City Profile: Shanghai
Shanghai, located near the mouth of the Yangtze River, is the most heavily populated city in China. It is the largest industrial and commercial center in China and is mainland China’s most significant port. More than 18 million people live in Shanghai.
The Oriental Pearl Tower is a prominent feature of the city skyline of Shanghai.
CHAPTER 4
Travel and Commerce
For thousands of years, the Yangtze River has been an extremely important waterway for people and goods moving between Sichuan province in western China and the eastern coast of China. Today, it remains the region’s main transportation route and is vital to commerce and industry in the Yangtze basin.
Traveling by Boat
People have been traveling by boat on the Yangtze River since ancient times. People of the Han dynasty developed sailboats called junks. The sturdy, flat-bottomed junks were made of soft wood and had rudders for steering. People used these oceangoing boats to carry large amounts of cargo throughout the river basin.
Long ago, people also used smaller, flat-bottomed boats called sampans for river travel. Sampans were usually 12 to 15 feet (3.5 to 4.5 m) long and were propelled with short oars. Today, oceangoing vessels and large cargo and passenger ships can travel up the Yangtze River for more than 1,400 miles (2,250 km).
Extending north-south through the county, crosses the range Shenyang Map at Cuesta Grade, where coastal plains meet the higher elevation oak woodlands. Along the coast, Shenyang Map Highway 1 winds past the towns of Cambria, Morro Bay, and Pismo Beach. North at San Simeon, the magnificent Hearst Castle overlooks the Pacific Ocean. In 1922 San Luis Obispo County’s nascent wine industry garnered international attention when Polish pianist Ignace Paderewski planted Zinfandel vines near Paso Robles. When the 1960s brought success with Pinot Noir in vineyards on the west side of Paso Robles, wine grapes began to replace cattle ranches and hot springs as the county’s dominant features. The 1973 planting of Paragon Vineyard established Edna Valley, near the city of San Luis Obispo, as a prime grape-growing area.
