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Living in Shanghai •
Shanghai life
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Shanghai!
- Chinese Customs -
Traditional Festivals -
Surrounding Landscape
Shanghai
has a long history.
5,000
years ago during the period of Songze Culture, Shanghai took the shape of
a plain in Yangtse River Delta, ancestors had left their footprints here.
During
the Spring-Autumn Period (770 BC), Shanghai belonged to Wu State. While
Warring States (475 BC), Shanghai first belonged to Yue State, then to the
Chu State. King Lie of Chu State appointed Huang Xie as his prime minister
and bestowed him the title of Lord Chunshen. Shanghai was part of his
feoff. The old name of Shanghai "Shen" was derived from this.
Shanghai
has another name "Hu", which came from "Hu Du".
Ancient fishermen in Shanghai invented a bamboo fishing device called
"Hu". ("Du" in Chinese means "creek").
This area was called "Hu Du" before it became know as Shanghai.
The
name "Shanghai" actually came during Song Dynasty (960-1276),
when Shanghai was then becoming a new rising trade port. The mother river
Huangpu River (across Shanghai into Yangtse River) has 18 creeks, one was
called "Shanghai Creek" - near the Bund, thus the town nearby
was Shanghai Town. Later this whole area is named "Shanghai".
During
the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Shanghai Town had greatly developed and set
up a shipping administration. Later on, the town was promoted to a county,
which consisted of today's urban areas, and other 4 counties of Shanghai,
Qingpi, Nanhui, and Chuansha.
By
the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Shanghai became to be China's largest
textile center and business was developing fast. Then the 24th year of
Qing Emperor Kangxi's reign (1685), the Qing Government set up customs
in Shanghai. During the reigns of Qing Emperor Qianlong and Jiaqing,
Shanghai gradually became China's major trading port and water
transportation center for gains. It was known as " A place accessible
by sea and river, a capital in the southeast".
In
1843, after the Opium War, Shanghai was forced to become an open port by
the colonialists. In 1845, Britain first set up its concession in
Shanghai. In 1848, the United State set up its concession, then followed
by France in 1849. In 1863, the British and American concessions
amalgamated into the International Settlement. Shanghai was actually
partitioned into Chinese Section, the International Settlement and the
French Concession. In the 100 years since 1843, Shanghai had become an
important port for the foreign colonialists to dump their goods, raw
materials and money. Shanghai was thus known as "A paradise of the
Adventurers".
On
July 7, 1927, Shanghai was proclaimed as a special municipality. In 1945,
after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the concessions were
reclaimed. On May 27, 1949, Shanghai was really liberated.
Through
the continual and long-term reform and construction by the successive
municipal governments and the people, Shanghai has become an important
industrial and commercial base in new China. Today, Shanghai has been
developing to be the center of economy, finance, science and technology,
information and culture, an international modernized metropolis in China,
even in Asia next.
Today,
Shanghai's developing step is getting faster, it changes everyday.
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