The number of people who checked through Shanghai customs reached 5.57 million last year or 15,300 people on daily average. This was a 24.1 percent rise over 1998.

A record 17,000 ships involved in international shipping were declared at local customs last year, a 25 percent rise on a yearly basis.

Shanghai is the only city in China that has two international airports. Twenty one airlines-both domestic and overseas--provide flights linking Shanghai with cities in 96 countries and regions.

Shanghai ranks second in China in terms of the number of international air passengers entering and leaving the city. Last year, there was on average 15,000 international mail sent to and from Shanghai from overseas.

Some 115 international expositions were held in Shanghai in 1999, a rise of 40 percent from 1998 level. Exhibits imported for expositions valued at 590 million yuan.