SHANGHAI, Sept. 12 -- A SHORT promotional film about the city, "Shanghai Concerto," has been finished and will soon be shown on TV.

With a length of seven minutes and nine seconds, the film is longer than the previous three promotions for the city, which were about one minute long.

The film was designed and produced by the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality, which spent 18 months finishing it.

In "Shanghai Concerto," images of the city are linked by chapters of the concerto, and hundreds of shots show its development as the music unfolds.

Images include Yao Ming playing basketball and Liu Xiang's hurdling, showing the height and speed of Shanghai.

But many shots focus on the lives of local people.

"We chose the common people as our targets, because they can show the city's details," said Lu Yuqing, director of the film. "That's the film's most important characteristic."

Scenes include an old man opening the door at sunrise, smiles of children on their way to school, and even frying stinky tofu, a traditional Shanghai dish.

Lang Lang, one of the world's most famous Chinese pianists, plays the concerto on the soundtrack.

As a young pianist from Shenyang in Liaoning Province, and now a resident of Hong Kong, Lang Lang's playing is praised by critics for embodying Shanghai's welcoming spirit - as the sea that admits hundreds of rivers.