Thessaloniki is the largest harbor in the north part of Greece and the second largest city of the country. Thessaloniki lies on the northern fringe of the Thermaic Gulf on its eastern coast and is bound by Mount Chortiatis on its southeast. The shape of the whole city looks like a horseshoe. It covers an area of 17.8 square kilometers. Its population is about 0.41 million and approximately 0.8 million if the residents living in its rural area are included. It is a very important city in the north part of Greece and is the capital of Greek Macedonia and Thessaloniki state. It's the second largest economy and culture center, and the key traffic route of south-east Europe. Shenyang established sister city relationship with Thessaloniki on July 30, 2005.It's the 12th sister city of Shenyang.