BRIEF HISTORY:

China is the oldest continuous civilization in the world with a rich and diverse cultural tradition. By contrast,
Shanghai is a young city, with much of its development having only occurred in the last century. Unlike other
Chinese cities, it has absorbed many foreign influences, making it an unusually cosmopolitan place in a
relatively poor country. Its various nicknames – “Paris of the East”; “Pearl of the Orient” – only adds to its
mystique.
A street in Shanghai in the late 1800s.
The famous Bund along the Huangpu River.
Many Western nations have long found Shanghai an appealing place. Its strategic position at the mouth of the
Pearl River, which stretches into the heart of China and spills into the South China Sea, made it a particularly
important site for such sea faring nations as Great Britain, France and Japan. Shanghai’s development started
in the mid-1800s, after China’s defeat in the Opium Wars. China was forced to concede Hong Kong to the
British and open the ports of Qingdao and Shanghai to international trade. While the rest of China plunged into
a period of turmoil, with rebellions and the beginnings of a revolution, Shanghai continued to attract traders,
merchants, businessmen and other opportunists from around the globe. By the 1920s, Shanghai was famous
for its intoxicating mix of cultures: Russian refugees, Jewish merchants, jazz clubs, British diplomats – it
became the prime destination for the rich and glamorous.

But Shanghai also had its seedy and shameful side. Prostitution was rampant, as was drug smuggling and
gang wars. While it was paradise for Westerners and rich Chinese, common Chinese citizens were relegated
to a small section of the city, where they lived in poverty and needed “passports” to travel to other parts of the
city. The entrance of the current Huangpu Park never bore the sign “No dogs or Chinese allowed,” but the park
was indeed restricted to most Chinese. Still, many Chinese from the rest of the country could not resist the lure
of the city, including young idealistic intellectuals who found refuge in the city and formed the Chinese
Communist Party in 1921.

It was these young Communist leaders who led their party to defeat the Nationalists in a civil war that lasted
throughout World War II. In 1949, the Nationalist were driven out to the island of Formosa (Taiwan) off the coast
of Fuzhou and the People’s Republic of China was formed. China closed its ports, shutting itself from the rest
of the world and plunging herself into one of the darkest periods in her history.

Today, the landscape of China has changed dramatically from the days of the Cultural Revolution, and from the
early 1990s, there were signs that China, and Shanghai in particular, would return to its former glory. On the
surface, it would seem that modern day Shanghai is interchangeable with its glory days in the early half of the
twentieth century: it is the center of commerce in China, with foreigners and Chinese alike flocking to the city to
experience the intoxicating growth and seemingly endless opportunities. It boasts an impressive cultural
diversity, as well as (unfortunately) a booming prostitution industry. The big difference from then and now is that
foreigners are only supporting players while Mainland and overseas Chinese play major roles.


Written by Xhingyu Chen December 2005.
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