Shanghai, "Hu"or "Shen" in short, is situated on the estuary of Yangtze River in the southeast China, boarded by the East China Sea to the east, Jiangsu province to the northwest, and Zhejiang province to the southwest. It covers the south portion of the Yangtze Delta. Covering an area of 5,800 square kilometers (2,239 square miles), Shanghai has a population of 18.7 million, including 2 million floating population.

   

Shanghai is originally a fishing village on a mudflat which almost literally overnight became a great metropolis. It used to be the domain of the Kingdom of Wu of the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. Shanghai was so called not until in the Song Dynasty. But when the British opened their first concession there in 1842, after the first Opium War, it was little more than a small town supported by fishing and weaving. Change was rapid. The French turned up in 1847. The world's greatest houses of finance and commerce descended on Shanghai in the 1930s. The foreigners no longer had control and by 1949, Shanghai was transformed by the Communist Chinese government. As the foreigners left, the businesses that were left behind were one by one taken over by the government. After losing ground during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, Deng Xiaopeng's opening-up policy allowed for the advancement back to being an international force in business and finance.

Shanghai is endowed with favourable geographical and natural conditions, and a long history of development. As the biggest industrial centre in China, Shanghai ranks first in the value of its industrial production, as compared with other Chinese cities. Its main industry includes metallurgy, chemicals, petroleum, machinery, automobiles, electronics, shipbuilding, light industry, textiles, electrical appliances, and other industries, which hold an important position in Chins. Shanghai is the chief producer of industrial goods, and a major export base in China as well.

Famous scenic spots in modern Shanghai include the Bund, Huangpu River, Yu Yuan Garden, Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai Museum, Jin Mao Building, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the Children's Palace, etc.