foreign concessions in Wuhan

for a long time i have been thinking on writing about the foreign concessions of Wuhan. in the nationalists’ eyes, these concessions along with the old buildings and the passed history are considered to be a shame for the city and the country. it is true, but in the perspective of cultural exchange and economical development, the foreign concessions did certain contribution to the development of wuhan’s economy during their existence. at that time, the city of wuhan is called “oriental Chicago”. i can imagine the prosperity of commerce at that time.

here i found some information telling the story of foreign concessions in Wuhan,and i post it here to share with my reader.

In 1895 Germany established a concession at Hankow, one of the three cities making up modern day Wuhan. The concession was enlarged in 1898. The total area was something less than 100 acres.

Like most foreign residential areas there was an advisory municipal council with limited powers. Actual administration of the concession was under the control of the resident German Consul-General.

The German Concession prospered until August 1917. In August 1917, China declared war on Germany and terminated the concession. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles Germany renounced all of its overseas possessions including the concession at Hankow. The former German Concession was administered by the Chinese government as the First Special Area.

the street scene during that time

Other Foreign Residential Areas:

The British established a concession in 1861. The French and Russians formed their concessions in 1886. Japan arrived in 1898. All five consessions prospered as Hankow became one of the industrial centers of modernizing China.

Termination of the Concessions:

In 1920 The Russian Concession was returned to Chinese administration. It became the Second Special Area. Both the special areas were administered by the local foreign affairs officials apart from the larger Chinese municipal government.

On January 3, 1927 the British Concession was assaulted by Chinese mobs. The concession police were overwhelmed and requested assistance from the foreign naval forces. British and American naval landing parties were put ashore and repulsed the mobs. That evening the London government ordered the naval forces back on their ships and for the concession police to refrain from interferring with Chinese entering the concession. The following day Chinese quietly entered the concession with little trouble. The Chen-O’Malley Agreementt that followed agreed on the British surrender of both the Hankow and Kuiking concessions followng a two year transition. On January 1, 1929, the British Concession was returned to Chinese administration and became the Third Special Area.

During 1943 the Vichy French government relinquished its concession to the puppet Chinese National government. This act was not recognized by the Free French government-in-exile. France relinquished its concession in 1946. In 1943 the separate administration of the former foreign residential areas was also ended.

The Japanese Concession was surrendered along with the defeat of Japan in 1945.

the map showing the space of foreign concessions

 GENERAL DATA ON HANKOW CONCESSIONS

DATAHOLDER	BRITISH	FRENCH	RUSSIAN	GERMAN	JAPANESE
SIZE (ACRES)	115	60	c. 60	c. 100	32
ESTABLISHED	1861	1886	1886	1895	1898
TERMINATED	1929	1946	1920	1917	1945

It is interesting to note that the total area (c. 367 acres) of the foreign concessions was less than one square mile (1 sq. mile = 640 acres).