Shanghai

Shanghai is a provincial-level city directly under China's central government. As of 2026, its urban area holds about 30 million people, making it the most populous city in China and the fifth most populous in the world. It sits on the southern mouth of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River cutting through the city. The city is a major hub for finance, business, research, technology, manufacturing, transport, tourism, and culture.

Its port is the busiest container port globally. In 2022, the broader Shanghai metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of nearly 13 trillion RMB (around $1.9 trillion). Shanghai began as a fishing village and market town. It rose to global importance in the 1800s thanks to trade and its advantageous port location.

After the First Opium War, it was one of five treaty ports opened to European trade, leading to the creation of the Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession. By the 1930s, it was Asia’s main commercial and financial center. During World War II, the Battle of Shanghai took place there, and the city fell under Japanese control. After the war, the Chinese Civil War ended with the Communists taking over Shanghai and most of the mainland.

During the Cold War, trade was mostly limited to other socialist countries in the Eastern Bloc, which reduced Shanghai’s global influence. Under Deng Xiaoping’s reform and opening-up policies, the city underwent major redevelopment starting in the 1990s, especially in the Pudong New Area. This brought back finance and foreign investment, and Shanghai reemerged as a center for international trade and finance. It hosts the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the largest stock exchange in the Asia-Pacific by market capitalization, and the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone, the first of its kind in mainland China.

The city ranks eighth on the Global Financial Centres Index and is classified as an Alpha+ (global first-tier) city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. As of 2024, it is home to 13 Fortune Global 500 companies, the fourth-highest number of any city. Shanghai is the world’s second-largest city by scientific output and has several top-ranked universities, including Fudan, Shanghai Jiao Tong, and Tongji. The Shanghai Metro, which opened in 1993, is the world’s largest metro network by route length.

Described as a global finance and innovation hub, Shanghai is among the ten biggest economic hubs worldwide. Its architecture includes Art Deco and shikumen styles, and it features the Lujiazui skyline, museums, and historic sites like the City God Temple, Yu Garden, the China Pavilion, and buildings along the Bund. The city is known for its cuisine, local language, and cosmopolitan culture. It ranks sixth globally in the number of skyscrapers.

The city’s name comes from two Chinese characters meaning “upon” and “sea,” together translating to “On the Sea.” This name first appeared in the 11th-century Song dynasty, referring to a river confluence and a town. Some sources say the area is mentioned in records from 2,150 years ago, with an ancient name “Hu” suggesting a fishing village. In 1280, it was renamed Shanghai, meaning “Above the Sea.”

The interpretation was debated, but Chinese historians concluded that during the Tang dynasty, the area was below sea level, so the land seemed to be “on the sea.” The name also referred to Shanghai county, now reorganized into Minhang district. Shanghai’s official abbreviation is “Hu,” a contraction of “Harpoon Ditch,” a 4th- or 5th-century Jin name for the mouth of Suzhou Creek when it was the main route to the ocean. This character appears on the city’s vehicle license plates.

Alternative names include “Shen City,” from Lord Chunshen, a 3rd-century BC nobleman and prime minister of Chu whose fief included modern Shanghai. Another early name was “Huating,” which became the first county-level administration in the area in AD 751, established by Zhao Juzhen, governor of Wu Commandery. The nickname “Monster City” or “Magical City” comes from a 1924 Japanese novel by Shōfu Muramatsu. English nicknames include the “New York of China,” the “Pearl of the Orient,” and the “Paris of the East.”

The western part of modern Shanghai was inhabited 6,000 years ago. During the Spring and Autumn period (around 771–476 BC), it belonged to the Kingdom of Wu, then to Yue, and later to Chu. In the Warring States period (475 BC), it was part of Lord Chunshen’s fief. Local legends say he ordered the digging of the Huangpu River, whose poetic name, the Chunshen River, gave Shanghai the nickname “Shen.” Fishermen in the area created a fish tool called the hù, which gave its name to the outlet of Suzhou Creek north of the Old City and became a common nickname and abbreviation for the city.