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Asia Film Company

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The Asia Film Company was the first film production company in China.

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136-757: The Asia Film Company was established in Shanghai in 1909 by Russian born Jewish American businessman Benjamin Brosky (1877-1960), and was the first company to produce dramatic films in China. They were all short films, which were the fashion at the time. The studio made four films in 1909 in Shanghai and Hong Kong , the only surviving one being Stealing a Roast Duck , shot in Hong Kong. Brosky left Shanghai in 1912 and sold his assets to two other Americans, Yashell and Suffert. They continued

272-520: A " sovietization " of Central Europe. In addition to reparations, Stalin pushed for "war booty", which would permit the Soviet Union to directly seize property from conquered nations without quantitative or qualitative limitation. A clause was added permitting this to occur with some limitations. At first, the Soviets concealed their role in other Eastern Bloc politics, with the transformation appearing as

408-682: A "loophole" through which Eastern Bloc citizens could still move west. The 3.5 million East Germans that had left by 1961, called Republikflucht , totaled approximately 20% of the entire East German population. In August 1961, East Germany erected a barbed-wire barrier that would eventually be expanded through construction into the Berlin Wall , effectively closing the loophole. With virtually non-existent conventional emigration, more than 75% of those emigrating from Eastern Bloc countries between 1950 and 1990 did so under bilateral agreements for "ethnic migration". About 10% were refugee migrants under

544-606: A broader democratic basis in Poland. He stated that the new government's primary task would be to prepare elections. However, the 1946 Polish people's referendum (known as the "Three Times Yes" referendum) and the subsequent 1947 Polish parliamentary election did not meet democratic standards and were largely manipulated. The parties at Yalta further agreed that the countries of liberated Europe and former Axis satellites would be allowed to "create democratic institutions of their own choice", pursuant to "the right of all peoples to choose

680-662: 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

816-438: 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

952-463: 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

1088-562: A death sentence and execution. A number of other high ranking Bulgarian officials were also jailed. Stalin and Hungarian leader Mátyás Rákosi met in Moscow to orchestrate a show trial of Rákosi opponent László Rajk , who was thereafter executed. The preservation of the Soviet bloc relied on maintaining a sense of ideological unity that would entrench Moscow's influence in Eastern Europe as well as

1224-691: 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

1360-419: A distance. In addition to emigration restrictions, civil society, defined as a domain of political action outside the party's state control, was not allowed to firmly take root, with the possible exception of Poland in the 1980s . While the institutional design of the communist systems were based on the rejection of rule of law, the legal infrastructure was not immune to change reflecting decaying ideology and

1496-553: 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,

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1632-659: 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

1768-476: A large-scale party programs to train personnel who would meet political requirements. Former members of the middle-class were officially discriminated against, though the state's need for their skills and certain opportunities to re-invent themselves as good Communist citizens did allow many to nonetheless achieve success. Communist regimes in the Eastern Bloc viewed marginal groups of opposition intellectuals as

1904-690: A late September 1947 meeting of all communist parties in Szklarska Poręba , Eastern Bloc communist parties were blamed for permitting even minor influence by non-communists in their respective countries during the run up to the Marshall Plan. In the former German capital Berlin, surrounded by Soviet-occupied Germany, Stalin instituted the Berlin Blockade on 24 June 1948, preventing food, materials and supplies from arriving in West Berlin . The blockade

2040-683: A member of the Comecon or the Warsaw Pact. Parting with the USSR in 1948, Yugoslavia did not belong to the East, but it also did not belong to the West because of its socialist system and its status as a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement . However, some sources consider Yugoslavia to be a member of the Eastern Bloc. Others consider Yugoslavia not to be a member after it broke with Soviet policy in

2176-555: A modification of Western " bourgeois democracy ". As a young communist was told in East Germany, "it's got to look democratic, but we must have everything in our control". Stalin felt that socioeconomic transformation was indispensable to establish Soviet control, reflecting the Marxist–Leninist view that material bases, the distribution of the means of production, shaped social and political relations. The Soviet Union also co-opted

2312-537: 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

2448-419: A potential threat because of the bases underlying Communist power therein. The suppression of dissidence and opposition was considered a central prerequisite to retain power, though the enormous expense at which the population in certain countries were kept under secret surveillance may not have been rational. Following a totalitarian initial phase, a post-totalitarian period followed the death of Stalin in which

2584-461: 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

2720-786: 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

2856-684: A primary commercial and financial hub of Asia in 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

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2992-408: A public relations campaign against the western policy change and communists attempted to disrupt the elections of 1948 preceding large losses therein, while 300,000 Berliners demonstrated and urged the international airlift to continue. In May 1949, Stalin lifted the blockade, permitting the resumption of Western shipments to Berlin. After disagreements between Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito and

3128-529: 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

3264-510: A unified Soviet command structure. Beginning in 1964, Romania took a more independent course. While it did not repudiate either Comecon or the Warsaw Pact, it ceased to play a significant role in either. Nicolae Ceaușescu 's assumption of leadership one year later pushed Romania even further in the direction of separateness. Albania, which had become increasingly isolated under Stalinist leader Enver Hoxha following de-Stalinization , undergoing an Albanian–Soviet split in 1961, withdrew from

3400-553: A world of democracy and peace". While meeting with Stalin and Roosevelt in Tehran in 1943, Churchill stated that Britain was vitally interested in restoring Poland as a politically independent country. Britain did not press the matter for fear that it would become a source of inter-allied friction. In February 1945, at the conference at Yalta , Stalin demanded a Soviet sphere of political influence in Central Europe. Stalin eventually

3536-595: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 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 is the third largest in the world , with around 24.87 million inhabitants in 2023, while

3672-496: 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

3808-794: 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

3944-927: 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

4080-580: 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

4216-539: Is replaced by a socialist encirclement". In 1939, the USSR entered into the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany that contained a secret protocol that divided Romania, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Eastern Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Bessarabia in northern Romania were recognized as parts of the Soviet sphere of influence . Lithuania

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4352-451: 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

4488-504: 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 . The Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession were subsequently established. The city then flourished, becoming

4624-456: 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

4760-460: 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),

4896-541: 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

5032-460: 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

5168-569: 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

5304-509: The Comecon ( East Germany , Poland , Czechoslovakia , Hungary , Romania , Bulgaria , and Albania ). In Asia , the Eastern Bloc comprised Mongolia , Vietnam , Laos , Kampuchea , North Korea , South Yemen , Syria , and China . In the Americas , the countries aligned with the Soviet Union included Cuba from 1961 and for limited periods Nicaragua and Grenada . The term Eastern Bloc

5440-524: The Comecon in accordance with Stalin's desire to enforce Soviet domination of the lesser states of Central Europe and to mollify some states that had expressed interest in the Marshall Plan , and which were now, increasingly, cut off from their traditional markets and suppliers in Western Europe. The Comecon's role became ambiguous because Stalin preferred more direct links with other party chiefs than

5576-756: The Communist Bloc ( Combloc ), the Socialist Bloc , and the Soviet Bloc , was the collective term for an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe , Asia , Africa , and Latin America that were aligned with the Soviet Union and existed during the Cold War (1947–1991). These states followed the ideology of Marxism–Leninism , in opposition to the capitalist Western Bloc . The Eastern Bloc

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5712-541: The Eastern Bloc , causing 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

5848-566: 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

5984-562: 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

6120-483: 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

6256-427: The Ogaden War in 1977. Although not Marxist–Leninist , leadership of Ba'athist Syria officially regarded the country as part of the Socialist Bloc and established a close economic, military alliance with the Soviet Union. Many states were accused by the Western Bloc of being in the Eastern Bloc when they were part of the Non-Aligned Movement . The most limited definition of the Eastern Bloc would only include

6392-452: 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

6528-412: 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

6664-399: The Soviets occupied the territories . In June 1941, Germany broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact by invading the Soviet Union . From the time of this invasion to 1944, the areas annexed by the Soviet Union were part of Germany's Ostland (except for the Moldavian SSR ). Thereafter, the Soviet Union began to push German forces westward through a series of battles on the Eastern Front . In

6800-446: 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

6936-445: 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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7072-404: The Warsaw Pact was formed partly in response to NATO 's inclusion of West Germany and partly because the Soviets needed an excuse to retain Red Army units in Hungary. For 35 years, the Pact perpetuated the Stalinist concept of Soviet national security based on imperial expansion and control over satellite regimes in Eastern Europe. This Soviet formalization of their security relationships in

7208-410: 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

7344-450: 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

7480-399: 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

7616-425: The 1948 Tito–Stalin split . In 1922, the Russian SFSR , the Ukrainian SSR , the Byelorussian SSR and the Transcaucasian SFSR approved the Treaty of Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, forming the Soviet Union . Soviet leader Joseph Stalin , who viewed the Soviet Union as a "socialist island", stated that the Soviet Union must see that "the present capitalist encirclement

7752-432: The Bloc were instructed to foster intra-leadership conflict and to transmit information against each other. This accompanied a continuous stream of accusations of "nationalistic deviations", "insufficient appreciation of the USSR's role", links with Tito and "espionage for Yugoslavia". This resulted in the persecution of many major party cadres, including those in East Germany. The first country to experience this approach

7888-434: The Comecon's indirect sophistication; it played no significant role in the 1950s in economic planning. Initially, the Comecon served as cover for the Soviet taking of materials and equipment from the rest of the Eastern Bloc, but the balance changed when the Soviets became net subsidizers of the rest of the Bloc by the 1970s via an exchange of low cost raw materials in return for shoddily manufactured finished goods. In 1955,

8024-429: The Eastern Bloc reflected Moscow's basic security policy principle that continued presence in East Central Europe was a foundation of its defense against the West. Through its institutional structures, the Pact also compensated in part for the absence of Joseph Stalin's personal leadership since his death in 1953. The Pact consolidated the other Bloc members' armies in which Soviet officers and security agents served under

8160-408: The Eastern Bloc, despite attempts by authorities to jam the airways. Under the state atheism of many Eastern Bloc nations, religion was actively suppressed. Since some of these states tied their ethnic heritage to their national churches, both the peoples and their churches were targeted by the Soviets. In 1949, the Soviet Union , Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia , Hungary, Poland, and Romania founded

8296-732: The Eastern European countries into its sphere of influence by making reference to some cultural commonalities. Moscow-trained cadres were put into crucial power positions to fulfill orders regarding sociopolitical transformation. Elimination of the bourgeoisie 's social and financial power by expropriation of landed and industrial property was accorded absolute priority. These measures were publicly billed as "reforms" rather than socioeconomic transformations. Except for initially in Czechoslovakia, activities by political parties had to adhere to "Bloc politics", with parties eventually having to accept membership in an "antifascist bloc" obliging them to act only by mutual "consensus". The bloc system permitted

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8432-409: 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

8568-404: 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

8704-468: The Polish rejection of the Plan with a huge 5-year trade agreement, including $ 450 million in credit, 200,000 tons of grain, heavy machinery and factories. In July 1947, Stalin ordered these countries to pull out of the Paris Conference on the European Recovery Programme, which has been described as "the moment of truth" in the post- World War II division of Europe. Thereafter, Stalin sought stronger control over other Eastern Bloc countries, abandoning

8840-409: 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

8976-503: 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. Chongming District comprises the islands of Changxing and Hengsha and most—but not all —of Chongming Island. Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc , also known as

9112-454: The Soviet Union regarding Greece and Albania , a Tito–Stalin split occurred, followed by Yugoslavia being expelled from the Cominform in June 1948 and a brief failed Soviet putsch in Belgrade. The split created two separate communist forces in Europe. A vehement campaign against Titoism was immediately started in the Eastern Bloc, describing agents of both the West and Tito in all places as engaging in subversive activity. Stalin ordered

9248-478: The Soviet Union to exercise domestic control indirectly. Crucial departments such as those responsible for personnel, general police, secret police and youth were strictly Communist run. Moscow cadres distinguished "progressive forces" from "reactionary elements" and rendered both powerless. Such procedures were repeated until Communists had gained unlimited power and only politicians who were unconditionally supportive of Soviet policy remained. In June 1947, after

9384-448: The Soviets had refused to negotiate a potential lightening of restrictions on German development, the United States announced the Marshall Plan , a comprehensive program of American assistance to all European countries wanting to participate, including the Soviet Union and those of Eastern Europe. The Soviets rejected the Plan and took a hard-line position against the United States and non-communist European nations. However, Czechoslovakia

9520-428: The United States where he became a theatre owner and changed his name to Borden. The company's productions mainly consisted of actualities and comedy shorts . It produced The Difficult Couple in 1913, the first feature-length film made in China, which was about arranged marriage , directed by Zheng Zhengqiu and written by Zhang Shichuan . This article about a film production company or film distributor

9656-504: The Warsaw Pact in 1968 following the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia . In 1917, Russia restricted emigration by instituting passport controls and forbidding the exit of belligerent nationals. In 1922, after the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR , both the Ukrainian SSR and the Russian SFSR issued general rules for travel that foreclosed virtually all departures, making legal emigration impossible. Border controls thereafter strengthened such that, by 1928, even illegal departure

9792-495: The Warsaw Pact states and the Mongolian People's Republic as former satellite states most dominated by the Soviet Union. Cuba 's defiance of complete Soviet control was noteworthy enough that Cuba was sometimes excluded as a satellite state altogether, as it sometimes intervened in other Third World countries even when the Soviet Union opposed this. Post-1991 usage of the term "Eastern Bloc" may be more limited in referring to

9928-407: The West and Tito. Despite the initial institutional design of communism implemented by Joseph Stalin in the Eastern Bloc, subsequent development varied across countries. In satellite states, after peace treaties were initially concluded, opposition was essentially liquidated, fundamental steps towards socialism were enforced, and Kremlin leaders sought to strengthen control therein. Right from

10064-564: The aftermath of World War II on the Soviet-Finnish border , the parties signed another peace treaty ceding to the Soviet Union in 1944, followed by a Soviet annexation of roughly the same eastern Finnish territories as those of the prior interim peace treaty as part of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic . From 1943 to 1945, several conferences regarding Post-War Europe occurred that, in part, addressed

10200-497: 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

10336-597: 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

10472-890: 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)

10608-455: The beginning, Stalin directed systems that rejected Western institutional characteristics of market economies , capitalist parliamentary democracy (dubbed "bourgeois democracy" in Soviet parlance) and the rule of law subduing discretional intervention by the state. The resulting states aspired to total control of a political center backed by an extensive and active repressive apparatus, and a central role of Marxist–Leninist ideology. However,

10744-527: 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

10880-516: 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

11016-464: 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

11152-718: 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

11288-624: 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

11424-580: 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

11560-516: The conversion of the Cominform into an instrument to monitor and control the internal affairs of other Eastern Bloc parties. He also briefly considered converting the Cominform into an instrument for sentencing high-ranking deviators, but dropped the idea as impractical. Instead, a move to weaken communist party leaders through conflict was started. Soviet cadres in communist party and state positions in

11696-458: The core of the system, with their names becoming synonymous with raw power and the threat of violent retribution should an individual become active against the State. Several state police and secret police organizations enforced communist party rule, including the following: The press in the communist period was an organ of the state, completely reliant on and subservient to the communist party. Before

11832-594: The country's population who had accepted total obedience. Those who secured membership in this selective group received considerable rewards, such as access to special lower priced shops with a greater selection of high-quality domestic and/or foreign goods ( confections , alcohol , cigars , cameras , televisions , and the like), special schools, holiday facilities, homes, high-quality domestic and/or foreign-made furniture, works of art, pensions, permission to travel abroad, and official cars with distinct license plates so that police and others could identify these members from

11968-455: 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

12104-912: 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

12240-557: 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

12376-649: The end of the Cold War: the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (from 1967), the People's Republic of the Congo (from 1969), the People's Republic of Benin , the People's Republic of Angola and People's Republic of Mozambique from 1975, the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada from 1979 to 1983, the Derg / People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1974, and the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 until

12512-495: The form of government under which they will live". The parties also agreed to help those countries form interim governments "pledged to the earliest possible establishment through free elections" and "facilitate where necessary the holding of such elections". At the beginning of the July–August 1945 Potsdam Conference after Germany's unconditional surrender, Stalin repeated previous promises to Churchill that he would refrain from

12648-503: The former believing Soviet leader Stalin to be a "devil"-like tyrant leading a vile system. When warned of potential domination by a Stalin dictatorship over part of Europe, Roosevelt responded with a statement summarizing his rationale for relations with Stalin: "I just have a hunch that Stalin is not that kind of a man. ... I think that if I give him everything I possibly can and ask for nothing from him in return, noblesse oblige, he won't try to annex anything and will work with me for

12784-823: 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

12920-570: The future structure of the "Polish region". Soviet authorities immediately started a campaign of sovietization of the newly Soviet-annexed areas . Soviet authorities collectivized agriculture, and nationalized and redistributed private and state-owned Polish property. Initial Soviet occupations of the Baltic countries had occurred in mid-June 1940, when Soviet NKVD troops raided border posts in Lithuania , Estonia and Latvia , followed by

13056-419: 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

13192-419: The late 1980s, Eastern Bloc radio and television organizations were state-owned, while print media was usually owned by political organizations, mostly by the local communist party. Youth newspapers and magazines were owned by youth organizations affiliated with communist parties. The control of the media was exercised directly by the communist party itself, and by state censorship, which was also controlled by

13328-567: The liquidation of state administrations and replacement by Soviet cadres. Elections for parliament and other offices were held with single candidates listed and the official results fabricated, purporting pro-Soviet candidates' approval by 92.8 percent of the voters in Estonia, 97.6 percent in Latvia, and 99.2 percent in Lithuania. The fraudulently installed "people's assemblies" immediately declared each of

13464-727: 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

13600-541: The parties entered into an interim peace treaty granting the Soviet Union a portion of the eastern region of Karelia (10% of Finnish territory), and the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic was established by merging the ceded territories with the KASSR . After a June 1940 Soviet Ultimatum demanding Bessarabia, Bukovina , and the Hertsa region from Romania, the Soviets entered these areas, Romania caved to Soviet demands and

13736-525: The party. Media served as an important form of control over information and society. The dissemination and portrayal of knowledge were considered by authorities to be vital to communism's survival by stifling alternative concepts and critiques. Several state Communist Party newspapers were published, including: The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) served as the central agency for collection and distribution of internal and international news for all Soviet newspapers, radio and television stations. It

13872-517: The potential Soviet annexation and control of countries in Central Europe. There were various Allied plans for state order in Central Europe for post-war. While Joseph Stalin tried to get as many states under Soviet control as possible, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill preferred a Central European Danube Confederation to counter these countries against Germany and Russia. Churchill's Soviet policy regarding Central Europe differed vastly from that of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt , with

14008-579: The power of the local Communist elites. The port city of Trieste was a particular focus after the Second World War. Until the break between Tito and Stalin, the Western powers and the Eastern bloc faced each other uncompromisingly. The neutral buffer state Free Territory of Trieste , founded in 1947 with the United Nations, was split up and dissolved in 1954 and 1975, also because of the détente between

14144-401: The primary method of Communist rule shifted from mass terror to selective repression, along with ideological and sociopolitical strategies of legitimation and the securing of loyalty. Juries were replaced by a tribunal of professional judges and two lay assessors that were dependable party actors. The police deterred and contained opposition to party directives. The political police served as

14280-516: The prior appearance of democratic institutions. When it appeared that, in spite of heavy pressure, non-communist parties might receive in excess of 40% of the vote in the August 1947 Hungarian elections , repressions were instituted to liquidate any independent political forces. In that same month, annihilation of the opposition in Bulgaria began on the basis of continuing instructions by Soviet cadres. At

14416-440: 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

14552-897: 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

14688-563: 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

14824-504: 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

14960-583: The sharp 1953 increase was fear of potential further Sovietization with the increasingly paranoid actions of Joseph Stalin in late 1952 and early 1953. 226,000 had fled in just the first six months of 1953. With the closing of the Inner German border officially in 1952, the Berlin city sector borders remained considerably more accessible than the rest of the border because of their administration by all four occupying powers. Accordingly, it effectively comprised

15096-457: 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

15232-452: The states forming the Warsaw Pact (1955–1991) and Mongolia (1924–1991), which are no longer communist states. Sometimes they are more generally referred to as "the countries of Eastern Europe under communism", excluding Mongolia, but including Yugoslavia and Albania which had both split with the Soviet Union by the 1960s. Even though Yugoslavia was a socialist country, it was not

15368-413: The substitution of autonomous law. Initially, communist parties were small in all countries except Czechoslovakia, such that there existed an acute shortage of politically "trustworthy" persons for administration, police, and other professions. Thus, "politically unreliable" non-communists initially had to fill such roles. Those not obedient to communist authorities were ousted, while Moscow cadres started

15504-446: The three corresponding countries to be "Soviet Socialist Republics" and requested their "admission into Stalin 's Soviet Union". This formally resulted in the Soviet Union's annexation of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in August 1940. The international community condemned this annexation of the three Baltic countries and deemed it illegal. In 1939, the Soviet Union unsuccessfully attempted an invasion of Finland , subsequent to which

15640-498: 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

15776-442: The vestiges of democratic institutions were never entirely destroyed, resulting in the façade of Western style institutions such as parliaments, which effectively just rubber-stamped decisions made by rulers, and constitutions, to which adherence by authorities was limited or non-existent. Parliaments were still elected, but their meetings occurred only a few days per year, only to legitimize politburo decisions, and so little attention

15912-611: The work of the company, collaborating with the Xinmin theatre company, led by Zheng Zhengqiu and Zhang Shichuan . The company was dissolved in 1914, when the First World War caused a shortage of film stock . Brosky went on to co-found, with Li Minwei , Hong Kong's first film studio, Huamei (Chinese-American), in 1913, which made a single film, Zhuangzi Tests His Wife . Brodsky left China in 1917 and briefly worked in Japan before returning to

16048-477: Was Albania , where leader Enver Hoxha immediately changed course from favoring Yugoslavia to opposing it. In Poland , leader Władysław Gomułka , who had previously made pro-Yugoslav statements, was deposed as party secretary-general in early September 1948 and subsequently jailed. In Bulgaria , when it appeared that Traicho Kostov, who was not a Moscow cadre, was next in line for leadership, in June 1949, Stalin ordered Kostov's arrest, followed soon thereafter by

16184-594: 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

16320-623: Was added in a second secret protocol in September 1939. The Soviet Union had invaded the portions of eastern Poland assigned to it by the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact two weeks after the German invasion of western Poland, followed by co-ordination with German forces in Poland. During the Occupation of East Poland by the Soviet Union , the Soviets liquidated the Polish state, and a German-Soviet meeting addressed

16456-408: 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

16592-699: 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

16728-612: Was caused, in part, by early local elections of October 1946 in which the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) was rejected in favor of the Social Democratic Party, which had gained two and a half times more votes than the SED. The United States, Britain, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several other countries began a massive "Berlin airlift", supplying West Berlin with food and other supplies. The Soviets mounted

16864-421: Was convinced by Churchill and Roosevelt not to dismember Germany. Stalin stated that the Soviet Union would keep the territory of eastern Poland they had already taken via invasion in 1939 with some exceptions , and wanted a pro-Soviet Polish government in power in what would remain of Poland. After resistance by Churchill and Roosevelt, Stalin promised a re-organization of the current pro-Soviet government on

17000-511: Was eager to accept the US aid; the Polish government had a similar attitude, and this was of great concern to the Soviets. In one of the clearest signs of Soviet control over the region up to that point, the Czechoslovakian foreign minister, Jan Masaryk , was summoned to Moscow and berated by Stalin for considering joining the Marshall Plan. Polish Prime minister Józef Cyrankiewicz was rewarded for

17136-511: Was effectively halted in the early 1950s, with the Soviet approach to controlling national movement emulated by most of the rest of the Eastern Bloc. However, in East Germany , taking advantage of the Inner German border between occupied zones, hundreds of thousands fled to West Germany, with figures totaling 197,000 in 1950, 165,000 in 1951, 182,000 in 1952 and 331,000 in 1953. One reason for

17272-444: Was effectively impossible. This later included internal passport controls , which when combined with individual city Propiska ("place of residence") permits, and internal freedom of movement restrictions often called the 101st kilometre , greatly restricted mobility within even small areas of the Soviet Union. After the creation of the Eastern Bloc, emigration out of the newly occupied countries, except under limited circumstances,

17408-472: 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

17544-568: Was frequently infiltrated by Soviet intelligence and security agencies, such as the NKVD and GRU . TASS had affiliates in 14 Soviet republics, including the Lithuanian SSR , Latvian SSR , Estonian SSR , Moldavian SSR . Ukrainian SSR and Byelorussian SSR . Western countries invested heavily in powerful transmitters which enabled services such as the BBC , VOA and Radio Free Europe (RFE) to be heard in

17680-666: 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

17816-436: Was often called the " Second World ", whereas the term " First World " referred to the Western Bloc and " Third World " referred to the non-aligned countries that were mainly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America but notably also included former pre-1948 Soviet ally Yugoslavia , which was located in Europe. In Western Europe , the term Eastern Bloc generally referred to the USSR and Central and Eastern European countries in

17952-416: Was often used interchangeably with the term Second World . This broadest usage of the term would include not only Maoist China and Cambodia , but also short-lived Soviet satellites such as the Second East Turkestan Republic (1944–1949), the People's Republic of Azerbaijan (1945–1946) and the Republic of Mahabad (1946), as well as the Marxist–Leninist states straddling the Second and Third Worlds before

18088-460: Was paid to them that some of those serving were actually dead, and officials would openly state that they would seat members who had lost elections. The first or General Secretary of the central committee in each communist party was the most powerful figure in each regime. The party over which the politburo held sway was not a mass party but, conforming with Leninist tradition, a smaller selective party of between three and fourteen percent of

18224-408: 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

18360-460: 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

18496-491: 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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