My first stop, Shanghai

From Wikipedia:

Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: Shànghǎi; Wu (Long-short): Zånhae; Shanghainese (IPA): [zɑ̃'he]; abbreviation: 沪; nickname: 申), situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is thelargest city of the People's Republic of China and the eighth largest in the world.^[4] Widely regarded as the citadel of China's modern economy, the city also serves as one of the nation's most important cultural, commercial, financial, industrial and communications centers.

Administratively, Shanghai is a municipality of the People's Republic of China that has province-level status. Also, Shanghai is one of the world's busiest ports, and became the largest cargo port in the world in 2005.^[5]

Originally a fishing town, Shanghai became China's most important city by the 20th century and was the center of popular culture, intellectual discourse and political struggle during the Republic of Chinaera. After the communist takeover in 1949, Shanghai languished due to heavy central government taxation and cessation of foreign investment, and had many of its supposedly "bourgeois" elements purged. Following the central government's authorization of market-economic redevelopment of Shanghai in 1992, Shanghai has now 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, a huge wealth gap, and environmental degradation. Despite these challenges, Shanghai's skyscrapers and modern lifestyle are often seen as representing China's recent economic development.

The two Chinese characters in the name "Shanghai" (see left) literally mean "up, on, or above" and "sea". The local Shanghainese pronunciation of Shanghai is /zɑ̃.'he/, while the Standard Mandarinpronunciation 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 (inFrench), but since the 1990s the Hanyu Pinyin spelling of "Shanghai" has become universal in the West.

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 BC 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").

The city has had various nicknames in English, including "Paris of the East", "Queen of the Orient".