The company is headquartered in Shanghai and is one of China's top three state-owned airlines. Its predecessor can be traced back to the first flight squadron established by the former Shanghai Civil Aviation Administration in January 1957. It was the first Chinese airline company listed in New York, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. The company's main business scope is domestic and approved international and regional airline, cargo, mail and luggage transportation business and extended services. In addition, the company has been approved to operate the following businesses: general aviation business; aircraft maintenance; aviation equipment manufacturing and maintenance; agency business for domestic and foreign airlines. Selected as WPP's Top 50 Most Valuable Chinese Brands for 8 consecutive years; selected as “Top 500 Global Brand Values” by British BrandFinance for 4 consecutive years; and ranked “Top 20 Overseas Images of Chinese Enterprises” for 3 consecutive years. The company's 2019 annual report won two awards: the LACPvisionAwards (American Media Professional Association Annual Report Selection) Annual Report Design Gold Award and the ARC Annual Report Contest.