Shaghai was a sleepy village until it became a major port of entry for European Trade in the 19th Century. During the 1930's and 1940's, Shanghai was home to a large Jewish Community, many of whom had fled the Nazi's in Germany; they came to Shanghai since this was the only place they that would take them in. Most left in 1947 to go to the United States, which would not take them in before the War, or Israel. Modern Shanghai is a study in contrasts, high-rise builidngs and a fast-paced society co-existing with a world of push carts, bicycle traffic, and back alleys.