In the decades leading up to 1949, Shanghai was known as the Paris of the East. In other circles, she was the Whore of the Orient. As either, it was inarguably the most exciting city in Asia. In gin joints and jazz bars, the last colonial industrialists and white Russians rubbed shoulders with triads and anti-Japanese revolutionaries, and the city partied until the sun came up.
The party came to a crashing halt when the communist machine rolled into town, but Shanghai's residents never lost that spark of style that set them apart from the rest of their compatriots.
With the introduction of economic reforms and the country's reopening to the world in the 1980s, the city needed little encouragement to lead the charge in the rediscovery of fashion, finance and fun.
Today, Shanghai is once again the most vibrant city on the mainland - with all the trappings that entails. The designer stores are full, new buildings are going up at breakneck speed and the all-night girlie bars are back in business.
The sprawling megalopolis of fast-approaching 20 million souls is the beating heart of mainland business and international trade. Beijing may be where the political power lies, but Shanghai is where people go to strike it rich.
'Shanghai is an open and inclusive city,' Mayor Han Zheng said. 'I have deep feelings for this city, its land and these people. Shanghai is a city of immigrants, she has always kept her front door open to all people who wish to come.'