In recent years, the value of city culture has become a core element of city development, and the creation of city culture through “cultural regeneration” has become an important element of establishing a city branding. However, city branding cannot be effectively activated through simple city cultural resource development, publicity and activities, and there are limitations in creating branding uniqueness and resonance with citizens or tourists. Only by grasping the characteristics of the city to form a unique urban creativity and continuously update it can citizens or tourists experience the special features in the city, and thus successfully activate the city branding. In order to enhance the competitiveness of cultural cities, it is necessary to fully combine the characteristics of modern cultural heritage and contemporary city culture to create city charm. Through the construction of city branding identity with the participation of local society and residents, it will enrich the city culture, improve the quality of life, and contribute to the vitality of the regional economy. Shanghai selected as the research object was designated as one of the five trades in 1843, starting the history of the concession. Although it left many modern cultural heritages and formed a unique Shanghai-style culture, it did not disclose different city branding to the outside world. Therefore, in order to make Shanghai build a variety of cultural content, express its cultural power different from other cities, and create cultural value, this research aims to effectively use Shanghai’s distinctive history, culture, places and other core resources to establish a branding identity strategy different from similar cities at home and abroad.