The first radio station run by the Kuomingtang government in Shanghai was the Shanghai Broadcasting Station. Its predecessor was the Millionton Radio Station jointly run by Reuters and Millington Ltd., which was bought over by the International Telecommunication Bureau of the Ministry of Communications and officially went into operation on March 9, 1935. In 1936, the Municipal government built another 5 radio stations in Wujiaochang of Jiangwan, then a small town of Shanghai, to be administered by the Police.

With the economy of Shanghai getting more prosperous day by day, radio broadcasting became the most powerful instrument for publicity and commercial advertising became the most powerful instrument for publicity and commercial advertising. As a result, Shanghai saw the rapid development of its radio stations. There were only a dozen or so stations in Shanghai before 1931. By the end of 1932, the number of stations had dramatically to 49, most of which were run by local Chinese. The number of radio receivers owned by the city's residents amounted to over 3,000 sets, and, by February 1936 reached more than 70,000.

On the night of Jan.23, 1923, the Osborn Radio Station, installed on the roof of the Dollar Co., began to broadcast its program which lasted an hour and five minutes and included overtures, violin solos by a famous Prague violinist, saxophone solos by George Hall of the Carlton Orchestra, chamber music by the Golden Gate String Quartet, dance music, local news, and news from other parts of China, the U.S. and Europe. At that time there were only a little over 500 radio sets in the concessions of Shanghai. People sitting around their radio sets listened in with amazement to miracle of a broadcast. Even in Tianjin, a city far from Shanghai, many radio sets received signals transmitted from the Osborn Radio Station.

After Shanghai was reduced to the status of an isolated island, desolation and oppressive quietness prevailed over its radio stations. This changed at the end of the Anti-Japanese War, which saw an enormous increase in the number of radio stations. In 1946 there were over a hundred stations. In May of the same year, the Nanjing Government ordered that the broadcasting Administrative Office and the Ministry of Communications jointly drew up rules and regulations so as to put an end to abuses. Under the ban only 22 radio stations run by the residents remained. may, 1947 saw only 19 stations working, less than a sixth of the number at the beginning of 1946 . What was worse, state-run and military radio stations were always trying to push or elbow them out, so that on the eve of liberation many a station run by local people was on the verge of elimination.

With the liberation of Shanghai the Shanghai People's Broadcasting Station was established. Privately-owned radio station were checked on, overhauled, consolidated and transformed. In October 1952, the 16 private stations, of their own accord, went in for joint state-private ownership, forming the Shanghai United Broadcasting Station, which functioned under the guidance of the Shanghai People's Broadcasting Station. In September 1953, the Shanghai United Broadcasting Station merged with the Shanghai People's Broadcasting Station.

Today, the Shanghai People's Broadcasting Station offers six different programs and six frequencies (five medium-wave programs and one FM stereo program), playing an increasingly important part in the daily and political life of the Shanghai people.