A section of Shanghai's Pudong

Shanghai (上海)
Location in the People's Republic of China
Basic Information
Origin of name:	上 shàng - on 海 hǎi - sea 市 shì - city "City on the Sea"
Abbreviation:	沪 Hù and 申 Shēn
Area:	6,340.5 km² (31st)
Population (2004):	17,420,000 (25th) Municipality
	9,838,000 Urban Area, 2001 est.
Density (2004):	2750/km² (1st) Municipality
GDP (2004):  - per capita	CNY 745.0 billion (7th) CNY 42,800 (1st)
HDI (2005)	0.909 (1st) — high
Major nationalities (2000):	Han - 99% Hui - 0.4%
City flower:	Yulan magnolia (Magnolia denudata)
Elevation:	0 - 103.4 m
Coordinates:
Postal code:	200000 - 202100
Area code:	+86/21
License plate prefixes :	沪A, B, D, E
	沪C (outer suburbs)
ISO 3166-2:	cn-31
Time zone :	UTC+8
Website :	www.shanghai.gov.cn
Government
Administration Type:	Municipality
CPC Shanghai Committee Secretary:	Chen Liangyu
Mayor:	Han Zheng
County-level divisions:	18 Districts and 1 County
Township-level divisions:	220 Towns and Villages

Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: ; Shanghainese: ), situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is the largest city of People's Republic of China. Widely regarded as the citadel of China's modern economy, the city also serves as one of the most important cultural, commercial, financial, industrial and communications centers of China. Administratively, Shanghai is a municipality of the People's Republic of China that has province-level status. Shanghai is also one of the world's busiest ports, and became the largest cargo port in the world in 2005 List of the busiest ports in the world.

Originally a sleepy fishing town, Shanghai became China's most important city by the 20th century and was the centre of popular culture, vice, intellectual discourse and political intrigue during the Republic of China. Shanghai once became the third largest financial centre in the world, ranking after New York City and London, and the largest commercial city in the Far East in the late 19th century and early 20th century. After the communist takeover in 1949, Shanghai languished under heavy central government taxation and much of its bourgeois elements were purged. After the central government authorized the market-economic redevelopment of Shanghai in 1992, Shanghai quickly surpassed early-starters Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and has since led China's economic growth. Some challenges remain for Shanghai at the beginning of the 21st century, as the city struggles to cope with increased worker migration, and a huge wealth gap. However, these challenges aside, Shanghai's skyscrapers and modern lifestyle mark the pinnacle of China's recent economic development.

Origin of name

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The two Chinese characters in the name "Shanghai" (see left) literally mean "on" and "sea". The local Shanghainese pronunciation of Shanghai is , while the Standard Mandarin pronunciation in Hanyu Pinyin is Shànghǎi. The earliest occurrence of this name dates from the Song Dynasty (11th century), at which time there was already a river confluence and a town with this name in the area. There are disputes as to how the name should be interpreted, but official local histories have consistently said that it means "the upper reaches of the sea" (海之上洋). However, another reading, especially in Mandarin, also suggests the sense of "go onto the sea," which is consistent with the seaport status of the city. The more poetic name for Shanghai switches the order of the two characters, i.e., Haishang (海上), and is often used for terms related to Shanghainese art and culture. In the West, Shanghai has also been spelled Schanghai (in German), Sjanghai (in Dutch), Xangai (in Portuguese) and Changhaï (in French), but since the 1990s the Hanyu Pinyin spelling of "Shanghai" has become universal in the West. In Japanese, Shanghai is written using the same two Chinese characters (上海), and the Japanese pronunciation Shanhai (シャンハイ) is an approximate of the Mandarin pronunciation. Shanghai's abbreviations in Chinese are Hù (沪) and Shēn (申). The former is derived from the ancient name Hu Du (沪渎) of the river now known as Suzhou Creek. The latter is derived from the name of Chunshen Jun (春申君), a nobleman of the Chu Kingdom (楚国) in the 3rd century B.C. whose territory included the Shanghai area and has locally been revered as a hero. Sports teams and newspapers in Shanghai often use the character Shēn (申) in their names. Shanghai is also commonly called Shēnchéng (申城, "City of Shēn").

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