Shanghai Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Shanghai - Essay Example The city’s economic history began in the thirteenth century through cotton manufacturing and production. The production of Cotton and textile were the city’s economic backbone of city’s economy through to the nineteenth century. The economic development of Shanghai continued to grow after the construction of dikes, canals, and real estate development by private investors during the Song Dynasty. The city would have developed earlier in the fifteenth century, but the Ming Dynasty placed restrictions on trade in efforts to guard the city against Wokou. The dynasty was also responsible for the construction of the city’s wall. Part of the reasons that were encouraging rapid grow in Shanghai was the inclusion of the city as a treaty port in the Treaty of Nanjing of 1842. Around mid nineteenth century, the city of Shanghai was an established regional trade point, which attracted the Great Britain’s interest in the land. After victory in the First opium wa r, Britain began efforts to acquire land in the region, managing to obtain both trading rights and 140 acres on the riverbank to the north of the Chinese city. France and America were the next invaders around the city, with France settling in the western part of the town (later called the French Concession), and the American establishing themselves to the north of Suzhou Creek in 1863 (combining with the British settlement to be the International Settlement). These foreign communities were trading on opium in exchange to the goods they had come with. They had their own rules apart from the Chinese. During the Taiping uprising between 1850 and 1864, the international communities stepped in to contain the revolt throughout the city and the entire country. Their interest was Shanghai’s fortune, and this led to further development of the city’s infrastructure, including buildings in the foreigners’ style, telephones in 1881, electricity the year that followed, and r unning water in 1884. Shanghai defeat in the Sino-Japanese War was a leading factor for the establishment of the 1895 Japanese Concession, with manufacturing rights. Soon, the city had a diverse set of foreigners, from the White Russians to the Iraqi Jews (O’Sullivan, 2008). In accordance with the theory of existence and origin of cities, Shanghai developed from a self-sufficient household to innovative development by the foreign settlers. The influx of diverse communities decorated the city, making it a cosmopolitan location in China. It is set to eclipse its rival Hong Kong in the near future. Growth The growth of Shanghai was slow in the Ming Dynasty due to the trade restrictions. It began re-establishing inter-state trade in the Song Dynasty, and that is when it began to grow and develop rapidly. The major growth factor of Shanghai was its strategic position in the Grand Canal and the intersection of the East China Sea, as well as the Yangzi confluence (O’Sullivan, 2008). This was a good exposure point for development of a trade center, considering that at the time, the main means of long-distance travel was water transport. Another important growth aspect was the incorporation of the city as a treaty port with four other cities, including Xiamen, Fuzhou, Linbou, and Canton. The treaty ports were part of the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing between the Great Britain and China. The treaty permitted