Origins of Shanghai

Shanghai's origins as an administrative unit are traced to the Tang dynasty, when a county was created in the Yangtze delta, in an area of fishing villages and marshes. The settlement grew as a river and sea port, and under the Yuan dynasty it was made a county named Shanghai, meaning on the sea. A wall was built around the town in the 16th century as a defense against pirates. After the First Opium War the Treaty of Nanking opened it to foreign trade, and the British, French and American concessions turned it into China's largest commercial and financial center. Today Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the world and a global financial hub.

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