And the urge is irresistible to many people to slow down, or stop, to listen to the music.

The overwhelming flow of piano music - crystal clear, spirited, forceful and sometimes stunning - casts a calming power in a hustling city. And slick and smart Shanghainese know the piano can nurture a person's temperament.

More pianos

Today more and more Shanghai families have happily joined the ranks of proud piano owners.

In the late 1970s, there were fewer than 20,000 pianos. The figure rocketed to over 60,000 in the early 1990s, while the population grew very slowly, statistics indicate.

In 1999, there were 130,000 pianos in Shanghai, in other words about 4 per cent of Shanghai families had pianos.

In 10 years' time, it is predicted, there will be 250,000 pianos in the city, owned by 10 per cent of all Shanghai families. By then Shanghai will be at the same level as Europe, Japan and North America, analysts said.

"The prospect is very encouraging," said Wang Yaqin, general manager of Huiluo Music Company.

The sharp growth in the number of pianos is attributed to a variety of factors, including increased affluence, increased demand for quality cultural life and most importantly better housing conditions.

Acute competition

Competition between piano sellers is very keen in Shanghai. There are already over 50 piano shops in the city, yet new shops keep emerging.

Since its debut in July on Nanjing Road East, Huiluo has seen sales grow by 30 per cent a month.

In the early 1990s, the Shanghai piano market was almost monopolized by local Nie Er pianos. Now a host of domestic and foreign brands have made successful inroads into the city.

Most pianos are priced around 10,000 yuan ($1,200), said Wang. And most buyers are ordinary wage-earners.

Tutoring piano

The rosy outlook of the piano market also nurtures a profession - piano tutoring. In addition to the government-run children's palaces, hundreds of private piano tutors make up the majority of piano teachers.

Shen Bei, in her mid-20s, is a school music teacher who studied piano at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music for two years.

Besides her work at her school, Shen plays piano at a restaurant and tutors 10 students in her spare time.

A piano class, of usually 40 to 60 minutes, can fetch as much as 50 yuan ($6), Shen said. And she teaches a student one class every week.

A child usually learns piano for six to seven years, so Shen's moonlighting is quite stable and earns her more money than the pay she receives from her school.

"Most of my students' parents are wage-earners," said Shen. "Their monthly family income is less than 2,000 yuan ($240)."

But the parents are very friendly to Shen and willing to pay her to tutor their children in the piano.

"Shanghai parents always want their children to succeed in life, and music tutoring is just one part of their investment in their education," said Shen.

Today, piano students are not necessarily intended by their parents to become musicians. "Most parents want their children to acquire an artistic skill," said Shen. "That is the most important thing."

Popularity crossover

In fact, the popularity of the piano has an important population crossover to adults.

Middle-aged Zhao developed an ardent love for the piano as a child. Before the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), Zhao, then a little girl, often went to her neighbour's home to see the young lady play piano.

However because of the high price of pianos and humble housing conditions, her dream of owning a piano was never realized.

Not long ago, Zhao moved to a spacious apartment at Tiantian Garden and her girlhood dream was rekindled, finally she bought a piano.

"Playing the piano in my large sitting room, I feel time flooding back," said Zhao. "And all my childhood dreams are realized."