Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper by population in the world.It is one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of China, with a total population of near 24 million as of 2013. It is a global financial center, and a transport hub with the world's busiest container port. Located in the Yangtze River Delta in East China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast.