For years, Shanghai could do no wrong, racing along with double-digit growth and offering a blueprint for a modern China. So when the city's highest leader, Communist Party secretary Chen Liangyu, was sacked for corruption in 2006, it tarnished the Shanghai model of development.
Chen used the Shanghai pension fund as his own personal bank, giving money to his cronies. But that was only the final act in a long history of corruption, stretching back to the time he was a district chief in 1988.
There is a widespread perception that 30 years of economic reforms have not only increased corruption on the mainland but raised the stakes, with cases involving ever-larger amounts of money.
Actually, analysts say, the abuses have been made possible by the combination of partial market reforms and continued state involvement in the economy.
As for perceptions of corruption, China ranked 72nd out of 180 countries - the same level as Mexico - in a survey this year by the independent group Transparency International. China scored 3.6 on a scale of 10, in which 1 is the most corrupt.
Another survey showed 148 companies and individuals reported demands for bribery in China for the year until June 30 - behind only Russia and India - according to US-based Trace International. It said the results did not necessarily make China the world's third most corrupt country, since reporting was voluntary.
