Shanghai's History (by Maggie)

On our 12th day in China, we went to a Shanghai Museum.  At the Shanghai Museum we learned about Shanghai's history, because it is so different than the rest of China's history.  Now I will tell you why Shanghai's history is so different.

In the late 1840s, the French said to Shanghai, "if you don't give us a piece of your land, then we will drop bombs on Shanghai." So the people in Shanghai said "OK, we will give you a piece of our land."  I asked my parents, "How come the French only wanted a part in Shanghai? Why didn't they want a section in a different part of China?" My mom told me, "because Shanghai was a port city."  A port city is important because it is easier for them to trade with other countries.

What I found very interesting was that in that little section where the French lived, called the French Concession, they had French laws and Chinese laws, while the rest of China just had Chinese laws.  This is unusual because in San Francisco, we have Chinatown and Japantown, but they only follow United States and California laws, not laws from their country.

The French were not the only country to take a piece of Shanghai at that time - there was also an English Concession, a Japanese Concession, and a German Concession.  But the French Concession is the only one that is still called by that name (they call it the Former French Concession.). I think the French one was the most important one.

I hope you enjoyed reading about part of Shanghai's history.