Location

Shanghai is located on the East China coast. The north of Shanghai is the Yangtze River, the east of Shanghai is the East China Sea, the south of Shanghai is Hangzhou Bay and the west of Shanghai is Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Shanghai city is the largest city in China and it is the 8th largest city in the world. Shanghai alone has a population of 23 million people.Shanghai City is bisected into east and west by the Huangpu River which is the largest river in Shanghai.

The weather in Shanghai is generally mild and moist. Shanghai has four distinct seasons which are as follows:

a) Spring (March to May) - pleasant and warm

b) Summer (June to September) - hot and humid

c) Autumn (October to November) - very comfortable and cool weather

d) Winter (mid December to February) - cold and icy

History

Early Days

The history of Shanghai dates back into the 11^th century, when it was basically a fishing village. Gradually it developed to be a small market town with about 12,000 families in AD1074.

In the year 1127, the population of Shanghai increased to be 250,000 due to the influx of refugees when Kaifeng was captured.

Shanghai emerged as a major cotton producer and manufacturer in the 13^th century. As a result, Shanghai became one of the wealthiest regions. In the 1800 AD, Shanghai grew to be the largest city in China.

Shanghai became one of the most important sea ports in the Yangtze Delta region as result of two important central government policy changes. First, in 1684 Emperor Kangxi reversed the previous ban on the prohibition on ocean going vessel that had been in force since 1525 during the Ming Dynasty. Second, in 1732 Emperor Yongzheng moved the custom office for Jiangsu province from the prefectural capital of Songjiang city to Shanghai. Due to these changes, Shanghai became the major trade port for all of the lower Yangtze River region in 1735.

The international attention to Shanghai reached its height in the early parts of the 19^th century due to its economic and trade potential at the Yangtze River.

European contact and the First Opium War

The Nemesis destroying Chinese war junks during the Second Battle of Chuenpee, 7 January 1841.

The First Opium War in 1839 was initiated because the British were unhappy that they could not offload goods include opium from India on the Chinese market more easily.

Signing of the Treaty of Nanking.

The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, opening the treaty ports for international trade, which include Shanghai. The signing of Treaty of the Bogue (1843) and the Sino-American Treaty of Wanghia (1844) open doors for foreign nations to visit and trade on China soil. The Britain first set up its concession in Shanghai in 1845, followed by the United States in 1848. The France set up its concession in 1849. In 1863, the British and American concessions amalgamated into the International Settlement Shanghai. Shanghai was partitioned into three sections, that is the Chinese Section, the International Settlement and the French Concession, For the next 100 years, Shanghai become an important port for the foreign colonialists to dump their goods, raw materials and money. The city was known as “A paradise of the Adventurers”.

World Wars, invasion, and revolution

Taiping rebellion battle of the Yangtze.

In 1853, the city of Shanghai fell to the rebels of Small Swords Society but was recovered by the Qing in February 1855. In 1854, the Shanghai Municipal Council was created to manage the foreign settlement. Between 1860-1862, Shanghai was attacked twice by the Taiping rebels but failed to take the city. In 1863, the British and the American settlement joined to form the Shanghai International Settlement, while the French opted to maintain its own concession.

In the 1920s and 1930s, almost 20,000 White Russians and Russians Jews fled from the newly established Soviet Union and took up residence in Shanghai. In 1930s, some 30,000 Jewish refugees arrived from Europe.

First Sino-Japanese War, Japanese troops during the Sino-Japanese War.

Japan was elevated to become another foreign power in Shanghai after the Sino-Japanese War with the signing of Treaty of Shimonoseki. Japan built it first factory in Shanghai which were soon followed by other foreign powers. Shanghai become the most important financial center in the Far East was given the nickname “the Great Athens of China” because of the international activity.

On 28 January 1932, China was struck by the Japanese forces. As the result of the Battle of Shanghai in 1937, the Chinese administered parts of Shanghai outside of the International Settlement and French Concession was occupied by the Japanese. On 8 December 1941, the International Settlement was occupied by the Japanese until the surrender of Japan in 1945.

The People’s Liberation Army took control of Shanghai on 27 May 1949. After 1949, due to the Communist victory, an exodus of foreign investment took place with the move of foreign firms from Shanghai to Hong Kong. Under the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), the industry suffers until 1976 as hundreds of thousands of Shanghainese locals are sent to work in rural areas throughout China.

Shanghai became an industrial center and center for radical leftism during the 1950s and 1960s.

1976:

The advent of Deng Xiaopeng's open door policy allowed a commercial revival to take place in Shanghai.

Present:

Shanghai is growing into one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Asia with increasingly modern infrastructure and services. It is China's second largest city (after Chongqing) with a population of over 17 million. Dynamic and innovative, Shanghai is helping to drive China's developing economy.

Snippets of Shanghai Back in the Olden Days