Shanghai

Shanghai is a <a href="/facts/Direct-administered_municipality/NakNG3Fy">direct-administered municipality</a> and the most populous urban area in <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a>. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern <a href="/facts/Estuary/WmkSInmK">estuary</a> of the <a href="/facts/Yangtze_River/f9A2h4rQ">Yangtze River</a>, with the <a href="/facts/Huangpu_River/1wtdzN3z">Huangpu River</a> flowing through it. The population of the city proper is the <a href="/facts/List_of_largest_cities/5eVR5sk2">second largest in the world</a> after <a href="/facts/Chongqing/TdWVCCKY">Chongqing</a>, with around 24.87 million inhabitants in 2023, while the urban area is the <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_in_China_by_population/Gqf1h0bG">most populous in China</a>, with 29.87 million residents. As of 2022, the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area was estimated to produce a <a href="/facts/Gross_metropolitan_product/CD6CqApG">gross metropolitan product</a> (<a href="/facts/GDP_(nominal)/zQRgyFKc">nominal</a>) of nearly 13 trillion <a href="/facts/Renminbi/513xLnrK">RMB</a> ($1.9 trillion). Shanghai is one of the world's major centers for finance, business and economics, research, science and technology, manufacturing, transportation, <a href="/facts/List_of_tourist_attractions_in_Shanghai/erovBdE1">tourism</a>, and <a href="/facts/Culture_of_Shanghai/PAwDfPlH">culture</a>. The <a href="/facts/Port_of_Shanghai/Ic2NFSQq">Port of Shanghai</a> is the <a href="/facts/World%2527s_busiest_container_port/9l9zxY7M">world's busiest container port</a>.
Originally a fishing village and market town, Shanghai grew to global prominence in the 19th century due to both domestic and foreign trade and its favorable port location. The city was one of five <a href="/facts/Treaty_ports/TNfAU0gn">treaty ports</a> forced to open to trade with the <a href="/facts/Europeans/VR7tb16t">Europeans</a> after the <a href="/facts/First_Opium_War/nT60tGDl">First Opium War</a>. The <a href="/facts/Shanghai_International_Settlement/9ywIJ83h">Shanghai International Settlement</a> and the <a href="/facts/Shanghai_French_Concession/U84VqJRI">French Concession</a> were subsequently established. The city then flourished, becoming a primary commercial and financial hub of <a href="/facts/Asia/4IToYrrQ">Asia</a> in the 1930s. During the <a href="/facts/Second_World_War/2efV5L1U">Second World War</a>, the city was the site of the major <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Shanghai/DQIn8aS7">Battle of Shanghai</a>. After the war, the Communist revolution soon resumed with the <a href="/facts/Shanghai_Campaign/dQSI4aAt">Communists taking over the city</a> and most of the mainland. From the 1950s to the 1970s, trade was mostly limited to other socialist countries in the <a href="/facts/Eastern_Bloc/12f32hA7">Eastern Bloc</a>, causing the city's global influence to decline during the <a href="/facts/Cold_War/spJdJQ3q">Cold War</a>.
Major changes of fortune for the city would occur when <a href="/facts/Chinese_economic_reform/fhdC9JDe">economic reforms</a> initiated by paramount leader <a href="/facts/Deng_Xiaoping/qloJ6G8m">Deng Xiaoping</a> during the 1980s resulted in an intense redevelopment and revitalization of the city by the 1990s, especially the <a href="/facts/Pudong/xaWv2KeU">Pudong</a> New Area, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment. The city has since re-emerged as a hub for international trade and finance. It is the home of the <a href="/facts/Shanghai_Stock_Exchange/BDydT6EP">Shanghai Stock Exchange</a>, <a href="/facts/List_of_major_stock_exchanges/1B396LSe">the largest stock exchange in the Asia-Pacific</a> by market capitalization and the <a href="/facts/Shanghai_Free-Trade_Zone/WfEJXJWH">Shanghai Free-Trade Zone</a>, the first <a href="/facts/Free-trade_zone/TV3QBN3W">free-trade zone</a> in mainland China. It is ranked 4th on the <a href="/facts/Global_Financial_Centres_Index/mlXn06yV">Global Financial Centres Index</a>. Shanghai has been classified as an Alpha+ (<a href="/facts/Global_city/Lqv5NqA5">global first-tier</a>) city by the <a href="/facts/Globalization_and_World_Cities_Research_Network/xdxbC98a">Globalization and World Cities Research Network</a>. As of 2024, it is home to 13 companies of the <a href="/facts/Fortune_Global_500/WxgLN2QM">Fortune Global 500</a>—the fourth-highest number of any city. The city is also a major global center for <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_by_scientific_output/xlaUsYTp">research and development</a> and home to numerous <a href="/facts/Double_First-Class_Construction/0BpvBvfq">Double First-Class Universities</a>, including <a href="/facts/Fudan_University/hUdkzJBg">Fudan University</a> and <a href="/facts/Shanghai_Jiao_Tong_University/5cFSHwyt">Shanghai Jiaotong University</a>. The <a href="/facts/Shanghai_Metro/r7tStweM">Shanghai Metro</a>, first opened in 1993, is the <a href="/facts/List_of_metro_systems/GtsDDIYJ">largest metro network</a> in the world by route length.
Shanghai has been described as the "showpiece" of the <a href="/facts/Economy_of_China/1yfzCmRL">economy of China</a> and it is one of the ten biggest economic hubs in the world. Featuring several architectural styles such as <a href="/facts/Art_Deco/y1xFeh9t">Art Deco</a> and <a href="/facts/Shikumen/IPa4ggqm">shikumen</a>, the city is renowned for its <a href="/facts/Lujiazui/Snz19av8">Lujiazui</a> skyline, museums and historic buildings, including the <a href="/facts/City_God_Temple_of_Shanghai/2bcE1Vck">City God Temple</a>, <a href="/facts/Yu_Garden/FNBBLojI">Yu Garden</a>, the <a href="/facts/China_Pavilion/XRyeFrNz">China Pavilion</a> and buildings along <a href="/facts/The_Bund/TlTSvCQU">the Bund</a>. The <a href="/facts/Oriental_Pearl_Tower/kATL6L2F">Oriental Pearl Tower</a> can be seen from the Bund. Shanghai is known for its <a href="/facts/Shanghai_cuisine/Yg31dFbT">cuisine</a>, <a href="/facts/Shanghainese/o4MEAwa2">local language</a>, and cosmopolitan culture. It ranks sixth in the <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_with_the_most_skyscrapers/886xALGa">list of cities with the most skyscrapers</a>.

Shanghai open-in-new

Shanghai