Shanghai

Shanghai (; Shanghainese: Zånhae ; Mandarin: ) is the maist populous ceety in Cheenae an the lairgest ceety proper in the warld. A global ceety, Shanghai exerts influence ower commerce, finance, cultur, airt, fashion, research an entertainment. The ceety is locatit at the middle portion o the Cheenese coast, an sits at the mouth o the Yangtze River.

Ance a fishin an textiles toun, Shanghai grew tae importance in the 19t century due tae its favourable port location an as ane o the ceeties opened tae foreign trade bi the 1842 Treaty o Nanking. The ceety flourished as a centre o commerce atween east an wast, an became a multinaitional hub o finance an business bi the 1930s. Efter 1990, the economic reforms introduced bi Deng Xiaoping resultit in intense re-development an financin in Shanghai, an in 2005 Shanghai became the warld's lairgest cargo port.

The ceety is a tourist destination renouned for its historical landmarks such as the Bund an City God Temple, an its modern an iver-expandin Pudong skyline includin the Oriental Pearl Tower. Today, Shanghai is the lairgest centre o commerce an finance in mainland Cheenae, an haes been described as the "showpiece" o the warld's fastest-growin major economy.

 Etymology an Names 
The twa Cheenese characters in the ceety's name are  (shàng) 'abuin' an  (hǎi) 'sea' which thegither literally mean 'Upper Sea'. The earliest occurrence o this name dates frae the Song Dynasty (11t century), at which time there wis awready a river confluence an a toun wi this name in the aurie. There are disputes as tae exactly hou the name shoud be interpretit, but offeecial local histories hae consistently said that it signifies 'The upper reaches o the sea'. Due tae the changin coastline, Cheenese historians hae concludit that in the Tang Dynasty Shanghai wis literally on the sea, hence the oreegin o the name.Danielson, Eric N., Shanghai and the Yangzi Delta, 2004, pp.8–9. Anither readin an aa suggests the sense o "go ontae the sea," which is consistent wi the seaport status o the ceety. A mair poetic name for Shanghai switches the order o the twa characters, Hǎishàng (), an is aften uised for terms relatit tae Shanghainese airt an cultur.

Shanghai is commonly abbreviatit in Cheenese as Hù (simp: /trad: ). This character appears on aw motor vehicle license plates issued in the municipality today. This is derived frae Hu Du (simp: /trad: ), the name o an ancient fishin village that ance stood at the confluence o Suzhou Creek an the Huangpu River back in the Tang Dynasty. The character Hu is aften combined wi that for Song, as in Wusong Kou, Wu Song River, an Songjiang tae form the nickname Song Hu. For example, the Japanese attack on Shanghai in August 1937 is commonly cawed the Song Hu Battle. Anither early name for Shanghai wis Hua Ting, nou juist the name o a fower star hotel in the ceety. Ane ither commonly uised nickname Shēn () is derived frae the name o Chunshen Jun (), a nobleman an locally revered hero o the Chu Kinrick in the 3rd century BC whose territory includit the Shanghai aurie. Sports teams an newspapers in Shanghai aften use the character Shēn () in their names. Shanghai is an aa commonly cawed Shēnchéng (, "Ceety o Shēn").

 Twin touns an sister ceeties 
Shanghai haes ceety pairtnerships wi the follaein ceeties an regions:http://www.shfao.gov.cn/wsb/english/Sister_Cities/index.html 

 Yokohama, Japan - 1973
 Osaka, Japan - 1974
 Milan, Italy - 1979
 Rotterdam, Netherlands - 1979
 San Francisco, Unitit States - 1979
 Osaka Prefectur, Japan - 1980
 Zagreb, Croatie - 1980
 Hamhung, North Korea - 1982
 Manila, Philippines - 1983
 Antwerp, Belgium - 1984
 Karachi, Pakistan - 1984
 Chicago, Unitit States - 1985
 Montreal, Canadae - 1985
 Piraeus, Greece - 1985
 Gdańsk, Poland - 1985
 Nagasaki Prefectur, Japan - 1986
 Hamburg, Germany - 1986
 Casablanca, Morocco - 1986
 Gothenburg, Swaden - 1986
 Marseille, Fraunce - 1987
 São Paulo, Brazil - 1988
 Saunt Petersburg, Roushie - 1988
 Istanbul, Turkey - 1989
 Ho Chi Minh Ceety, Vietnam - 1990
 Alexandria, Egyp - 1992
 Busan, Sooth Korea - 1993
 Port Vila, Vanuatu - 1994
 Dunedin, New Zealand - 1994
 Haifa, Israel - 1994
 Tashkent, Uzbekistan - 1994
 Porto, Portugal - 1995 Aden, Yemen - 1995
 Windhoek, Namibie - 1995
 Lunnon, Unitit Kinrick - 1996
 Santiago de Cuba, Cuba - 1996
 Rosario, Argentinae - 1997
 Espoo, Finland - 1998
 Jalisco, Mexico - 1998
 Liverpuil, Unitit Kinrick - 1999
 Maputo, Mozambique - 1999
 Dubai, Unitit Arab Emirates - 2000
 Chiang Mai, Thailand - 2000
 KwaZulu-Natal, Sooth Africae - 2001
 Guayaquil, Ecuador - 2001
 Valparaíso, Chile - 2001
 Barcelona, Spain - 2001
 Oslo, Norawa - 2001
 Constanţa, Romanie - 2002
 Algiers, Algerie - 2003
 Colombo, Sri Lanka - 2003
 Aarhus Coonty, Denmark - 2003
 Bratislava Region, Slovakie - 2003
 Hauraki Destrict, New Zealand - 2003
 Salzburg, Austria - 2004
 Nicosia, Cyprus - 2004
 Cork, Ireland - 2005
 Winston-Salem, Unitit States - 2006
 Basel, Swisserland - 2007
 Borås, Swaden - 2007
 Sarajevo, Bosnie an Herzegovinae - 2008
 Manaus, Brazil - 2009
 Yerevan, Armenie - 2009

 References 

Category:Populatit coastal places in Cheenae
Category:Independent ceeties
Category:Metropolitan auries o Cheenae
Category:Municipalities o the Fowkrepublic o Cheenae
Category:Port ceeties an touns in Cheenae
Category:Populatit places established in the 10t century

Category:Treaty o Nanking
Category:Yangtze River Delta