The history of the population of modern Shanghai makes for a fascinating story. In absolute figures, the city grew from about a quarter of a million inhabitants on the eve of its opening to foreign trade in 1842 to more than five million in 1949. Yet figures do not tell all. The population did not just increase. Its composition changed radically as the city developed into a powerful magnet for people in search of jobs, opportunities, pleasure or even adventure. For centuries Shanghai had been a harbour city that hosted various communities of sojourners — mostly merchants and seamen from Fujian and Guangdong. After 1842 it grew into a city of sojourners, people who made Shanghai their “temporary home”, their safe haven in times of crisis, even if many eventually spent most of their lives in the city or settled in it for good. While the Chinese formed the vast majority of this population of sojourners, increasing numbers of foreigners initially British, French, Americans, and later Japanese — also flocked in from all over the planet. From a mid-sized transhipment hub at the periphery of the Jiangnan region, Shanghai bloomed into China’s first international metropolis.