Posted: Submitted by Wocca (748) on Sat, 2005-10-15 14:15. | Subject: Paris Of The East

Shanghai is situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta. It is China's largest city. Shanghai is also home to the world's busiest shipping port, followed by Singapore and Rotterdam.

The two characters in the name "Shanghai" literally mean "up/above" and "sea". The earliest occurrence of this name dates from the Song Dynasty, at which time there was already a river confluence and a town called "Shanghai" in the area. It is unclear how the name originated or how its meaning should be interpreted, though a literal reading suggests the sense "onto the sea".

The city has had various nicknames in English, including "Paris of the East", "Queen of the Orient" (or "Pearl of the Orient"), and even "The Whore of Asia" (a reference to corruption in the 1920s and 1930s, including vice, drugs and prostitution.)