based his speaking and publication ministry.

While it is difficult to find an accurate religious breakdown of the Shanghai, it is safe to say that the majority (over 85%) of the population is Buddhist or Taoist. Christianity, even the false Christianity such as Catholicism, though it has a small presence, is still the great majority. The majority of the “Christianity” there is a false kind and has no true salvation.

Would you pray that God would send laborers to this city and country to lift His name high?