A stroll in old Hongkou by Eric Politzer

RAS LECTURE

Tuesday 6^th April, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

InterfaceFLOR, Room 201 Raffles City, 268 Central Xizang Zhong lu, Shanghai

（Address in Chinese: 西藏中路268号来福士广场办公楼201室,英特飞）

ERIC POLITZER

A Stroll through Old Hongkou

Foreign settlement of the Hongkou district began in 1846, only a year after the first foreign buildings in the English Settlement were completed and inhabited. There was no agreement with Chinese officials for foreigners to reside in Hongkou; it "just happened.” Because of the early - and brief - location of the U.S. Consulate there (1847-1848), and the establishment of the U.S. Episcopal Church mission there in 1848, it early became known as the "American Settlement," although the U.S. government never claimed or accepted jurisdiction.In 1863, the U.S. Consul, G.F. Seward, arranged first with the Daotai to demarcate the area, and then with the Shanghai Municipal Council to merge it with the English Settlement, to form the International Settlement. 

From very early, the Bund was the focal point of investment, speculation and competitive display.  As the settlement's wealth and its real estate values rose, this generated continuing pressure to utilize space more efficiently, which resulted in rebuilding at regular intervals. Hongkou, in contrast, was a low-rent district, which offered space for missionary organizations, schools, underfinanced consulates, service trades connected with the port such as sail making, ship repair and warehouses, and individuals and small companies of modest means.  The useful parts of the Hongkou waterfront were acquired by the major shipping companies, while land reclamation eventually resulted in the creation of "Consulate row" at the mouth of Suzhou Creek, symbolically an extension of the Bund.

Due to these more moderate economic pressures, parts of Hongkou retained a 19th-century flavor longer than other sections of Shanghai, and even now it can boast of more surviving 19th-century buildings than any other district, although this is changing very rapidly.  In the early 20th century, Hongkou became the focus of Japanese investment and settlement in Shanghai, and this reshaped the district and changed its flavor. 

Using old postcards and photos, as well as some contemporary photos, we will take a stroll along the Hongkou Bund and some of the main streets.

Eric Politzer studied history at the University of Minnesota and at Nankai University in Tianjin.  He spent six months in Shanghai in the first half of 1989, but did not become interested in Shanghai history until later, when, living in Tokyo, his interest was aroused by the old postcard views of Shanghai he found there.  He has written "Chinese Postcards: a Nutshell History," in Arts of Asia, July/August 2004, and "The Changing Face of the Shanghai Bund, circa 1849-1879," for the same publication, March/April 2005.  He is currently working on a pictorial history of Shanghai's pre-1949 railway stations.

Entrance: RMB 30 (RAS members) and RMB 80 (non-members) those unable to make the donation but wishing to attend may contact us for exemption, prior to the RAS Lecture. Membership applications and membership renewals will be available at this event.

RSVP: to RAS Enquiry desk

enquiry@royalasiaticsociety.org.cn