Shanghai History

Discover the history of Shanghai from the first prehistoric remains found to the modern city it is today.
During the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), there was a small village, and during the Tang period (618-907), there was a village called Quilong in the area. It was not until 1297 that, because of the importance of its cotton textile industry, it officially became a city.
In 1553, during the Ming Dynasty, the small town was fortified to prevent the attack of Japanese pirates. With the construction of the Shanghai walls, Shanghai really achieved the status of a city.

The arrival of Westerners and opium

The history of Shanghai could be said to begin with the arrival of the Westerners and a substance introduced by them that would change the history of all China: opium. It was mainly the English who spread the consumption of opium among the Chinese who were growing it in India. The opium trade was to be the cause of two wars, the consequences of which marked the personality of Shanghai.

In the first Opium War (1839-1842), the English, after defeating the Chinese, managed to make Shanghai a free city for international trade. In the second war (1856-1860), the English, supported by the French, defeated the Chinese again and the city of Shanghai became administered by the Westerners. Shanghai was divided between the Western powers, the English, the French and the Americans, who were joined by the Japanese after the first Sino-Japanese war in 1894-95.

The Chinese in Shanghai did not take a dim view of the power of foreign powers, as their living conditions in the city were far superior to those in the rest of China. The Western era is that of the legendary Shanghai. The city was filled with western buildings changing its physiognomy and became the biggest and richest city in China.

From the mythical Shanghai to the present

Its strategic location, the opium, silk and tea trade, made Shanghai the largest industrial and commercial centre in China. But at the same time, exploitation, vice, gambling and prostitution were rampant, contributing to the novel and adventurous image of Shanghai, becoming the goal of all the world's hustlers.

The discontent of the popular classes was the breeding ground for a movement against foreigners and against the Qing dynasty itself, which was of Manchu origin and was always considered a foreigner, even after three centuries in power.
In 1900 the Boxer Revolt broke out in Beijing. In 1902, the Recovery Society was founded in Shanghai with the aim of expelling foreigners and the Qing dynasty itself.
In 1921 the Chinese Communist Party was founded in Shanghai.
In 1927 the revolutionary movement was crushed by Chang Kai-shek's troops.
In 1937 Shanghai was taken over by the Japanese, who controlled it until the end of World War II in 1945. During the war it was a refuge for thousands of Europeans, including many Jews.
In 1949 the communists came to power and Shanghai did not lose its cultural, political and economic prominence within China.
Since then, it has only grown in all respects, and when we talk about the Chinese economic miracle, we are largely referring to Shanghai. So much so that important cities have not hesitated to twin with Shanghai, as is the case with Chicago, London, Barcelona and Oslo, among others.
Its economic and political strength is so evident within China that it has even aroused the misgivings of Beijing itself.