Shanghai and the Yangtze, 1989. Image to of two. Shanghai, visible as a grey conurbation towards the bottom left, is one of the largest cities in the world and has grown to be the world's busiest port. The Yangtze river drains much of China, carrying sediment and silt over 6000 kilometres from the remote, westerly highland regions of China until it reaches the East China Sea, just above Shanghai. During the 1990s, Shanghai was declared a Special Economic Development Zone and saw huge investment and development. The subsequent effects upon the environment are visible when comparing a satellite image from 2001 (see image E780/1231). There was a greater distribution of vegetation (green) and less sediment deposition prior to the development of the area. Photographed by NASA's Landsat 5 satellite.