Shanghai is the largest city in China in terms of population with over 20 million people in its metropolitan area.Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River,the city is administered as a municipality with province-level status(直辖市的意思).
The city is an emerging tourist destination renowned for its historical landmarks such as the Bund and Xintiandi,its modern and ever-expanding Pudong skyline including the Oriental Pearl Tower,and its new reputation as a cosmopolitan center of culture and design.Today,Shanghai is an important centre of commerce and finance.One conference paper has referred to it as a future global city and the popular press have described it as the "showpiece" of the world's fastest-growing economy