Shanghai French Concession

The French Concession (Chinese: 上海しゃんはい法ほう租界そかい; pinyin: Shànghǎi Fǎ Zūjiè, French: La concession française de Changhaï) was the foreign concession of France in Shanghai, China. Established in 1849, the concession was progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The concession came to an end in 1943. The area covered by the former French Concession was, for much of the 20th century, the premier residential and retail districts of Shanghai, and was also the centre of Catholicism in Shanghai. Despite rampant re-development over the last few decades, the area retains a distinct character, and is popular with tourists.

History

The French Concession was estabilshed on 6 April 1849, when the French Consul to Shanghai, Charles de Montigny, obtained a proclamation from the Governor (Daotai) of Shanghai, which conceded certain territory for a French settlement. The French Concession was located north of the walled Chinese city of Shanghai.

Its borders were expanded twice, in 1900 and 1914. During the 1920s, the French Concession was developed into the premier residential area of Shanghai. In 1943, during World War II, the government of Vichy France announced that it will give up its concessions in China. The French concessions of Tianjin, Hankou and Guangzhou were handed over to the Wang Jingwei Government on June 5, and the last, the Shanghai French Concession, was handed over to the Wang Jingwei Government on July 30.

Extent

The French Concession covered what are today Xuhui District and Luwan District, occupying the centre, south, and west of urban Shanghai. A small strip extended eastward along the rue du Consulat, now the East Jinling Road, to the Quai de France, now East-2 Zhongshan Road, which runs along the Huangpu River to the south of the Bund.