Shanghai is the largest Chinese city by population and the one of the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of the People's Republic of China, with a population of more than 24 million as of 2014. It is a global financial center, and a transport hub with the world's busiest container port. Located in the Yangtze River Delta in East China, Shanghai sits on the south edge of the mouth of the Yangtze in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the north, south and west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.

For centuries a major administrative, shipping, and trading town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of five opened to foreign trade and then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city.

Shanghai is a popular tourist destination renowned for its historical landmarks such as The Bund, City God Temple and Yu Garden as well as the extensive Lujiazui skyline, many skyscrapers, and major museums including the Shanghai Museum and the China Art Museum. It has been described as the window of the booming economy of mainland China.