Figure 1.--Refugees flowed into Shanghai fleeing the advancing Japanese Army. It overwealmed the ability of the city to care for them. And that was before the Japanese a\launched a major assault on the city. Here we see a child refugee in he city.

Many Chinese cities have histories dating back centuries if not millennia. Shanghai's in contrast has a very short history. It began when the British founded a concession in Shanghai after the first Opium War (1842). This ignited the growth of one of the world's great cities. For centuries it was an insignificant fishing village on the edge of the muddy Huang Pu River--a Yangtze tributary. Shanghai became a great city and its location on Yangtze. This provided merchants access into the Chinese interior. Shanghai became the most important port in Asia. The world's largest trading and banking firms established presences along the Bund. The trade in tea, silk, and porcelain helped buid a great city. A huge Chinese city grew up around the international settlement, attracted by the jobs and industry generated by the Internatiinal Sttlement. It was also a refuge for the disorder and war that swept China in the 20th century with the fall of the Imperial Regime. Refugees poured into Shangahai when the Japanese seized Manchuria (1931). Shangahi was Japan's primary target when the Japanese invaded China proper. And the refugee influx reached crisis proprtions when the Japanese invaded China proper (1937). Tragically Shanghai was also a priority target for the Japanese.

Created: 2:29 AM 4/7/2019
Last updated: 2:29 AM 4/7/2019