Midnight murder
A GERMAN family of four were murdered by four burglars at their home in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Northwest to launch 5 new flights to US
NORTHWEST Airlines has submitted an application to the US Government for permission to open five new flights from the United States to Shanghai and Beijing to begin next year.
Dealership built in Pudong for Audi sales
A NEW dealership opened in Pudong over the weekend to sell Chinese-made Audi cars.
New service to Vienna from spring
AUSTRIAN Airlines is to add one more flight to its services bound for Vienna from Shanghai in the spring of next year.
Cooking contest held to promote olive oil
THOUGH most Chinese families use peanut and animal oil in cooking, Italian officials believe olive oil will soon become as popular with locals as bread and butter.
Shanghai, Chiang Mai tie friendship knot
MAYOR Xu Kuangdi met with visiting governor of Thailand's province of Chiang Mai, Pravit Sihsobhon, on Sunday evening and expressed hopes of furthering mutual ties.
Air lightly polluted
AIR quality became lightly polluted last week, according to a report from the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Centre.
Most developed city on mainland
SHANGHAI has been slotted into the global rank of medium-level developed cities, like Budapest and Warsaw, but it still trailed places like New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong, a leading official Chinese think tank study found.
Feeding the growth of an industry
FOOD and additives will be on display in two shows to open at the Shanghai Everbright Convention Centre tomorrow.
Australian education goes on show
THE largest Australian education show ever held in China is expected to have more than 2,000 visitors when it opens in Shanghai in mid-April.
Man sues insurer for lost kidney
PING'AN Insurance Co Ltd is being sued in Luwan District Court for failing to pay compensation to a client after he lost one of his kidneys.
Girl paid for tiger attack
A FIVE-YEAR-OLD girl attacked by a tiger in a local wildlife park received 18,000 yuan ($2,176) in compensation over the weekend.
4 in shipping business face charges of bribery
IN the biggest corruption scandal in the shipping business the city has ever seen, four corporate leaders were recently brought before magistrates at Nanshi District Procuratorate accused of receiving over 600,000 yuan ($72,000) in bribes and embezzling $149,000.
Looking into Shanghai's present and past
JUST leave Shanghai for a time and it's guaranteed that when you return you'll be dazzled by something new. My recent visit was no exception.
Laid to rest in the arms of the sea
"IF we continue to bury people in the ground in Shanghai, in 50 years time, we might see rows of tombs established on Nanjing Road."
Reflecting on platinum
PLATINUM Guild International (PGI) will release its Spring/Summer 2000 collection in China with the theme "inverted reflections in water" early this month.
The rise and fall of the Xiahai Pu
IN the Chinese language, the word shanghai literally means "above the sea" or "on the sea." People tell a story of Chairman Mao Zedong, who once came to Shanghai in the 1950s and asked accompanying local officials: "Since there is a Shanghai, is there a Xiahai (under the sea or beneath the sea)?" In fact, there once was. Xiahai Temple which still stands at 73 Kunming Road in Hongkou District today bears witness to its existence. In ancient times, the Wusong River, which flowed into the sea, was the largest tributary of Taihu Lake. Governments of various dynasties attached great importance to conserving the water of this river. In the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), every 5 kilometres a large tributary was dug out along the Wusong River to contain flood water. The Wusong River flowed from west to east, so the tributaries usually flowed north to south. The man-made tributary was called a pu. A Song Dynasty book records the existence of 36 pus along the Wusong River. The last two along the river were called Shanghai Pu and Xiahai Pu. Shanghai Pu flowed from what is today Huangpu River, between the Bund and Shiliupu Ferry Port. From the mid-13th century on, large amounts of silt slowed the currents of the Wusong River. As a result, more and more boats moored in Shanghai Pu. A fishing village on the west bank of Shanghai Pu gradually expanded and became prosperous. Many parts of the Wusong River became choked with silt. When the rainy season came, large tracts of land were flooded. People abandoned the Wusong River in favour of the Shanghai Pu which they broadened and connected to the Huang Pu. Later on, the name of Shanghai Pu was gradually forgotten. The new, broader river that became a major flood-relief channel for Taihu Lake became known as the Huangpu River. Wusong River, was the main river, became a tributary of the Huangpu. Today, Shanghai people call the Wusong River Suzhou Creek. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), the small village to the west of the old Shanghai Pu was upgraded to Shanghai Town. In 1292, during the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368), the town was further upgraded into Shanghai County. Xiahai Pu existed until the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Foreign authorities of the International Settlement filled in and levelled it, however, during the Republic of China period (1912-1949). What was once a section of the river was paved and became today's Haimen Road. Xiahai Temple on the east bank of the old Xiahai Pu still remains. The temple was used as a place of worship of the Goddess of the Sea. Near the temple there was a wooden bridge on Xiahai Pu. Many fishermen and their relatives came to this temple to pray to the goddess for safety and a good harvest at sea. The bridge was often crowded with pilgrims who brought baskets of incense and offerings. Later, the bridge became known as Ti-Lan-Qiao, or "Carrying a Basket Bridge." The bridge was dismantled at the same time that Xiahai Pu was filled in. (By Joshua Shi)
Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.