In 1985, Yu was sent to Shandong to become
Deputy Party Secretary of
Yantai in Shandong province. In 1987 he was named mayor of Yantai at age 42. In 1992, he was named party chief of Qingdao and a member of the Shandong
provincial Party Standing Committee; he was known to have released his salary income, housing situation, and gifts he received on television. He failed to secure election to the Central Committee in 1992, subsequently being sent to become Party chief in
Qingdao. Qingdao was approved as a sub-provincial city in 1997. Yu served as Deputy Minister of Construction when he was recalled back to Beijing in 1997, and a year later promoted to the Minister position. He remained in that position in
Zhu Rongji's cabinet from 1998 to 2001. He became a member of the powerful
Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party in November 2002, while serving as the party chief of
Hubei. Yu was the only Hubei party chief since economic reforms began to hold a seat on the Politburo.
Shanghai (2007–2012) Following the
17th Party Congress, Yu became the party chief in Shanghai, replacing
Xi Jinping. During his term as party chief, Shanghai experienced below-normal economic growth and a drastic increase in real estate prices; a large influx of migrants from outside the city migrated in search of work, creating tension with locals. In five urban districts of Shanghai, the population of those with outside
hukou exceeded that of long-term Shanghai residents. In addition, the
major fire of 15 November 2010 of a 28-storey high-rise apartment also led to some residents citing mismanagement on the part of Yu. As a result, Yu has earned a bad reputation from Shanghai residents compared to his predecessors.
Standing Committee (2012–2017) Prior to the 18th Party Congress, Yu was seen as a leading candidate for the Politburo Standing Committee. It was customary for Shanghai party chiefs to enter the Standing Committee after the end of their terms since Jiang Zemin ascended to the Standing Committee in 1989 (the only exception was
Chen Liangyu, who was ousted on corruption charges). It was said that Yu edged out
Li Yuanchao for membership on the leadership council at the eleventh hour due to internal voting and consultations. Yu ranked fourth on the Standing Committee. On 11 March 2013, at the first session of the
12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Yu was elected as the
CPPCC chairman. This gave him portfolio of managing Xinjiang and Tibet affairs. Yu retired from Politburo Standing Committee after
19th Party Congress in October 2017 at age of 72, and stepped down as Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on 14 March 2018, being succeeded by
Wang Yang. == Personal life ==