"Hu" was originally used to describe a fish-catching apparatus, usually used near the Wusong River area during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

During that period, Shanghai was just a small fishing village located at the estuary of the Wusong River facing the vast sea in the east. Greatly influenced by the rising and ebbing of the tides, the ingenious local people thus invented a kind of fence made of bamboo shoots to catch fish and crabs behind a special "brake" or mesh. Due to this, Shanghai became known as "Hu" city. The local Shanghai opera was called "Hu" opera as well.

The name "Shen" came from ancient folklore. During the Warring States period (475-221BC), Prince Chun Shen, one of the four sons of the King of the Chu Kingdom, was bestowed a piece of land near the Taihu Lake valley. During that period, the Taihu Lake had three spillways, the Lou River, the Wusong River and the Dong River. Among these, the Wusong River was the most seriously obstructed by silt.

During the rainy seasons, the flood peak from the Taihu Lake was unable to drain in time, which turned the whole Jiangnan Delta Area into a vast wetland. Furthermore, due to the ineffectiveness of the water reserve, droughts happened repeatedly during the dry seasons.

Concerned about the suffering of the people, Prince Chun Shen led soldiers and civilians to hew channels through the mountains and dredge irrigation ditches in the fields, totally solving the terrible water control problem that had plagued the populace for so long. Since Prince Chun Shen's real name was Huang Xie, the Dong River was called the "Huang Xie Pu", "Huang Pu" or "Shen Jiang" by local people. After the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Huang Pu River became the largest river flowing past Shanghai.

In recent times, men of letters have often used "Shen" or "Shen Jiang" when mentioning Shanghai. The "Shen Bao Daily" for example, the earliest published and the most prestigious newspaper in Shanghai in its day, also called Shanghai "Shen".

Up till now, the navigation route from Shanghai to Hankou, Hubei Province, is stilled called the "Shen Han Line".

One can easily imagine the inner ring road and the outer ring road, which when linked together with the two overpasses form a "Shen" in Chinese characteristics, lighting the night to describe a brilliant Shanghai skyline.

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