Observation | From “1+8” to “1+13”: A New Understanding of the Shanghai Metropolitan Area
As the first cross-provincial urban agglomeration land spatial planning in China, the overall land spatial planning of the Shanghai Metropolitan Area is becoming increasingly clear.
Since 2024, the Shanghai Metropolitan Area has upgraded from “1+8” to “1+13,” with Shanghai at the center and a 90-minute transportation radius covering Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Nantong, Yancheng, Taizhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Shaoxing, Zhoushan, and Xuancheng. This super-large urban agglomeration spans an area of 114,000 square kilometers and houses a population of 110 million.
The Shanghai Metropolitan Area is characterized by its vast spatial, population, and economic scales, accounting for approximately 1.2% of the national land area while supporting 7.7% of the country’s population and 14.5% of its economic output. It is one of the most important economic development regions in China and the world, marked by high economic activity, openness, population density, and strong technological innovation capabilities.
On December 9, the 7th International Urban Planning Consultation Conference (MPIC) was held at the Shanghai International Conference Center, a collaboration between the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Shanghai Municipal Government. During the opening ceremony, Zhang Shangwu, a professor at Tongji University and director of the Tongji Planning Institute, delivered a guiding report as a participant in the land spatial planning of the Shanghai Metropolitan Area.
During the conference, Zhang Shangwu was interviewed by The Paper, where he shared his thoughts on the land spatial planning of the Shanghai Metropolitan Area under the new development pattern. He revealed that the latest construction of the Shanghai Metropolitan Area has been underway for over a year, involving various aspects, and that the 14 cities have reached a basic consensus, with a statutory plan to be formed soon.
The concept of the “Shanghai Metropolitan Area” first emerged in 2016, as outlined in the “Shanghai Urban Master Plan (2016-2040) (Draft),” which proposed the construction of a collaborative development area between Shanghai and regions such as Suzhou, Wuxi, Nantong, Ningbo, Jiaxing, and Zhoushan, creating a 90-minute travel circle to highlight the effects of urban integration.
However, in early 2018, the “Shanghai Urban Master Plan (2017-2035)” approved by the State Council did not specify the exact scope of the Shanghai Metropolitan Area.
In January 2022, the Shanghai Municipal Government, Jiangsu Provincial Government, and Zhejiang Provincial Government jointly issued the “Spatial Collaborative Planning of the Shanghai Metropolitan Area.” This was the first cross-regional, consultative land spatial planning document prepared by provincial-level local governments and relevant municipal governments, which clarified the administrative scope of “1+8.”
At that time, the planning defined the scope of the Shanghai Metropolitan Area to include Shanghai and the surrounding cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Nantong, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Ningbo, and Zhoushan, covering a total area of approximately 56,000 square kilometers, with a resident population of about 77.42 million in 2020, accounting for approximately 15% and 34% of the Yangtze River Delta, respectively. Compared to the previous scope, Changzhou and Huzhou were added as members.
By 2024, the Shanghai Metropolitan Area expanded again. According to a report by Shangguan News in June 2024, the 14 cities in the Yangtze River Delta are “planning a major initiative,” collectively forming the Shanghai Metropolitan Area and outlining “an unprecedented spatial development blueprint covering 114,000 square kilometers and 110 million people.”
In this “1+13” Shanghai Metropolitan Area, four new cities—Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Taizhou, and Xuancheng—were included. Overall, the 13 cities consist of six from Jiangsu, six from Zhejiang, and one from Anhui.
Zhang Shangwu explained that the current “1+13” metropolitan area has been formed after more than a year of discussions. Fundamentally, it involves exploring cross-regional collaborative development, including one-hour or 1.5-hour travel circles, upstream and downstream river governance, regional technological innovation collaboration, urban governance collaboration, and joint ecological environment protection.
The Shanghai Metropolitan Area has its unique characteristics. Zhang noted that the region has developed a multi-centered, networked spatial structure, gathering several mega and super cities, with tightly integrated industrial chains, innovation chains, supply chains, and organizational connections, forming a networked organizational model for industrial innovation and talent within the metropolitan area.
Additionally, the region has significant advantages in global trade, technological innovation, shipping, and advanced manufacturing. Currently, Shanghai has maintained the world’s highest container throughput for 14 consecutive years, while Zhoushan Port has held the top position in cargo throughput for 15 years. In the “2024 Global Innovation Index Ranking,” the Shanghai-Suzhou technology cluster ranked fourth globally.
Building a “One Core, Four Wings” Functional Network
The competition among global cities increasingly manifests as competition among urban agglomerations or metropolitan areas. In Zhang Shangwu’s view, under the new development pattern, the Shanghai Metropolitan Area faces a complex international and domestic situation.
From the perspective of national strategic requirements, the region bears two missions: first, as the core area of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, to promote high-quality integrated development; second, to leverage Shanghai’s leading role as an important hub connecting to the international community.
“Shanghai needs to strengthen cooperation with surrounding areas to jointly explore the promotion of Chinese-style modernization and facilitate regional collaborative governance,” Zhang stated. The Shanghai Metropolitan Area needs to enhance its strategic links for domestic and international “dual circulation” and serve as a driving force for high-quality development, promoting the Yangtze River Delta’s construction of a world-class urban agglomeration and leading China’s participation in global cooperation and competition.
At the spatial level of the entire region, the Shanghai Metropolitan Area will form a “One Core, Four Wings” structure, with Shanghai as the core, linking the four directions of “East, West, South, and North” to strengthen its role in supporting national strategies, integrating regional resources, and jointly building a world-class functional network.
The four regions are:
– The Northern Wing (Yangtze River Estuary and Northern Region): Focus on ecological protection and the coordinated development of key industries centered on advanced manufacturing to build a world-class estuary area at the Yangtze River Estuary.
– The Western Wing (Taihu Lake Region): Enhance governance and management in the Taihu Lake area, strengthen ecological governance of the watershed, and coordinate regional technological innovation resources, promoting the collaborative development of Shanghai with the Suzhou and Changzhou metropolitan areas to create a world-class charming lake area.
– The Southern Wing (Hangzhou Bay Region): Strengthen collaborative governance of the ecological environment in the Hangzhou Bay area, enhance the layout of high-level open facilities and platforms, and promote the coordinated development of the Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Ningbo metropolitan areas to jointly build a world-class open bay area.
– The Eastern Wing (Coastal and Marine Space): Focus on protecting marine biodiversity, enhancing ecological protection in coastal areas, and coordinating the spatial layout of marine industries, while ensuring marine energy security and building a world-class marine functional area.
Zhang Shangwu emphasized that, in addition to the collaboration among these four strategic regions, it is also necessary to strengthen the identification of strategic regions and the joint cultivation of potential areas based on national strategic requirements. As a core area for implementing national strategies, it is essential to release potential through the assurance of spatial resources in future development.
Achieving Regional Collaborative Development on a Larger Scale
From an economic perspective, the Shanghai Metropolitan Area is undoubtedly one of the strongest regions in the country, with relatively complete industrial chains, innovation chains, and supply chains, and each member city excelling in its own right. However, when placed in a global context, competing with top urban agglomerations such as the New York Metropolitan Area, the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, and Greater London, the Shanghai Metropolitan Area still has gaps to bridge.
Zhang Shangwu stated that the current planning and construction of the Shanghai Metropolitan Area will enhance Shanghai’s leading role and the multi-centered development of surrounding cities, focusing on building regional industrial chains, innovation chains, talent chains, and capital chains to improve the overall competitiveness of the region. Furthermore, by strengthening economic functions, it will promote coordinated development among large, medium, and small cities.
Within the metropolitan area, it is necessary to jointly anchor development corridors, enhance the radiation connectivity and functional agglomeration effects of regional corridors, and promote cross-regional cooperation of resource elements. Specifically, cities within the Shanghai Metropolitan Area will jointly build a globally leading industrial innovation network, leveraging Shanghai’s role as a technological innovation center to attract innovation elements from G60, G50, and Ningbo-Hangzhou, accelerate the construction of the Shanghai-Ningbo corridor, coastal corridor, and Taihu Lake innovation circle, deepen the collaborative innovation mechanism of the metropolitan area, explore joint participation in the establishment of innovation funds, and create a regional linkage mechanism for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.
On this basis, the region needs to further strengthen rail transit construction, creating a “Yangtze River Delta on Rails.” Focusing on different spatial scales of spatial collaborative development, a “30-60-90” minute rail transit travel circle will be established, aiming to create a more compact and efficient rail transit network in the region, optimizing spatial patterns and the allocation of various resource elements.
On September 19, 2024, a test train for the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed railway passed Lian Tang Station.
The Shanghai Metropolitan Area is located in a densely networked waterway region, necessitating the joint construction of a water transport network to enhance the role of inland waterways in regional transportation, reduce logistics costs,
