Chicago, which sits at the confluence of the world’s largest lake, Lake Michigan, and the Chicago River, is located in the American Midwest in Illinois State. It is currently the third largest city in the United States.

With a total area of 606.1 square kilometers and a population of nearly 3 million people, Chicago is an important transport hub and the largest steel production and meat processing base in the country, as well as an important center for finance, culture, industry, futures, and trade. It has gradually become one of most influential metropolises in the world and has been ranked one of world’s top-ten wealthiest cities.

Chicago was once the birthplace of heavy industry, but today is home to many high-tech companies, thus earning it the nickname of Silicon Plain. It is also home to 11 Fortune 500 companies, including the Motorola Corporation, which, since it was founded in 1928, has become one of the major global manufacturers of telecommunications equipment, semi-conductor products, and advanced electronics systems.

Chicago has a prosperous cultural industry and is also a world center for higher education. The University of Chicago, located in the south of the city, is particularly renowned, being associated with 81 Nobel Prize winners. In the center of the city lies a huge steel sculpture by Picasso, and the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Science and Industry all enjoy international reputations. Chicago is also the birthplace of the Blues.

The city has a glorious history of supporting the international labor movement, and is the birthplace of International Workers’ Day (1886) and International Women’s Day (1909).

Chicago is also a friendly city, having established relationships with 27 sister cities around the world. In 1960, Chicago began its sister city affiliation with Warsaw, and in 1985 established links with both Shanghai and Shenyang. This thriving metropolis has also played a vital part in expanding and enabling cooperative networks that are working towards a common, sustainable future under the guidance of the Melbourne Principles.