Shanghai | |
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Shanghai (Chinese: 上海, Shanghainese pronunciation: [zɑ̃̀.hɛ́] (listen), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: [ʂâŋ.xài] (listen)) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China. It is under the direct administration of the State Council of China. The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. With a population of 24.28 million as of 2019, it is the most populous urban area in China and the second most populous city proper in the world. Shanghai is a global center for finance, technology, manufacturing, and transportation, and the Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest container port.
Originally a fishing village and market town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to trade and its favorable port location. The city was one of five treaty ports forced open to foreign trade after the First Opium War. The Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession were subsequently established. The city then flourished, becoming a primary commercial and financial hub of the Asia-Pacific region in the 1930s. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the city was the site of the major Battle of Shanghai. After the war, with the CPC takeover of mainland China in 1949, trade was limited to other socialist countries and the city's global influence declined.
In the 1990s, economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense redevelopment of the city, especially the Pudong New Area, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment.
Kalmar | |
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Kalmar (, also US: , Swedish: [ˈkǎlmar] (listen)) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 236,399 inhabitants (2015).
From the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries, Kalmar was one of Sweden's most important cities. Between 1602 and 1913 it was the episcopal see of Kalmar Diocese, with a bishop, and the Kalmar Cathedral from 1702 is an example of classicistic architecture.