Book answers the question of 'Why Shanghai?'

A book about Shanghai as an epitome of China's modernization made its debut over the weekend at the Shanghai Party Institute of the CPC.

In English and Chinese, "Why Shanghai?" includes 15 stories, narrating Shanghai's magical changes in the past century and its practices in achieving high-quality development and life, highly efficient governance and high-level opening up, as introduced by Dai Bing, vice president of the institute.

Readers can learn how the city developed from a small village on the coast of the East China Sea into a thriving international metropolis, as well as its latest achievements, such as scientific and technological innovation, digital transformation, green development, creation of better life for its citizens, as well as its exchanges with the rest of the world.

"I hope that this book can give readers a new perspective to better understand Shanghai and China, and trigger further discussions on China's development and thereby help enhance friendship, understanding and cooperation," said Luo Feng, provost of the institute.

The book is a winner of the Shanghai Silver Dove award, the highest honor in the city for works of international communications.