Nanjing Road (Shanghai) in the context of "Districts of Shanghai"

Shanghai is one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of People's Republic of China, and is further divided into 16 districts. Seven of the administrative districts together make up Shanghai's "urban core", and there is no single "city centre" district amongst them, although Huangpu District contains most of the traditional city centre area of Shanghai. Today's Huangpu is the result of the mergers of three old districts: the original Huangpu District merged with Nanshi District in 2000, and in 2011 Luwan District also merged into Huangpu. Huangpu District is now the location of the municipal government headquarters, The Bund (the traditional financial district), and well-known shopping areas including Nanjing Road, Huaihai Road, and Xintiandi. Across the Huangpu River, Pudong includes Lujiazui, the financial center of Shanghai as well as China, and has been undergoing rapid development since its formation in 1992. In April 2009 Nanhui District was merged into Pudong. Other prominent business and shopping areas include Xujiahui in Xuhui District, Jing'an Temple in Jing'an District, Hongqiao in Changning District, Wujiaochang in Yangpu District, and North Sichuan Road in Hongkou District. Many universities in Shanghai are located in Yangpu, Minhang, and Songjiang Districts.

Seven of the districts are situated in Puxi (literally Huangpu West), or the older part of urban Shanghai on the west bank of the Huangpu River. These seven districts are collectively referred to as the "urban area" of Shanghai (上海市区) or the city centre (市中心). Additionally, Pudong New Area (on the east bank of the Huangpu River) is also included within the zone enclosed by the S20 Shanghai Outer Ring Expressway, and so is sometimes considered to be the eighth city centre district.