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