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A Shanghainese man and woman on a wheel barrow, pre-1898. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| approximately 20,000,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| 14,000,000 people | |
| approximately 75,000 - 250,000 | |
| approximately 60,000 | |
| As part ofWaishengren population | |
United States | approximately 250,000 - 300,000 |
| As part ofChinese Canadian population | |
| As part ofChinese Australian population | |
| As part ofChinese Singaporean population | |
| Languages | |
| Shanghainese and otherTaihu Wu dialects (parent tongues),Mandarin,Cantonese (by those residing inHong Kong) andEnglish (those who live in theOverseas Chinese diaspora population) | |
| Religion | |
| PredominantlyMahayana Buddhism andChinese folk religions (includingTaoism,Confucianism,ancestral worship and others), with manynon religious. Minority:Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Wuyue people, Ningbo people, otherHan Chinese | |
Shanghainese people (Chinese:上海人;pinyin:Shànghǎirén;Shanghainese:Zaanhe-nyin[zɑ̃̀hɛ́.ɲɪ̀ɲ]) are an ethnic subgroup ofHan Chinese people who have ancestral roots from Shanghai. Most Shanghainese are descended from immigrants from nearby provinces ofZhejiang andJiangsu. According to 1990 census, 85% of Shanghainese people trace their ancestry to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Only a minority are Shanghai natives, those with ancestral roots in Shanghai.
TheOld City of Shanghai was a minor settlement until the laterQing Dynasty and manydistricts of the presentmunicipality of Shanghai originally had separate identities, including separate but related dialects ofTaihu Wu.[1] In recent decades, millions of Chinese havemoved to the city, both asinternal immigrants and asmigrant workers. The2010 Chinese census found 9 million of Shanghai's 23 million residents (almost 40%) were migrants without a Shanghaihukou, triple the number from theyear 2000 census. These "New Shanghainese" (新上海人) are generally distinguished from the Shanghainese proper as they usually don't speak theShanghainese language.[2]

The term "Shanghainese" may thus apply to several different groups of varying exclusivity.Legally, it refers to those holding ahukou for one of the local governments in themunicipality of Shanghai. Culturally, it most often means those who consider Shanghai to be theirhome city,.[3][4]
The term Shanghainese may also refer more broadly to people from areas of theJiangnan cultural region inJiangsu andZhejiang.[5] Additionally a great number of people from Shanghai itself have ancestry in these adjacent regions.[citation needed]
Although Shanghai was long a cosmopolitan city as one ofQing Dynasty'streaty ports, its people was not connected with the large-scale emigration seen amongst theFujianese andCantonese. Maritime commerce did, however, create aShanghainese community inHong Kong.[6][7] These Shanghainese or their forebears fledChina prior to the formation of thePeople's Republic of China by theChinese Communist Party in 1949.[citation needed] Some actors and actresses on theTVB network, a television network based inHong Kong, are originally from Shanghai, such asLiza Wang,Tracy Ip andLydia Shum.[citation needed]
More recently, appreciable numbers of Shanghainese have migrated to other countries. There is a significant Shanghainese community inSydney, especially in the suburbs ofAshfield,Burwood andEpping. Less-prominent communities exist in theChinatowns of other large metropolitan areas such asNew York andSan Francisco in theUnited States, as well asToronto andVancouver inCanada.[citation needed]