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China Merchants Group Limited ( Chinese : 招商局集团 ; pinyin : Zhaoshangju Jituan ) is a state-owned enterprise (SOE) of the People's Republic of China . The company operates under the auspices of the Chinese Ministry of Transport .

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132-692: Founded in 1872 as the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company in Shanghai , the firm has developed into one of China's leading SOEs since the 1980s and has expanded its global role as a result of China's Belt and Road Initiative in the early 2010s. In the Western media, China Merchants Group is mostly known for being criticized as a tool for China's alleged debt-trap diplomacy and its legal disputes with DP World , another port operator, regarding concession rights at

264-638: A breach of contract and ordered Djibouti to return the concession to DP World, but the country rejected the ruling. Thus far, there have been seven rulings in DP World's favor in the matter, most recently in July 2021, all of which have been rejected by the Djibouti government. CMG's development of Sri Lanka's Hambantota port is considered part of the Belt and Road Initiative . Proposals for developing port preceded

396-748: A center for radical leftism during the 1950s and 1960s. The radical leftist Jiang Qing and her three allies, together the Gang of Four , were based in the city. During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), Shanghai's society was severely damaged. The majority of the workers in the Shanghai branch of the People's Bank of China were Red Guards and they formed a group called the Anti-Economy Liaison Headquarters within

528-438: A comparatively heavy contributor of tax revenue to the central government; in 1983, the city's contribution in tax revenue was greater than the investment received in the past 33 years combined. Its importance to the fiscal well-being of the central government also denied it from economic liberalizations begun in 1978. In 1990, Deng Xiaoping permitted Shanghai to initiate economic reforms, which reintroduced foreign capital to

660-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓   ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏   ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of

792-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst

924-467: A county under Songjiang Prefecture, which had its seat in the present-day Songjiang District . Two important events helped promote Shanghai's developments in the Ming dynasty . A city wall was built for the first time in 1554 to protect the town from raids by Japanese pirates . It measured 10 m (33 ft) high and 5 km (3 mi) in circumference. A City God Temple was built in 1602 during

1056-709: A dichotomous city where both light and darkness existed. The city has various nicknames in English, including the " New York of China", in reference to its status as a cosmopolitan megalopolis and financial hub , the "Pearl of the Orient", and the "Paris of the East." This is similar to Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon), in Vietnam, which has also been nicknamed as "Paris of the Orient," due to Vietnam's historical French status. The western part of modern-day Shanghai

1188-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as

1320-561: A foreign divestment due to the PRC's victory. After the war, Shanghai's economy was restored—from 1949 to 1952, the city's agricultural and industrial output increased by 51.5% and 94.2%, respectively. There were 20 urban districts and 10 suburbs at the time. On 17 January 1958, Jiading , Baoshan, and Shanghai County in Jiangsu became part of Shanghai Municipality, which expanded to 863 km (333.2 sq mi). The following December,

1452-692: A hub for international trade and finance. It is the home of the Shanghai Stock Exchange , the largest stock exchanges in the Asia-Pacific by market capitalization and the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone , the first free-trade zone in mainland China. Shanghai has been classified as an Alpha+ ( global first-tier ) city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . As of 2024, it is home to 13 companies of

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1584-456: A large-scale transfer of land could adversely impact Sri Lanka 's national sovereignty. As of 2018, the port was being referred to as a "Chinese colony" by critics and described by them as "debt diplomacy", because CMG provided $ 1.1 billion in funds to the highly indebted government for the port in exchange for an 85% stake and a 99-year lease. This allowed China to gain a geostrategic foothold in close proximity to India, one of its main rivals in

1716-588: A major role in furthering the policy through its flagship port business. CMG has been seeking to expand international operations accordingly. Besides operating in Hong Kong and Mainland China, CMG now has operations in strategic locations across South Asia, Europe, for example in Greece , Lithuania and Belarus , and Africa, including most notably Nigeria and Djibouti . CMG became active in Nigeria in 2010 with

1848-547: A new city center in Jiangwan town of Yangpu district, outside the boundaries of the foreign concessions. The plan included a public museum, library, sports stadium, and city hall, which were partially constructed before being interrupted by the Japanese invasion. In the 1920s, shidaiqu became a new form of entertainment and was popularised in Shanghai. The city flourished, becoming a primary commercial and financial hub of

1980-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as

2112-573: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),

2244-468: A powerful faction in the central government known as the Shanghai Clique , which has often been viewed as competing against the rival Youth League Faction over personnel appointments and policy decisions. However, Xi Jinping, successor to Hu Jintao as General Secretary and President , was largely an independent leader and took anti-corruption campaigns on both factions. Shanghai is one of

2376-770: A presence outside the walled city of Shanghai, which remained under the direct administration of the Chinese. The Chinese-held Old City of Shanghai fell to rebels from the Small Swords Society in 1853, but control of the city was regained by the Qing government in February 1855. In 1854, the Shanghai Municipal Council was created to manage the foreign settlements. Between 1860 and 1862, the Taiping rebels twice attacked Shanghai and destroyed

2508-555: A reputation for its successful Port-Park-City model, which is also referred to as the Shekou Model. Throughout its development of the Shekou Zone during the 1980s and 1990s, CMG got involved in business sectors beyond shipping, including investing in and operation of amenities, social and industrial infrastructures, numerous industrial ventures from containers to food manufacturing, real estate and finance. In 1987, it founded

2640-541: A result of these two critical decisions, Shanghai became the major trade port for all of the lower Yangtze region by 1735, despite still being at the lowest administrative level in the political hierarchy. In the 19th century, international attention to Shanghai grew due to Europe and recognition of its economic and trade potential at the Yangtze . During the First Opium War (1839–1842), British forces occupied

2772-565: A senior member of the Shanghai Investment Promotion Bureau tasked with investigating past financial irregularities, was assassinated outside the company's offices in Shanghai. Li immediately fell under suspicion but lacking sufficient he was instead detained on economic fraud charges relating to obtaining personal foreign loans using state-owned assets as collateral. He was convicted and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. However, through his political connections he

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2904-446: Is a cultural blend of elements found in Western architecture with traditional Jiangnan Chinese architecture and social behavior. Like almost all traditional Chinese dwellings, it has a courtyard , which reduces outside noise. Vegetation can be grown in the courtyard, and it can also allow for sunlight and ventilation in the rooms. Some of Shanghai's buildings feature Soviet neoclassical architecture or Stalinist architecture , though

3036-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌   'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊   'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,

3168-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with

3300-829: Is known for its rich water resources as part of the Lake Tai drainage basin . Downtown Shanghai is bisected by the Huangpu River, a man-made tributary of the Yangtze created by order of Lord Chunshen during the Warring States period. The historic center of the city was located on the west bank of the Huangpu ( Puxi ), near the mouth of Suzhou Creek, connecting it with Lake Tai and the Grand Canal . The central financial district, Lujiazui, has been established on

3432-999: Is located nearby at the northern tip of Lujiazui. Skyscrapers outside of Lujiazui include the White Magnolia Plaza in Hongkou, the Shimao International Plaza in Huangpu, and the Shanghai Wheelock Square in Jing'an . Like all governing institutions in mainland China , Shanghai has a parallel party-government system, in which the CCP Committee Secretary , officially termed the Chinese Communist Party Shanghai Municipal Committee Secretary, outranks

3564-586: Is located on an alluvial plain . As such, the vast majority of its 6,340.5 km (2,448.1 sq mi) land area is flat, with an average elevation of 4 m (13 ft). Tidal flat ecosystems exist around the estuary, however, they have long been reclaimed for agricultural purposes. The city's few hills, such as She Shan , lie to the southwest, and its highest point is the peak of Dajinshan Island (103 m or 338 ft) in Hangzhou Bay. Shanghai has many rivers, canals, streams, and lakes, and it

3696-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at

3828-623: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c.  100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to

3960-451: Is the shikumen ( 石库门 , "stone storage door") residence, typically two- or three-story gray brick houses with the front yard protected by a heavy wooden door in a stylistic stone arch. Each residence is connected and arranged in straight alleys, known as longtang ( 弄堂 ). The house is similar to western-style terrace houses or townhouses , but distinguished by the tall, heavy brick wall and archway in front of each house. The shikumen

4092-648: Is the third largest in the world , with around 24.87 million inhabitants in 2023, while the urban area is the most populous in China , with 29.87 million residents. As of 2022, the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product ( nominal ) of nearly 13 trillion RMB ($ 1.9 trillion). Shanghai is one of the world's major centers for finance, business and economics , research, science and technology, manufacturing, transportation, tourism , and culture . The Port of Shanghai

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4224-493: Is the world's busiest container port . Originally a fishing village and market town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to both domestic and foreign trade and its favorable port location. The city was one of five treaty ports forced to open to European trade after the First Opium War , which ceded Hong Kong to the United Kingdom until it was handed over back to China on 1 July 1997. This followed

4356-461: Is the modern-day Shanghai Exhibition Center . Shanghai—Lujiazui in particular—has numerous skyscrapers , making it the fifth city in the world with the most skyscrapers . Among the most prominent examples are the 421 m (1,381 ft) high Jin Mao Tower , the 492 m (1,614 ft) high Shanghai World Financial Center , and the 632 m (2,073 ft) high Shanghai Tower , which

4488-460: Is the tallest building in China and the third tallest in the world . Completed in 2015, the tower takes the form of nine twisted sections stacked atop each other, totaling 128 floors. It is featured in its double-skin facade design, which eliminates the need for either layer to be opaqued for reflectivity as the double-layer structure has already reduced the heat absorption. The futuristic-looking Oriental Pearl Tower, at 468 m (1,535 ft),

4620-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,

4752-560: The Fortune Global 500 and is ranked 4th on the Global Financial Centres Index . The city is also a global major center for research and development and home to numerous Double First-Class Universities , including Fudan University and Shanghai Jiaotong University . The Shanghai Metro , first opened in 1993, is the largest metro network in the world by route length. Shanghai has been described as

4884-466: The Asia-Pacific region in the 1930s. During the ensuing decades, citizens of many countries and all continents came to Shanghai to live and work; those who stayed for long periods⁠⁠—some for generations⁠—called themselves " Shanghailanders ." In the 1920s and 1930s, almost 20,000 White Russians fled the newly established Soviet Union to reside in Shanghai. These Shanghai Russians constituted

5016-588: The Broadway Mansions ; and Austrian architect C.H. Gonda , who designed the Capitol Theatre . The Bund has been revitalized several times. The first was in 1986, with a new promenade by the Dutch architect Paulus Snoeren. The second was before the 2010 Expo , which includes restoration of the century-old Waibaidu Bridge and reconfiguration of traffic flow. One distinctive cultural element

5148-622: The CCP 's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection was conducting a special investigation into CMG, along with several other SOEs, on corruption claims. In January 2024, BAR Technologies signed a deal with China Merchant's CM Energy Tech (CMET) to manufacture, supply, and sell BAR's WindWings wing sail for installation on new and existing vessels in China and throughout Asia. The WindWings system with route optimisation system saves up to 1.5 tonnes of fuel per sailing vessel per day. This reduces daily carbon dioxide emissions by 4.9 tonnes, accelerating

5280-618: The Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of

5412-644: The Huangpu River . Its former or poetic name, the Chunshen River, gave Shanghai its nickname of "Shēn." Fishermen living in the Shanghai area then created a fish tool called the hù , which lent its name to the outlet of Suzhou Creek north of the Old City and became a common nickname and abbreviation for the city. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Qinglong Town ( 青龙镇 ) in modern Qingpu District

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5544-564: The Indo-Pacific , India , as well as to important commerce and military waterways. Writing in 2023, academic and former UK diplomat Kerry Brown states that China's relationship to the Hambantota port has become the opposite of the theorized debt-trap modus operandi. Brown observes that China has had to commit more money to the project, expose itself to further risk, and has had to become entangled in complex local politics.As of 2024,

5676-581: The Kangxi Emperor reversed the Ming dynasty prohibition on oceangoing vessels—a ban that had been in force since 1525; and in 1732, the Qianlong Emperor moved the customs office for Jiangsu province ( 江 海 关 ; see Customs House, Shanghai ) from the prefectural capital of Songjiang to Shanghai, and gave Shanghai exclusive control over customs collections for Jiangsu's foreign trade. As

5808-806: The Mayor . The CCP committee acts as the top policy-formulation body, and is typically composed of 12 members (including the secretary), and has control over the Shanghai Municipal People's Government . Political power in Shanghai has frequently been a stepping stone to higher positions in the central government. Since Jiang Zemin became the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in June 1989, all former Shanghai party secretaries but one were elevated to

5940-534: The Politburo Standing Committee , the de facto highest decision-making body in China, including Jiang himself (Party General Secretary), Zhu Rongji (Premier), Wu Bangguo (NPC Chairman), Huang Ju (Vice Premier), Xi Jinping (current General Secretary), Yu Zhengsheng (CPPCC Chairman), Han Zheng (Vice Premier and Vice President), and Li Qiang (Premier). Zeng Qinghong , a former deputy party secretary of Shanghai, also rose to

6072-586: The Port of Djibouti . China Merchants Steam Navigation Company was a shipping company founded on 16 December 1872 by the then Viceroy of Zhili Li Hongzhang , who was also concurrently serving as Commissioner of the Beiyang Fleet . Its purpose was to capture part of the international trade, which had been virtually monopolized by foreign companies based in Treaty ports . 80% of the company's start-up capital

6204-749: The Second Battle of Chuenpi in 1841, more than 60 km (37 mi) east of the Portuguese colony of Macau . Macau was controlled by Portugal following the Luso-Chinese agreement of 1554 until the handover of the Millennium on 20 December 1999. The Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession were subsequently established. The city then flourished, becoming a primary commercial and financial hub of Asia in

6336-803: The Shanghai Museum , the Shanghai Grand Theatre , the Oriental Art Center , and the Oriental Pearl Tower . Despite rampant redevelopment, the Old City still retains some traditional architecture and designs, such as the Yu Garden , an elaborate Jiangnan style garden. As a result of its construction boom during the 1920s and 1930s, Shanghai has among the most Art Deco buildings in the world. One of

6468-399: The Sino-French War of 1884-85, ownership of the ships was temporarily transferred to Russell & Co. in order to avoid seizure by French forces, but after hostilities had ceased, they were purchased back by CMSNCo., for the same price they had been sold for. The company enjoyed profitability for a few years under Sheng's directorship and began paying out annual dividends. However, by 1904,

6600-446: The Third Front campaign to develop basic industry and heavy industry in China's hinterlands in case of invasion by the Soviet Union or the United States, 354,900 Shanghainese were sent to work on Third Front projects. The centrepiece of Shanghai's Small Third Front project was the "rear base" in Anhui rear base which served as "a multi-function manufacturing base for anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry. Since 1949, Shanghai has been

6732-445: The Wanli reign. This honor was usually reserved for prefectural capitals and not normally given to a mere county seat such as Shanghai. Scholars have theorized that this likely reflected the town's economic importance, as opposed to its low political status. During the Qing dynasty , Shanghai became one of the most important seaports in the Yangtze Delta region as a result of two important central government policy changes: in 1684,

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6864-400: The decarbonisation of the Chinese shipping sector. China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) has ordered four methanol dual-fuel car carriers, two kamsarmax bulkers and two multipurpose carriers for $ 508 million in 2023. Deliveries are expected in 2025-26. China Merchants Group Limited owns 12 main subsidiaries across its core business sectors, employing 230,000 people: Controversy surrounds

6996-410: The list of cities with the most skyscrapers , and it is one of the biggest economic hubs in the world. The two Chinese characters in the city's name are 上 ( shàng / zaon , "upon") and 海 ( hǎi / hé , "sea"), together meaning "On 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

7128-447: The "Chinese seat" in the United Nations, in order to prevent Communist China from taking over the assets of the original CMSNCo, the CMSNCo in Taiwan invested in Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation , thereby transferring assets to Yang Ming Marine Transport. In March 1995, The Taipei-based part of CMSNCo. finally merged with Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation . Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China retained ownership of some of

7260-411: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across

7392-450: The "showpiece" of the economy of China . Featuring several architectural styles such as Art Deco and shikumen , the city is renowned for its Lujiazui skyline, museums and historic buildings including the City God Temple , Yu Garden , the China Pavilion and buildings along the Bund . The Oriental Pearl Tower can be seen from the Bund. Shanghai is also known for its cuisine , local language , and cosmopolitan culture, ranks sixth in

7524-499: The 1880s it had turned into Lunchuan Zhaoshang Zongju ( Chinese : 輪船招商總局 ; lit. 'China Merchants Shipbuilding Bureau'). In 1872, the company acquired its first steamship, an old combined sail & steam-powered vessel named SS Aden . The ship was previously owned and operated by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P & O). However, the Zhu brothers lacked knowledge about modern steamships and their operations, and that they were unsuitable to head

7656-399: The 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki , which elevated Japan to become another foreign power in Shanghai. Japan built the first factories in Shanghai, which was soon copied by other foreign powers. All this international activity gave Shanghai the nickname "the Great Athens of China." The Republic of China was established in 1912. The same year, the Old City walls were dismantled as they blocked

7788-420: The 1930s. During the Second Sino-Japanese War , the city was the site of the major Battle of Shanghai . After the war, the Chinese Civil War soon resumed between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the latter eventually taking over the city and most of the mainland. From the 1950s to the 1970s, trade was mostly limited to other socialist countries in the Eastern Bloc , causing

7920-422: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3

8052-400: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of

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8184-402: The BRI, however. The Sri Lankan government proposed the project, and contracted with CMG to develop it in 2010. In 2017, Sri Lanka approved an agreement with CMG regarding the Hambantota port, according to which the company would take a majority stake in the port, in exchange for debt forgiveness. This had caused concern that the facilities could be used for Chinese military vessels and that such

8316-404: The China coastal trading routes. The company purchased the entire fleet of 17 vessels from the Shanghai Steam Navigation Company whose agents were the old-established American Treaty-port traders, Russell & Company. In 1885, Sheng Xuanhuai was named the company's director-general General to improve its fortunes, following the departure of Tang Jingxing for other industrial projects. During

8448-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components

8580-441: The Hong Kong-based trading company Jardine Matheson & Co. Other ships were scuttled during the hostilities. During World War II , the headquarters moved around, being for a period in Hong Kong and at Chongqing . In 1949, following the Chinese Civil War, the company's head office was transferred together with the Republic of China government from the Mainland to Taiwan . On December 28, 1972, because Communist China obtained

8712-523: The International Free Trade Zone. In 2018, Djibouti terminated DP World's concession rights, nationalized its shares in the terminal and handed them on to China Merchants Group. Although the Djibouti government has stated it alone controls the port, media reports indicate that CMG is directing day-to-day activities. DP World sued CMG in 2019 in Hong Kong for allegedly causing Djibouti to revoke its concession rights. The London Court of International Arbitration ruled in 2020 that Djibouti's actions constituted

8844-409: The Japanese government transferred them to Shanghai by November 1941. Other Jewish refugees found haven in Shanghai, not through Sugihara, but came on ships from Italy. The refugees from Europe were interned into a cramped ghetto in the Hongkou District and after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , even the Iraqi Jews who had been living in Shanghai from before the outbreak of WWII were interned. Among

8976-404: The Japanese invasion of Shanghai was the Shanghai Ghetto . Japanese consul to Kaunas , Lithuania , Chiune Sugihara issued thousands of visas to Jewish refugees who were escaping the Nazi's Final Solution to the Jewish Question . They traveled from Keidan , Lithuania across Russia by railroad to the Vladivostok from where they traveled by ship to Kobe, Japan . Their stay in Kobe was short as

9108-409: The Politburo Standing Committee and became the Vice President and an influential power broker. Li Xi , another former deputy party secretary of Shanghai, has become the Politburo Standing Committee and Secretary of CCDI member in 2022. The only exception is Chen Liangyu , who was fired in 2006 and later convicted of corruption . Officials with ties to the Shanghai administration collectively form

9240-473: The River Pu"), the newer part of urban and suburban Shanghai on the east bank of the Huangpu River, is governed by Pudong New Area ( 浦东新区 ). Seven of the districts govern suburbs, satellite towns, and rural areas farther away from the urban core: Baoshan, Minhang , Jiading, Jinshan, Songjiang, Qingpu, and Fengxian. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write

9372-494: The Shanghai office, assisted by his younger brother Zhu Qizhao ( Chinese : 朱其詔 ). The Zhu brothers and extended family had a large and successful sea-going junk business, shipping sand, rice and other cargoes along the regional coast. Zhu Qiang had already purchased an official rank as a sub- Prefect in Zhejiang . The listed Chinese name for this company in the early 1870s was Zhao Shang Gongsi Ju ( Chinese : 召商公司局 ; lit. 'China Merchants Bureau'), although by

9504-625: The acquisition of a 47.5% stake in the Tin Can Island Container Terminal in Lagos . CMG became involved in Djibouti in 2013, when it acquired a 23.5% stake in the Doraleh container terminal. In January 2021, Djibouti and CMG signed a deal for the Chinese conglomerate to expand the Port of Djibouti at a cost of $ 350 million. The development plan will follow the Shekou Zone model. In 2014, the Hong Kong media reported that

9636-504: The area. Others contend that the city is referenced in historical records dating back 2150 years, and that its ancient name, "Hu", suggests it was previously a fishing village. In 1280 it was renamed "Shanghai", which translates to "Above the Sea". How the name should be understood has been disputed, but Chinese historians have concluded that during the Tang dynasty , the area of modern-day Shanghai

9768-621: The bank of the Huangpu River, is home to a row of early 20th-century architecture, ranging in style from the neoclassical HSBC Building to the Art Deco Sassoon House (now part of the Peace Hotel ). Many areas in the former foreign concessions are also well-preserved, the most notable being the French Concession. Shanghai is also home to many architecturally distinctive and even eccentric buildings, including

9900-847: The beginning of autumn, the city is susceptible to typhoons . The most pleasant seasons are generally spring, although changeable and often rainy, and autumn, which is usually sunny and dry. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 28% in June to 46% in August, the city receives 1,754 hours of bright sunshine annually. (All the mean values mentioned in this paragraph are data observed in Baoshan District) According to China's seasonal division standard, from 2001 to 2024, Shanghai enters spring on 9 March, summer on 16 May, autumn on 5 October, and winter on 4 December. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −10.1 °C (14 °F) on 31 January 1977 (unofficial record of −12.1 °C (10 °F)

10032-543: The branch. The Anti-Economy Liaison Headquarters dismantled economic organizations in Shanghai, investigated bank withdrawals, and disrupted regular bank service in the city. The Shanghai People's Commune was established in the city during the January Storm of 1967. Despite the disruptions of the Cultural Revolution, Shanghai maintained economic production with a positive annual growth rate. During

10164-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between

10296-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant

10428-520: The city and developed the Pudong district, resulting in the birth of Lujiazui . That year, the China's central government designated Shanghai as the "Dragon Head" of economic reform . As of 2020, Shanghai is classified as an Alpha+ city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network , making it one of the world's Top 10 major cities. In early 2022, Shanghai experienced a large outbreak of COVID-19 cases. After localized lockdowns failed to stem

10560-472: The city has fewer such structures than Beijing. These buildings were mostly erected between the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 and the Sino-Soviet Split in the late 1960s. During this time period, large numbers of Soviet experts, including architects, poured into China to aid the country in the construction of a communist state. An example of Soviet neoclassical architecture in Shanghai

10692-752: The city's eastern and southern suburbs, but failed to take the city. In 1863, the British settlement to the south of Suzhou Creek (northern Huangpu District ) and the American settlement to the north (southern Hongkou District ) joined in order to form the Shanghai International Settlement . The French opted out of the Shanghai Municipal Council and maintained its own concession at the city's south and southwest. The First Sino-Japanese War concluded with

10824-720: The city's expansion. In July 1921, the Chinese Communist Party was founded in the Shanghai French Concession . On 30 May 1925, the May Thirtieth Movement broke out when a worker in a Japanese-owned cotton mill was shot and killed by a Japanese foreman. Workers in the city then launched general strikes against imperialism , which became nationwide protests that gave rise to Chinese nationalism . The golden age of Shanghai began with its elevation to municipality after it

10956-521: The city's global influence to decline during the Cold War . Major changes of fortune for the city would occur when economic reforms initiated by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping during the 1980s resulted in an intense redevelopment and revitalization of the city by the 1990s, especially the Pudong New Area, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment. The city has since re-emerged as

11088-543: The city. The war ended in 1842 with the Treaty of Nanking , which opened Shanghai as one of the five treaty ports for international trade. The Treaty of the Bogue , the Treaty of Wanghia , and the Treaty of Whampoa (signed in 1843, 1844, and 1844, respectively) forced Chinese concession to European and American desires for visitation and trade on Chinese soil. Britain, France, and the United States all established

11220-424: The company's finances had once again slipped into losses. Sheng, who had appointed a whole series of corrupt cronies to the management during his tenure, was eased out of control in 1911 when Dr. Wu Ting-fang took over as managing director with a view to reorganizing the company. By 1912, the fleet size of the company had grown to 29 coastal and river steamers, all manned by foreign (mainly British) captains. During

11352-496: The company's ships and of the Hong Kong subsidiary, allowing the latter to retain its name (China Merchants Steam Navigation Company Limited) to avoid legal disputes. In 1950, transfer of the original core company was moved to its Hong Kong headquarters but with overall control still being retained by the PRC. The company slipped into relative obscurity during the Mao era . This only changed with China's opening of its economy in 1978, when

11484-602: The company, and in particular those of the late Sheng Xianhuai. After uncovering evidence of impropriety, the Jiangsu Provincial Government ordered the confiscation of assets from Sheng's estate. Li Guojie also came under suspicion for misappropriating funds from the company and for taking out personal bank loans secured on the company's assets. This culminated in a lawsuit again Li to recover lost monies. The scandal escalated when on 24 July 1930, Zhao Tieqiao,

11616-473: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from

11748-460: The districts govern Puxi ( lit.  "The West Bank," or "West of the River Pu"), the older part of urban Shanghai on the west bank of the Huangpu River. These seven districts are collectively referred to as Shanghai Proper ( 上海市区 ) or the core city ( 市中心 ), which comprise Huangpu, Xuhui, Changning , Jing'an, Putuo, Hongkou, and Yangpu. Pudong ( lit.  "The East Bank," or "East of

11880-640: The early 20th century up until the time of the revolution, there was a long and continual power struggle between Sheng and the various shareholders over control of the company. Following the revolution, in June 1913, shareholders of the CMSNCo. agreed to a scheme for the company to be reorganized with a new constitution. The company at this time possessed 31 ships and owned wharves and property in some 20 Chinese ports, with total assets valued at an estimated 25 million taels of silver. Following Sheng's death in 1916, Li Hongzhang's grandson, Li Guojie ( Chinese : 李国杰 ),

12012-476: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see

12144-912: The east bank of the Huangpu (Pudong). Along Shanghai's eastern shore, the destruction of local wetlands due to the construction of Pudong International Airport has been partially offset by the protection and expansion of a nearby shoal, Jiuduansha , as a nature preserve. Shanghai has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa ), with an average annual temperature of 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) for downtown areas and 16.2–17.2 °C (61.2–63.0 °F) for suburbs. The city experiences four distinct seasons. Winters are temperate to cold and damp—northwesterly winds from Siberia can cause nighttime temperatures to drop below freezing. Each year, there are an average of 4.7 days with snowfall and 1.6 days with snow cover. Summers are hot and humid, and occasional downpours or thunderstorms can be expected. On average, 14.5 days exceed 35 °C (95 °F) annually. In summer and

12276-571: The end of the Song dynasty , the center of trading had moved downstream of the Wusong River to Shanghai. It was upgraded in status from a village to a market town in 1074, and in 1172, a second sea wall was built to stabilize the ocean coastline, supplementing an earlier dike. From the Yuan dynasty in 1292 until Shanghai officially became a municipality in 1927, central Shanghai was administered as

12408-452: The first joint-stock bank in the PRC, China Merchants Bank , making it a "highways-to-banking conglomerate". Although CMG was involved in numerous horizontal businesses, in 2001 this was rationalized to three "core business sectors", namely transport infrastructures, financial, as well as property development and industrial park operations. Since the Chinese government's adoption of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, CMG has been playing

12540-634: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over

12672-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including

12804-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility

12936-459: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during

13068-852: The four municipalities under the direct administration of the Central People's Government , and is divided into 16 county-level districts . Although every district has its own urban core, the city hall and major administrative units are located in Huangpu District, which also serves as a commercial area, including the famous Nanjing Road . Other major commercial areas include Xintiandi and Huaihai Road in Huangpu District, and Xujiahui in Xuhui District . Many universities in Shanghai are located in residential areas in Yangpu District and Putuo District . Seven of

13200-668: The free-trade zones created in China led to the company's revival. On 31 January 1979, Yuan Geng became the first CEO of the PRC-owned company. Yuan had founded the Shekou Industrial Zone in Shenzhen and was made CMG CEO following Beijing's approval of the zone proposal, making it a corner stone of the first special economic zone in Shenzhen as part of Deng Xiaoping 's reformist policies. CMG subsequently developed

13332-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d.  782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what

13464-419: The land area of Shanghai was further expanded to 5,910 km (2,281.9 sq mi) after more surrounding suburban areas in Jiangsu were added: Chongming , Jinshan , Qingpu , Fengxian , Chuansha , and Nanhui . In 1964, the city's administrative divisions were rearranged to 10 urban districts and 10 counties. As the industrial center of China with the most skilled industrial workers, Shanghai became

13596-465: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d.  208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,

13728-762: The most famous architects working in Shanghai was László Hudec , a Hungarian-Slovak who lived in the city between 1918 and 1947. His most notable Art Deco buildings include the Park Hotel , the Grand Cinema , and the Paramount . Other prominent architects who contributed to the Art Deco style are Clement Palmer and Arthur Turner , who together designed the Peace Hotel, the Metropole Hotel , and

13860-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅,中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,

13992-442: The new endeavour. They subsequently replaced Zhu Qiang as manager with the appointment of Tang Jingxing to this position in 1873. Both Zhu brothers, however, being substantial shareholders, retained positions in the company as "Rice Tribute" managers. By 1877, the company was still not turning a profit and a decision was taken to expand the fleet significantly in an attempt to break the foreign shipping companies' virtual monopoly on

14124-518: The port has not been a significant economic success, although shipping through the port is on the increase. Shanghai Shanghai is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China . The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River , with the Huangpu River flowing through it. The population of the city proper

14256-440: The provinces of Zhejiang to the south and Jiangsu to the west and north. The municipality's northernmost point is on Chongming Island , which is the second-largest island in mainland China after its expansion during the 20th century. It does not administratively include an exclave of Jiangsu on northern Chongming or the two islands forming Shanghai's Yangshan Port , which are parts of Zhejiang's Shengsi County . Shanghai

14388-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted

14520-513: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on

14652-933: The refugees in the Shanghai Ghetto was the Mirrer Yeshiva , including its students and faculty. On 3 September 1945, the Chinese Army liberated the Ghetto and most of the Jews left over the next few years. On 27 May 1949, the People's Liberation Army took control of Shanghai through the Shanghai Campaign . Under the new People's Republic of China (PRC), Shanghai was one of only three municipalities not merged into neighboring provinces (the others being Beijing and Tianjin ). Most foreign firms moved their offices from Shanghai to Hong Kong , as part of

14784-528: The rise in cases, the Chinese government locked down the entire city on 5 April. This resulted in widespread food shortages across the city emerged as food-supply chains were severely disrupted by the government's lockdown measures, which were not lifted until 1 June. Shanghai is located on the Yangtze Estuary of China's east coast, with the Yangtze River to the north and Hangzhou Bay to

14916-481: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted

15048-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊

15180-504: The second-largest foreign community. By 1932, Shanghai had become the world's fifth-largest city and home to 70,000 foreigners. In the 1930s, some 30,000 Jewish refugees from Europe arrived in the city. On 28 January 1932 , Japanese military forces invaded Shanghai while the Chinese resisted. More than 10,000 shops and hundreds of factories and public buildings were destroyed, leaving Zhabei district ruined. About 18,000 civilians were either killed, injured, or declared missing. A ceasefire

15312-464: The south, with the East China Sea to the east. The land is formed by the Yangtze's natural deposition and modern land reclamation projects. As such, it has sandy soil , and skyscrapers have to be built with deep concrete piles to avoid sinking into the soft ground. The provincial-level Municipality of Shanghai administers both the estuary and many of its surrounding islands . It borders

15444-427: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to

15576-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes

15708-522: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of

15840-456: The way in which CMG acquired the 23.5% stake in the Doraleh terminal. CMG was sold the stake after Djibouti's government seized the facilities from Dubai-based port operator DP World, co-manager of the facilities since a concession agreement in 2004. One year later, CMG got authorization to construct another port facility, the Doraleh multi-purpose port located within the Chinese military support base. This coincided with Djibouti and CMG establishing

15972-609: Was a major trading port. Established in 746 (the fifth year of the Tang Tianbao era ), it developed into what was historically called a "giant town of the Southeast," with thirteen temples and seven pagodas. Mi Fu , a scholar and artist of the Song dynasty, served as its mayor. The port experienced thriving trade with provinces along the Yangtze and the Chinese coast, as well as with foreign countries such as Japan and Silla . By

16104-415: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing  [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by

16236-408: Was an early name originating from Lord Chunshen , a 3rd-century BC nobleman and prime minister of the state of Chu , whose fief included modern Shanghai. Shanghai-based sports teams and newspapers often use Shen in their names, such as Shanghai Shenhua and Shen Bao . 华 亭 ( Huátíng / gho-din ) was another early name for Shanghai. In AD 751 during the mid-Tang dynasty, Huating County

16368-730: Was appointed as a board director of CMSNCo. Li Guojie had previously served as the Chinese Minister to Belgium (1910-1912). In 1924 he was elected as chairman of the board of directors. In 1927, Li continued to head the company although the entire Chinese shipping industry was placed under the supervision of the Communications Ministry of the Nationalist government . In 1929, the Nationalist government commenced investigations into past financial dealings of

16500-722: Was brokered on 5 May. In 1937, the Battle of Shanghai resulted in the occupation of the Chinese-administered parts of Shanghai outside of the International Settlement and the French Concession. People who stayed in the occupied city suffered on a daily basis, experiencing hunger, oppression, or death. The foreign concessions were ultimately occupied by the Japanese on 8 December 1941 and remained occupied until Japan's surrender in 1945; multiple war crimes were committed during that time. A side-effect of

16632-472: Was established by Zhao Juzhen , the governor of Wu Commandery , at modern-day Songjiang, the first county-level administration within modern-day Shanghai. The first five-star hotel in the city was named after Huating. 魔 都 ( Módū / mó-tu , "monster/fiend/magical city"), a contemporary nickname for Shanghai, is widely known among the youth. The name was first mentioned in Japanese novelist Shōfu Muramatsu 's 1924 novel Mato , which portrayed Shanghai as

16764-693: Was inhabited 6,000 years ago. During the Spring and Autumn period (approximately 771 to 476 BC), it belonged to the Kingdom of Wu , which was conquered by the Kingdom of Yue , which in turn was conquered by the Kingdom of Chu. During the Warring States period (475 BC), Shanghai was part of the fief of Lord Chunshen of Chu, one of the Four Lords of the Warring States . He ordered the excavation of

16896-573: Was provided by native Chinese, making this the first transportation company using modern technology not based on foreign ownership. It obtained government support and received a monopoly contract to transport the tribute grain from the Yangzi Valley to the capital city of Beijing . The company also received loans from government sources and monopoly rights that prevented the founding of rival Chinese steamship companies. Initially, Li Hongzhang appointed Zhu Qiang ( Chinese : 朱其昂 ) as manager at

17028-480: Was separated from Jiangsu on 7 July 1927. This new Chinese municipality covered an area of 494.69 km (191.0 sq mi), including the modern-day districts of Baoshan , Yangpu , Zhabei , Nanshi , and Pudong , but excluded the foreign concessions territories. Headed by a Chinese mayor and municipal council, the new city government's first task—the Greater Shanghai Plan —was to create

17160-582: Was set on 19 January 1893) to 40.9 °C (106 °F) on 21 July 2017 and 13 July 2022 at a weather station in Xujiahui and 2 August 2024 in Minhang District following a record hot night set at 32.1 °C (90 °F) as the highest ever daily minimum temperature at Xujiahui. On 8 August 2013, the weather station at Shanghai Pudong International Airport also observed a high temperature of 41.0 °C (106 °F). The Bund , located by

17292-566: Was soon released. Li remained in Shanghai, heavily involved in the corrupt political power struggles prevalent in that era. He was shot outside his Shanghai home on 19 February 1939 and died soon afterwards. The firm was nationalized and reorganized as the China Merchants Group in 1935, acquiring the name it uses today. During the Sino-Japanese war , the company sold four of its ships: Haiyuan, Haili, Haichen and Haiheng to

17424-491: Was under sea level, so the land appeared to be literally "on the sea." Shanghai is officially abbreviated 沪 ( Hù / wu ) in Chinese , a contraction of 沪渎 ( Hù Dú / wu-doq , " Harpoon Ditch"), a 4th- or 5th-century Jin name for the mouth of Suzhou Creek when it was the main conduit into the ocean. This character appears on all motor vehicle license plates issued in the municipality today. 申 ( Shēn / sén ) or 申 城 ( Shēnchéng / sén-zen , "Shen City")

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