The earliest historical record of the Pudong New District can be found in documents from the Southern and Northern dynasties period (A.D. 535). From 1911 to 1958, the area was called Chuansha county and was part of Jiangsu province. In 1958, Chuansha was incorporated into Shanghai.

In 1990, a decision was made by the CPC Central Committee and State Council to develop the Pudong area. In 1993 the Pudong New District was established and the Management Committee of the Pudong New District was set up. The Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone belongs to the Pudong New District and was incorporated into the area in 1984.

The origin of the name “Lujiazui”, only known by a small number of people, can be found in the Shanghai Chorography. It states that the Huangpu River took a 90-degree turn here and left a protruding alluvial floodplain long ago. Looking at the floodplain from across the Huangpu River, it looked like a giant monster drinking water with its mouth wide open. In addition, the former residence and ancestral graves of a great writer from the Ming Dynasty called Lushen (1477-1505) were located here. These two reasons explain the source of Lujiazui’s name.

In October, 2010, four functional areas were established in the Pudong New Area, Lujiazui being one of them. Lujiazui holds jurisdiction over the Meiyuan New Village Street, Weifang New Village, Tangqiao, Yangjing Community and Huamu Town. In July 2006, Huamu Town was renamed Huamu Street Office, and the Meiyuan New Village Street was renamed Lujiazui Street. In August 2006, Weifang New Village was changed to the Weifang New Village Community Management Committee. One year later, the other four street offices were all changed to community management committees, realizing the changes of the Lujiazui government’s functions and institutions.

In May 2009, after the adjustment of the Pudong New District, which incorporated the Nanhui district and erected the “seven plus one” new management system, the Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone Management Committee was set up. It replaced the Lujiazui Functional Area Management Committee and served to enhance economic development, encourage planning and construction, promote industry and improve the environment.