According to my calculations, the Vernal Equinox fell at 1:21am in Shanghai and I thought it might be interesting to cast an astrological chart for the occasion. It can be seen that Pluto is sitting on the Ascendant and forms part of a T-square with the Sun and Saturn. The Sun, newly entered into Aries, is located in the middle of the third house surrounded by several other planets: Jupiter, Uranus, Mercury and Venus. Mars is on the cusp of the eighth house in very tight aspect to the Sun (by trine) and Saturn (by sextile).
If one considers a chart like this to mark what Shanghai can expect for the astrological year ahead, then for a city the third house is associated with transport, communications and interconnections of all sorts. This will certainly be the focus over the next few months as the Expo gets under way. A tremendous amount of manpower, material and money has been injected into the city in preparation for this event and the ongoing, widespread expansion of the road and metro systems is reflected in the strong position of Pluto (signifying transformation) in aspect to Saturn (signifying infrastructure) and the Sun (in the third house of transportation and communications). The eighth house signifies "beliefs of the masses, red-tapism, speed of execution of works, delays and obstructions, accidents, fatal accidents, epidemics, gold and precious stones, legacies, capital gains, floods, earthquakes, cyclones, storms, etc." (reference)
The effect of Mars on the cusp of this house, in aspect to the Sun and Saturn, suggests acceleration in the speed of execution of infrastructure works and reduction in the red tape that can lead to delays and obstruction in the completion of these works. As for the accidents, floods, earthquakes, cyclones and storms, well who knows? The aspect between Mars and the Sun is a harmonious trine and so hopefully the effects of the aspect will be largely positive. The metro system however, is becoming increasingly complex as new lines are opened up and old ones extended. If an accident were to happen, it would probably happen there.
