The Chinese Grand Prix is a round of the Formula One World Championship, held towards the end of the season in October. It is currently held at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, designed by Hermann Tilke. It is the most expensive Formula One circuit facility, costing $240 million.

The vision of a Chinese Grand Prix started in the early 1990s. The Chinese government had originally planned for an F1 circuit to be located in the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, southern China. A racing circuit was designed and built and was provisionally added to the 1999 F1 World Championship calendar, but the track failed to meet certain standards set by the FIA. However, the Chinese government did not give up and eventually, with assistance from the organisers of the Macau Grand Prix, held the first ever Formula One race in China in 2004.

In 2002, it was announced that the management of the Shanghai International Circuit had signed a 7 year contract with the Formula One Management to host the Chinese Grand Prix starting from the 2004 season until the 2011 season. The Chinese Grand Prix debuted on September 26, 2004, and was won by Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello. In the following year it hosted the final round of the Formula One championship in 2005, in which the newly crowned world champion Fernando Alonso won and claimed the constructor's title for Renault F1. In 2006, the Chinese Grand Prix was won by Michael Schumacher - his last victory in Formula One before he retired at the end of the season.

Shanghai International Circuit

The Shanghai International Circuit is a Chinese motor racing venue, situated in the district of Jiading near Shanghai in the People's Republic of China. It was the venue of the inaugural Formula One Chinese Grand Prix on 26 September 2004.

Costing approximately $450 million (USD), the circuit was financed by a government-funded joint-venture company, consisting of the Shanghai Juishi Corporation, Shanghai National Property Management Co Ltd, and Shanghai Jia'an Investment and Development Co Ltd. Architectural and design experts began planning and visiting the site between April and May 2003, and the area was transformed from swampland to international racetrack within 18 months with a team of 3000 engineers working around the clock.

In common with many other new Formula One circuits, it was designed by Hermann Tilke, and also features his trademark track feature: a long back straight followed by a hairpin turn. Current-generation F1 cars can easily surpass 190 mph on the long straight between corners 13 and 14. The track layout also resembles the Chinese character shang the first word in the name of the city Shanghai, meaning "above" or "ascend". This was an unintentional coincidence; Hermann Tilke was informed of the similarity on his first visit. One lap lasts 3.4 miles. The whole circuit plus seating areas and other areas for spectators, covers a total area of 5.3 km².

Other events held at the circuit include a round of the MotoGP world championship, the Australian-based V8 Supercar championship in 2005, attracting crowds of over 250,000 spectators, and also the final round of the A1 Grand Prix in 2006/2007.

In September 2007, former manager of the circuit Yu Zhifei was convicted of embezzlement as part of a corruption scandal in Shanghai which resulted in the dismissal of several senior Chinese Communist Party officials.