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SUMMARY:The urban formation process of China’s treaty ports\, 1840s-1940
 s: Case studies of Shanghai and Tianjin - Dr. Yunlian Chen (Wolfson Colleg
 e\, Cambridge)
DTSTART:20140308T140000Z
DTEND:20140308T150000Z
UID:TALK50896@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:31357
DESCRIPTION:This paper aims to explore the process of urban formation in C
 hina’s treaty ports. In order to do so\, it examines the urban developme
 nt conducted by British and Japanese authorities from the 1840s to the 194
 0s in Shanghai and Tianjin. Most architectural historians both in China an
 d abroad place a lot of emphasis on the iconic architecture built in the f
 ormer treaty ports\, while little attention has been paid to urban infrast
 ructure. In addition to this\, many historians\, especially in Britain and
  Japan\, try to describe the history of treaty ports in China as a part of
  British or Japanese colonial history. As such\, most of them have focused
  on their own countries’ colonial policy or the individuals who were bas
 ed in China at that time\, while less attention has been paid to how treat
 y ports developed from their original form to modern foreign settlements.\
 n\nIn fact\, when many British merchants first came to Shanghai in the 184
 0s and Tianjin in the 1860s\, they had to discuss with Qing Chinese govern
 ors to decide what kind of settlements or concessions they could build out
 side the Chinese Walled Cities. Meanwhile\, the British had to lease lands
  from Chinese landowners or villagers to build their own Hongs (commercial
  buildings) and residences individually. The intentions of these individua
 l British merchants affected the shape and structure of the British settle
 ments. It was the starting point of the urban development of the former tr
 eaty ports in China.\n\nFifty years after the British opened the first tre
 aty port\, the Japanese also advanced into China after winning the first S
 ino-Japanese war in 1894. The Japanese government was very keen to establi
 sh Japanese concessions in the treaty ports\, but they were confronted wit
 h opposition from British authorities and merchants\, who enjoyed extremel
 y strong political and economical advantages in China at that time. In ord
 er to gain their own land and harbor facilities\, the Japanese had to nego
 tiate with the British authorities prior to negotiating with Qing governor
 s. Thus\, the international negotiations between British and Japanese beca
 me one of the important driving forces of the urban development in China
 ’s treaty ports from the 1890s.\n\nBy exploring the above two points\, t
 his paper will provide not only a new perspective of the urban formation p
 rocess of the China’s treaty ports from the 1840s to the 1940s\, but als
 o demonstrate how political intentions and inter-communal dynamics affecte
 d the spatial character of foreign settlements.\n\nNumerous cities in cont
 emporary China\, including Shanghai\, Tianjin\, Wuhan\, Canton\, Amoy\, al
 l developed on the basis of former treaty ports\, however\, due to the rap
 id pace of urban redevelopment and regeneration\, many historic buildings 
 are now being demolished before they can be adequately recorded by archite
 ctural and urban historians. This project aims to analyze the character of
  historic architecture and urban infrastructure of the former treaty ports
  before they have been removed from these cities. In addition to broad arc
 hival researches on the urban planning of Shanghai and Tianjin’s foreign
  settlements in Japan\, China\, America and the UK\, this research project
  also analyzes the remaining traces of treaty port architecture and infras
 tructure in order to provide new understanding of the pattern of urban dev
 elopment from the 1840s to today.
LOCATION:Keynes Hall\, King's College\, Cambridge
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