SHANGHAI & SHENYANG, CHINA Chicago’s Sister City Since 1985
Committee Co-Chair: Ray Chin and William Spence
ABOUT SHANGHAI – Fast Facts
Mayor: Han Zheng Country: China Country Location: Eastern Asia Country Population: Over 1 billion City Population: Over 14 million Geography: Situated along the eastern coast of China History: Shanghai has always been the country’s major seaport link with the West. It is the largest and most densely populated city in the world. The French arrived in 1847 and an International Settlement was established. The world’s greatest houses of finance and commerce operated in Shanghai in the 1930s. The city continues to grow, with new underground stations highways crisscrossing the city, the most modern stock exchange in the world, and a modern airport. Industry: Complex machinery, cellular phones, automobiles, textiles and foodstuffs Did You Know? Fuzhou Road, known as Shanghai’s “cultural street,” has more than 100 bookstores and publishing firms. The city’s 36 publishing companies released 9,928 different book titles in 1997. Eighty-seven newspapers and 587 journals are published locally. Flag Description: Red symbolizes the Communist Revolution, the large gold star represents Communism and the four smaller stars represent the four classes of people – peasants, workers, petty bourgeoisie, and patriotic capitalists.
ABOUT SHENYANG – Fast Facts
Mayor: Li Yingjie Committee Co-Chair: Ray Chin and William Spence Country: China Country Location: Eastern Asia Geography: Situated along the eastern coast of China
History: Shenyang is the capital of Liaoning province in northeastern China. Humans have inhabited Shenyang since 5,000 BC, and the present-day city was established circa 300 BC during the Warring States Period. From 1625 to 1644, Shenyang was the capital of the Manchus, who established the Qing Dynasty. Since 1949, the Chinese government has focused on turning Shenyang into a major industrial center.
Industry: Shenyang is the center of China’s aeronautics industry, and the city’s machine tool industry is known throughout the world. Other strong sectors include chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, building materials and industrial equipment.
Did You Know? Because of its status as a former capital, Shenyang contains many historical sites, parks and museums. Shenyang is also home to more than 20 colleges and universities, including China Medical University, Shenyang Polytechnic University, Northeastern University and Shenyang Architectural University.
PAST CHINA – CHICAGO PROGRAMS
1985
Focus: Sister Cities Signing Agreement
Chicago signed a sister cities agreement with Shenyang and a Friendship City agreement with Shanghai.
Mayor Richard M. Daley welcomed Vice Mayor Yang Yazhou of Shenyang, China, to Chicago on Tuesday, October 27. While in Chicago, Vice Mayor Yang met with the Chicago Department of Transportation, the Chicago Transit Authority, the Consulate and various companies.
The U.S. Department of State has awarded the CPS Office of Language and Culture Education (OLCE) $199,234 to implement a Chinese Summer Language Institute. This program falls under the Department of State’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), a critical component of a multi-agency Presidential Initiative to increase U.S. citizens’ capacity to engage [...]
The Confucius Institute of Chicago–established in a partnership between the Chicago Public Schools Office of Language and Cultural Education, Office of Chinese Language Council International in China, Walter Payton High School and Shanghai’s East Normal University, in collaboration with the China Committee of Chicago Sister Cities–will be awarded the “Confucius Institute of the Year 2008″. [...]
