Shamian street, Liwan District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

Shamian Island

Shamian street is a street under the jurisdiction of Liwan District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China. The administrative area under its jurisdiction is a man-made island on the Pearl River, which is called Shamian island for short. Shamian island is located on the opposite bank of 623 Road, in the north of white goose pond, across from the mainland of Guangzhou, with an area of about 0.3 square kilometers. It is the seat of the two consulates in Guangzhou and the main activity area of foreigners in Guangzhou. Shamian Street governs Cuizhou and Etan communities. Shamian Street office is located at 8 Shamian street.

history

Shamian island used to be a concession between Britain and France in history. Before and after the second Opium War in 1860s, Britain and France chose this small sandbank in the Pearl River (quite close to the only foreign trade zone in China during the closed door period of the Qing Dynasty - "Guangdong ShiSanHang") as the concession address, built it into an island, and signed a lease in 1861. Three quarters of the western part of the island is divided into the British concession of Guangzhou, about 264 mu, and one quarter of the eastern part is divided into the French concession of Guangzhou, about 66 mu. Each bridge connects with the Chinese mainland.

In the next half century, Britain and France gained many privileges on Shamian island. A large number of government agencies and enterprises moved in. The main consulates, political and financial organizations were established here, and unfair treatment was given to the Chinese nearby for a long time. Therefore, Shamian island became a protest and attack by the national liberation movement of China and even nearby countries Hit the target. For example, in the 1920s, many anti colonial processions took place in Guangzhou, and the bombing of the French Consulate in Shamian by Pham Hong Thai, a Vietnamese revolutionary, and so on.

In 1942, Japan handed over the British concession in Shamian occupied after the declaration of war to the pro Japanese Wang Jingwei regime. In 1943, the Vichy regime withdrew from the French Concession and handed over to Wang Jingwei regime. In the same year, the Chongqing national government, which insisted on resisting Japan, contracted with Britain to take back the British concession. After the end of World War II, the newly established Charles de Gaulle government of France officially announced the return of the French concession to the Republic of China. In 1996, the building complex in Shamian was designated as a national key cultural relic protection unit. In 1997, the State Council listed Shamian as a national cultural relic reserve.

present situation

Shamian is a famous tourist area, scenic spot and leisure resort in Guangzhou. It is also the location of White Swan Hotel. There are more than 150 ancient trees on the island. The air is fresh and the environment is clean. It can be called the paradise of Guangzhou. In terms of architecture, most of them were built at the end of the 19th century with western style. They are basically cultural relics. Traditionally, Shamian is a concentrated area for consulates of various countries in Guangzhou. Although many consulates have moved to different parts of the city, there are still polish and American consulates in Guangzhou on the island (the US Consulate General will move to Zhujiang New Town in 2012). In addition, Shamian is a tourist attraction and has built five-star hotels. Therefore, many foreigners often linger here.