Located in the northwest of Pudong NewArea, Lujiazui generally refers to the surrounding area of Lujiazui Road (thesection alongside Huangpu River). It is a protruding piece of mouth-shapedalluvial land where Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek converge. During the reignof Emperor Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty, Lu Shen resided here where hisancestors were buried. Therefore, the area is called Lujiazui, which meansmouth-shaped land where Lu's family resided. During the reign of Emperor Kangxiin the Qing Dynasty, Maritime Customs staked its flagpole here for raisingsignal flags to facilitate ships' navigation. When Shanghai was opened as atrading port to foreign countries, many overseas-funded factories and companieswere built in Lujiazui, turning it into one of the contemporary industrializeddistricts and leading to a sharp rise of population..

Since the establishment of Pudong New Area,many skyscrapers and even mega-high-rise buildings have been successively builtin Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, including Oriental Pearl Radio and TVTower, Shanghai International Convention Center, Jinmao Tower and ShanghaiWorld Financial. All these skscrapers along with many financial institutions,department stores and hotels constitute the Lujiazui Financial City. ShanghaiInternational News Center and Shanghai Urban History Development Museum alsolocate here. Alongside Huangpu River, there are International Cruise Terminal,Bund Sightseeing Tunnel and East Yan'an Road Tunnel connecting with Puxi.Lujiazui Station of Metro Line 2 is built within the area. To beautify theenvironment, a vast greenland has also been built within the region.

LujiazuiFinancial and Trade Zone

Of all the state-level development zones inChina, Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone is the only one that was designated as a"Financial and Trade Zone". Established in 1990 and located in PudongNew Area on the east bank of Huangpu River, the famous Bund is just across theriver.

A comprehensive financial market system hasbeen set up here. Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone is home of three importantnational financial market institutions: Shanghai Stock Exchange, ShanghaiFutures Exchange and China Futures Exchange. Several commercial institutions,including Shanghai Petroleum Exchange, Shanghai United Assets and EquityExchange, China Foreign Exchange Trade System and Shanghai Gold Exchange havealso opened their operating offices within the zone.

By the end of 2007, there were 455financial institutions based in the zone, including 53 branches of foreignbanks, and 43 national representative offices of foreign banks. Over 30 percentof the business facilities of foreign banks in China, over half of the totalassets of foreign banks in the country, and around half of China's Sino-foreignjoint fund management corporations are concentrated in the zone. About 80percent of Shanghai's securities companies and fund management companies arealso based in Lujiazui.

LujiazuiForum

Lujiazui Forum is a high-levelinternational forum on major issues of the global financial sector co-hosted byShanghai Municipal People's Government, the People's Bank of China, ChinaBanking Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, andChina Insurance Regulatory Commission. It is an annual gathering for financialleaders and scholars from China and around the world to discuss the latestdevelopment in the global financial market.

The forum is aimed to foster China'sbilateral cooperation with the international financial system, deepen financialreform and market opening in China, and building Shanghai into an internationalfinancial center.

The first Lujiazui Forum was convened onMay 9 and 10, 2008, in Pudong New Area of Shanghai, with the theme"Deepening Financial Reform: China and the World". Three hundredparticipants, including domestic and foreign financial regulators, seniorexecutives from world top financial institutions and intermediary agencies, andrenowned entrepreneurs and scholars attended the forum.

Wang Qishan, member of the Political Bureauof CPC Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council of China, made akeynote speech at the opening ceremony. According to the vice premier, Chinahas emerged as a new power in the international financial system, but it isstill in the early stage of development, and it remains a long-term,complicated, and difficult task to further its goal of financial developmentwith Chinese characteristics. Wang also said that, as a emerging power, Chinais ready to cooperate with other countries to address major problems in theinternational financial sector and promote global financial stability andprosperity.

The two plenary sessions focusedrespectively on new prospects in the global financial markets and on howShanghai could speed up its development as an international financial center.The participants also contributed their insightful ideas at six paneldiscussions on such topics as China's macroeconomic development and financialreform, Shanghai's drive to become an international financial center, andinternational financial cooperation.

On May 15 and 16, 2009, the secondLu-jiazui Forum was held at Pudong Shangri-La Hotel, with the theme"Finance and Economic Growth in the Globalized Age". As it was heldafter the State Council of China issued relevant documents on building Shanghaiinto an international financial and shipping center, it aroused much interestfrom overseas and domestic financial communities, attracting some 900participants. Lawrence Summers, director of US National Economic Council, madea special pre-recorded video for the forum, which attracted great attentionfrom the participants. One hundred and two international and domesticparticipants addressed the plenary sessions and panel discussions, offeringmany constructive suggestions and ideas on the following topics: GlobalEconomic and Financial Market Prospects; China's Economic and FinancialSituation and Policies; Shanghai as an International Financial Center:Opportunities and Challenges in the New International Financial Order; CoreFunctional Areas of the Financial Center: Development of Pudong New Area; Howto Handle the International Financial Crisis: Learn to Seek Opportunities fromthe Crisis; Future Economic Trends: Customer Finance, International Cooperation,and In-vestment Opportunities; the US and Chinese Economics and the GlobalEconomic Recovery; Industrial Revitalization and Financial Services;Development and Regulation of the Capital Market and Rural Financial Sector,etc.