Revolutionary Road of Shanghai
2 min readShanghai is the largest city by population in the People’s Republic of China（PRC）and the largest city proper by population in the world.
It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC，with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010.It is a global city with influence in commerce，culture，finance，media，fashion，technology and transport.It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.
The two Chinese characters in the city’s name are“”（Shang“above”）and“”（hai-“sea”），together meaning“upon-the-Sea”.
The earliest occurrence of this name dates from the 11th century Song Dynasty when 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 Chinese historians have concluded that Shanghai was literally on the sea during the Tang Dynasty，hence it is the origin of the name.
During the Song Dynasty（AD 960-1279），Shanghai was upgraded in status from a village to a market town in 1074，and in 1172 a sea wall was built to stabilize the ocean coastline.From the Yuan Dynasty in 1292 until Shanghai officially became a city in 1927，the area was designated merely as a county seat administered by the Songjiang prefecture.
During the Qing Dynasty，Shanghai became one of the most important sea ports in the Yangtze Delta region.International attention to Shanghai grew in the 19th century due to European recognition of its economic and trade potential at the Yangtze River.During the First Opium War（1840-1842），British forces occupied the city.The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing，which allowed the British to dictate opening the treaty ports，Shanghai included，for international trade.The Treaty of the Bogue signed in 1843，and the Sino-American Treaty of Wanghia signed in 1844 forced Chinese concession to European and American desires for visitation and trade on Chinese soil.
The Sino-Japanese War concluded with the Treaty of Shimonoseki，which elevated Japan to become another foreign power in Shanghai.Japan built the first factories in Shanghai，which were soon copied by other foreign powers.Shanghai was then the most important financial center in the Far East.
On 27 May 1949，the People’s Liberation Army took control of Shanghai，which was one of only three municipalities of former Republic of China（ROC）not merged into neighboring provinces over the next decade（the others were Beijing and Tianjin）.
Shanghai initiated economic reforms in 1991，starting the massive development still seen today and the birth of Lujiazui in Pudong.
