Hongkou (; formerly spelled Hongkew) is a district of Shanghai, forming part of the northern urban core. It has a land area of and a population of 757,498 as of 2020. The district borders Yangpu to the east, Pudong to the southeast, Huangpu to the southwest, Jing'an to the west and Baoshan to the north.
It is the location of the Astor House Hotel, Broadway Mansions, Lu Xun Park, and Hongkou Football Stadium. It was once known as Shanghai's "Little Tokyo." Hongkou is home to the Shanghai International Studies University, the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and the 1933 Old Millfun.
During the Tang dynasty, the area in modern Hongkou District may have been a beach included in a seawall (æÂÂæµ·å¡Â) near the East China Sea. In the early Ming dynasty, it became known as é»ÂÃ¥ÂÂå£ (Huangpukou) or æ´ªå£ (Hongkou), as there is a river mouth debouched into the Huangpu River, in the early Qing dynasty, it was renamed as è¹å£ (Hongkou).
In 1845, an American bishop W. J. Boone bought an area of land there, and it later evolved into the American Concession in Shanghai in 1848 and merged into the International Concession in 1863, it was in large part reduced to rubble during the Second World war when Shanghai was occupied by the Japanese. 20,000 Ashkenazi Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe lived in an overcrowded square-mile section known to as the Shanghai Ghetto, in the Tilanqiao neighborhood of Hongkew.
In 1947, it was renamed as Hongkou District.
Hongkou is responsible for the administration of the following subdistricts.
Previously Lianhua Supermarket had its Shanghai office in the district.
Russian Consulate School in Shanghai is a Russian overseas primary school operated by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, located on the grounds of the Consulate-General of Russia in Shanghai in Hongkou District.
Hongkou is currently served by five metro lines operated by Shanghai Metro: