Shanghai

Paris of China and queen of the orient city of quick riches and ill gotten gains,the domain of adventurers gamblers drug runners missionaries and ganster -- This is the vivid discription of Shanghai in the 19the century. However, Shanghai has hidden away its dancing shoes since the communist took over in 1949 and the whole mass began to adapt to a different life -- it become the city of factory, of lennism and marxism and of blue and grey.

But once again, Shanghai has reawakened -- it is re-establishing its reputation of being the center of Trade,Business, Culture and Art in the new millenium. The sun rises everyday to a city full of newly constructed department stores, skyscrapers and high ways. It is a true union of Asian and Western Culture, ancient and modern value , and trading and culture.

History :
Shanghai was a little town before the 1800s.
However , as a gateway to the yangzi river , it was an ideal trading port for the westerners. British
opened the first concession in this city after China
lost the first opinion war in 1840s. French Italian
Spanish American and Japanese flollowed the
footsteps of the British and by the end of 1920s,
there were more than 60,000 foreign residents
living in Shanghai. The city was built on the trade
of opium silk and tea the time and it was the busiest port in the whole Asia. However,behind the beautiful
scenes along the bund was the picture of dispair,
of poverty and hunger. Exploited in workhouse
conditions, crippled by poverty, sold into slavery
or brothels, the poor of Shanghai had radical
opinions and wanted change. Disgusted by the
what had been to the majority of Shanghainese,
the educated ones also wanted a revolution. In
1921, the communist party was found in a quite
house in the French concession with 12 people
presented at the first meeting.

Climate :
The best time to visit Shanghai is in Autumn (September to November) and Spring (April to June). Shanghai's
winter can be unbearable to some,with temperature vary
from -5 degree to +5 degree while summers are hot and humid , reaching 40 degree occasionally.

Language:
Most of the Shanghainese speak Mandarin which is the
official language of People's Republic of China. Apart
from that, people speaks a local dialect called Shanghainese
which is very different from Mandarin. The written language is simplified Chinese.