PUDONG’S meteoric rise is a Chinese success story with global implications.

It’s hard to fathom that in 1992, when the city created the administrative district Pudong New Area, there was little across the Huangpu River other than farmland.

“The rise of Pudong in the 1990s is a Chinese dream that has come true in modern day Shanghai,” said Xie Guoping, author of “The Story of Pudong.”

The book, recently published both in Chinese and English by New World Press, chronicles the development of Pudong in the past 25 years.

“Not much changed in Pudong over a period of 1,000 years, but in the last two decades, Pudong leaped over history and grew rapidly in wealth,” Xie told Shanghai Daily. “It seems as though Rome was built in a day, and a dream much like that has come true for Pudong. Such a story should be shared with everyone.”

The area’s transformation started to take shape in the spring of 1990, when leader Deng Xiaoping visited Shanghai during Chinese New Year.

Ten years after opening special economic zones in Shenzhen and Zhuhai, the Chinese economy was in danger of overheating. A slew of rectification methods triggered panic buying, especially in big cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin.

Meanwhile, overseas investors were hesitating to invest in China. Foreign companies that had been operating in China discontinued operations and adopted a wait-and-see approach.

Deng was eager to find a more powerful fulcrum to demonstrate China would continue its policies of reform and opening to the outside world, Xie wrote in the book, citing the former leader.

During his stay in Shanghai, Deng spoke with Zhu Rongji, then mayor of Shanghai, and other officials, who also hoped to build a “New Shanghai” to reduce the pressure on the “Old Shanghai.”

“At that time, Shanghai had the highest density of population, the narrowest roads, the most scarce living space (less than 4 square meters per capita), and the highest cancer rate in the country,” said Xie, who started working as a reporter at Pudong Times in 2002. “The city would have burst if it were not for the development of Pudong.”

But when Pudong was mentioned, many were skeptical of the plan. People in Puxi, though suffering from a housing shortage, still commonly said, “I’d rather have a bed in Puxi than a house in Pudong.” Everyone knew that Pudong was nothing but farmland and so “backward,” Xie said.

The Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone was the first to be built in the Pudong New Area. In 1992, designers from Britain, France, Japan, Italy and China showed their distinctive designs to more than 30 experts from over 10 countries.

“It was the first time that international bidding was called for in the planning of a Chinese city, which in the past was usually considered confidential,” Xie said. “By ‘borrowing wisdom’ from the world, the development of Pudong took on a new perspective. More attention was given to the integration of Chinese and foreign cultures.”

The development of Pudong has had a major impact on the city’s economy. By 2013, as many as 10 bridges had been constructed over the Huangpu River, in addition to eight cross-river subway lines and 12 cross-river tunnels.

Shanghai’s GDP grew 7.7 percent to 2.16 trillion yuan (US$353.9 billion) in 2013, with Pudong contributing more than 600 billion yuan (100 times more than what it generated in 1990).

At the same time, Shanghai’s increasing financial power is reflected in the modern and ever-expanding Pudong skyline. Skyscrapers continue sprouting up in Pudong at lightning-like speed. The Jin Mao Tower is 420 meters, the World Financial Tower 495 meters and the 632-meter Shanghai Tower is the second-tallest building on the planet.

In 2013, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone was launched in Pudong. The FTZ is intended to launch the next wave of reform and opening up.

Xie ends the book neatly with a story about the fantasy novel “New China,” written by Lu Shi’e in 1910. In the book, Lu imagines the World Expo being held in Pudong 100 years later. He also imagined subways, viaducts across the Huangpu River, Lujiazui as a financial center and row upon row of foreign-style houses.

All of which makes you wonder who says dreams don’t come true.

Xie Guoping shares more thoughts about his book.

How did the book come into being?

It was due to the encouragement, support and guidance of Zhao Qizheng, former head of the State Council Information Office. I started writing in April 2014 and finished the book in August — five months and more than 150,000 words. It was quite an achievement for me. Having covered Pudong for more than 10 years as a reporter, once I started writing I felt like the story was pouring out of my mind.

Who are the most important people in the development of Pudong?

If the development of Pudong is compared to a huge cross-century symphony, Deng xiaoping is the composer, Zhu Rongji the conductor, and Zhao Qizheng the first violinist. Everyone who participated in the development and construction of Pudong are the players, without whom the dream cannot be fulfilled.

What are the most crucial moments in the development of Pudong?

The year 1990 when Deng came to Shanghai and set his eyes on Pudong, after which key elements of a market economy were set up, such as the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Futures Exchange, foreign banks, etc. In 2005, Pudong started the pilot comprehensive supplementary reform, with which the district government was granted power to draw complementary local laws and regulations. The founding of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in 2013 has opened a new era of development, making it a “testing ground” for an open economy.

How do you see the development of Pudong?

Without the development of Pudong, Shanghai wouldn’t be what it is today. Of course, fast economic growth has led to serious pollution and certain social problems. If Rome was built in a day, culture isn’t. I once heard an intern, who had just come back from covering a story about a polluted river in Pudong, mocking the “Chinese dream” as a “daydream.” I suggest she read my book. If she knew what we had been through all those years, she wouldn’t be so critical and complain about what we did. I hope the young generation will understand and even praise our decision.

What conclusions can we draw from the Pudong story?

Reform is the key. The trial and error method can minimize the political risks of reform.