Yang Pu District lies in the North East of urban Shanghai. On its south east runs 15.5 km of Huang Pu River, dividing it from Pu Dong New Area. The district covers 60.61km2 with eleven communities and one town where live 1.24 million citizens.

As an urban area with dense population, the district has many universities and research institutes, highlighting its knowledge-oriented municipal function. With the industrial restructuring, science and technology education and modern service industry will become the mainstays of Yang Pu District’s economy. The status quo and emerging trend of the district requires development driven by science and technology education and large state-owned enterprises, development through economic restructure and municipal function optimization, with science and technology education and urban industry as its foundation and living service as its core, accelerating the strategic re-orientation from productive function to comprehensive function.

The district, with the many universities and research institutes in its boundary, features high education and innovation. The decision made by the municipal CPC committee and government to build up a Yanng Pu Knowledge Innovation Zone is a golden opportunity to boost a new round of development. While optimizing its basic living function, the district must speed up the implementation of its three to priorities namely, the building-up of Knowledge Innovation Zone which integrates education, service, and production functions; the planning and construction of Jiangwan- Wujiaochang city sub-center; the construction of the banks of Huang Pu River as well as Fu Xing Island development zone.

The Yang Pu Knowledge and Innovation Zone takes over the whole district in space, integrating campuses, institutes, and communities to establish a city of universities, or the urban “Silicon Valley” of Shanghai. The universities are located in three areas, respectively called the west, east and north zones. In the west zone are Fudan University, Tongji University, and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics; in the east, Shanghai University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Fisheries University; in the north, Shanghai Second Military Medical University and Shanghai Physical Culture Institute.