Shanghai was built in ten - fifteen years

If you remember my post from July 29th Shanghai is the world most populated city at 13 million people.  Instead of boroughs like New York it is comprised of 17 districts.  Here is the astonishing fact.  The Pudong New Area was rural farmland when my children were born. The central government granted economic reforms in 1990.  Construction started in the mid-nineties with the majority of the district built within the last 10 years. 

This is  a picture of the Pudong New Area in 1990 looking across the Huangpu river.

Here is Pudong in 1996

Here is a picture from 2010 of the same area

Here is my picture from hotel during Typhoon Muifa

Can you imagine New York being built in ten years?

Pudong picture credit to www.magicalurbanism.com