Brief History of Shanghai and Its Neighborhood

2. Brief History of Shanghai and Its Neighborhood Basic facts of Shanghai: Area: 6340.5 Square km, 0.06% of China Population (2010): 22.20millionincluding 14.12 million permanent residents GDP : (2009) 1.4900 trillion Yuan RMB (2010) 1.6872 trillion Yuan RMB, an increase of 9.9%。 (2010) National GDP 39.7 Trillion Yuan RMB (6.04 trillion US$ National average increase 8.7% (2010) National GDP per capita: $4,394 USD; purchasing power parity: $7,539 USD（IMF Statistics）

4. Primary industry: 11.415billion Yuan (2010) an decrease of 6.6% over the previous year Secondary industry: 713.9billion Yuan (2010) an increase of 16.8% Third industry: 961.831 billion Yuan (2010) an increase of 5% accounting for 57.01%of the total . 59.4% (2009)

5. Jiangsu Province: • Area: 102,600 square km • Population: (2010) 78.65 million • GDP: (2010) 4.0903 Trillion Yuan RMB, an increase of 13.5%，GDP per capita $ 7700 US. • Zhejiang Province: • Area: 101,800 square km • Population: (2010) 54.42 million • GDP: (2010) 2.7100Trillion Yuan RMB, an increase of 11.8 %.

6. Taiwan: Population: 23.16 million • 2010 GDP $430.45 billion USD , 2.7976 Trillion Yuan RMB • GDP per capita: $ 18,603 USD • 2010年 GDP per capita USD • Macau 49745 • Hongkong 31591 • Taiwan 18458 • Shanghai 10957 Jiangsu 7683 • Zhejiang 7394

28. Shanghai was a primitive village 6,000 years ago. • The city is called in Chinese “Hu” (沪) for short and “Shen”(申) as a nickname. About 6,000 years ago, the western part of today's Shanghai dried up into land and its eastern part became a piece of land about 2,000 years ago.

29. During the Spring-Autumn and Warring States Periods (770-221 BC), this area was once the fief of Huang Xie, the Chun Shen Governor of the State of Chu. So, “申”(Shen) comes from the title of the governor. • During the Jin Dynasty (4th-5th centuries), fishermen living along the Songjiang River (today‘s Suzhou Creek) and the coast of the East China Sea created a fishing tool called (扈 ).

30. By combining the name of the fishing tool and the then term for estuary of big rivers(渎 ), they coined a Chinese character "Hu" (沪) to name the place as it sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the longest river in China.

31. Although neighboring cities like Nanjing, Suzhou, and Hangzhow figure spaciously in the chronicles of ancient China, Shanghai is very rarely mentioned. It undoubtedly formed part of the Kingdom of Wu (B.C. 513), a great feudal state that embraced the modern province of Jiangsu, in which Shanghai is situated, but its connection is not recorded.

32. The earliest reference to what is now Shanghai is placed at approximately B.C. 200, when it was called "liu-tuh" and known as a fishing station. • Huating (华亭)County was established in 710 AD in the western part of Shanghai. • The name 上海 (Shanghai) first appeared in 1077 AD on the store name of a winery in what is today the Nanshi district of Shanghai. Its name literally meaning ‘by the sea'.

33. Shanghai County was set up in 1291, with its county seat near the Huangpu River. • The city’s ancestors obtained their goods by plowing in the spring and harvesting in the autumn and developed agriculture and trade by shipping through the river and sea.

34. After the middle of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1662-1722) in the Qing Dynasty, the ban on maritime trade and intercourse with foreign countries was gradually lifted, thus enabling Shanghai’s geographical advantage in controlling both the river and the sea to be brought into full play.

35. After Kangxi’s reign) Shanghai developed into a prosperous town and became known as the “Great Town in the Southeast”. • The cotton textile industry and large junk transportation became Shanghai’s main business. • The old city housed a prosperous commercial centre with a developed culture. As the old saying goes “一城烟火半东南”(half of southeastern China was illuminated with the fire works set off in Shanghai).

36. Until 1842, China and Britain remained in bitter conflict, as Britain smuggled opium into China. While Britain made a financial killing, thousands of Chinese became addicted---leading to social decay and degradation, much to the concern of the Qing Dynasty rulers. • China responded by dumping British opium into the sea near Hong Kong, which subsequently set off two opium wars between the two nations. At the conclusion, a humiliated China admitted defeat to the better-equipped British armies.

37. As part of Britain's terms, China gave up its sovereignty to Hong Kong and other advantageous treaty ports--Shanghai being one of them. • Other Western powers soon joined Britain to lay claim on the precious land. • After the war, Britain declared Shanghai a treaty port, and the sleepy village suddenly transformed into a city with many foreign influences.

38. The British, the French and the Americans took up autonomous concession zones in the city, each of which was independent of Chinese law. • All three brought their own colonial influences to the city, which can still be seen today in the European architecture of the buildings on The Bund and in the Old French Concession area.

39. Huaihai Road used to be the French Concession area is now a chic section of the city and a famous shopping street. It is home of numerous brand name shops, cafes and boutiques. Many of the old buildings are unfortunately being torn down in favor of glossy department stores and high-rises.

44. Asia Building (No. 1, The Bund), originally the McBain Building, housed the Shanghai offices of Royal Dutch Shell and Asiatic Petroleum Company. • Shanghai Club (No. 2, The Bund), which was the principal social club for British nationals in Shanghai. • Union Building (No. 3, The Bund), housed a number of insurance companies.

45. The Mercantile Bank of India, London, and China Building (No. 4, The Bund), housed the Mercantile Bank of India, London and China, built between 1916-1918. • Nissin Building (No. 5, The Bund), housed a Japanese shipping company. • China Merchants Bank Building (No. 6, The Bund), housed the first Chinese-owned bank in China.

46. The Great Northern Telegraph Corporation Building (No. 7, The Bund), housed The Great Northern Telegraph Company. Site of the first telephone switch in Shanghai in 1882. • Russel & Co. Building (No. 9, The Bund), now houses the China Shipping Merchant Company.

47. The HSBC Building (No. 12, The Bund), now used by the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, was once the Shanghai headquarters of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which failed to reach a deal with the Shanghai government to buy the building again in the 1990s, when the Shanghai government moved out of the building that they had used since the 1950s.

48. The present building was completed in 1923. At the time, it was called "the most luxurious building between the Suez Canal and the Bering Strait". Its famous ceiling mosaics have been fully restored, and can be viewed inside the entrance hall.

49. The Customs House (No. 13, The Bund), was built in 1927 on the site of an earlier, traditional Chinese-style customs house. The clock and bell was built in England and in imitation of Big Ben.

50. Fifty-two buildings lining the narrow shoreline of the Huangpu River offer a living exhibition of Gothic, Baroque, Roman, Classic Revival and Renaissance architectural styles, as well as combinations of Chinese and Western styles. • They are also a condensation of the recent history of the city.