![GZ ShaMian 4 Jie 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/GZ_ShaMian_4_Jie_1.jpg)
Shamian (also romanized as Shameen or Shamin, both from its
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
pronunciation) is a sandbank island in the
Liwan District
Liwan District is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. The district is split into two parts by the Pearl River: Xiguan in the northeast and Fangcun in the southwest.
...
of
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, Guangdong, China. The island's name literally means "sandy surface" in Chinese.
The territory was divided into two
concessions given to France and the United Kingdom by the
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
government in the 19th century (1859 to 1943). The island is a gazetted historical area that serves as a tranquil reminder of the colonial European period, with quiet pedestrian avenues flanked by trees and lined by historical buildings in various states of upkeep. The island is the location of several hotels, a youth hostel, restaurants and tourist shops selling curios and souvenirs.
Geography
The island covers an area of 0.3 km²,
900 m from east to west, and 300 m from north to south.
It is bordered in the south by the
Pearl River
The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...
, and it is separated from the mainland by a canal.
History
Shamian Island was an important port for Guangzhou's foreign trade from the
Song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
to the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
.
From the 18th to the mid 19th century, the foreigners lived and did business in a row of houses known as the
Thirteen Factories
The Thirteen Factories, also known as the , was a neighbourhood along the Pearl River in southwestern Guangzhou (Canton) in the Qing Empire from to 1856 around modern day Xiguan, in Guangzhou's Liwan District. These warehouses and stores were the ...
, on the banks of the Pearl River to the east the present Shamian,
which was then an anchorage for thousands of boat people.
In 1859, Great Britain and France dug an artificial river (now called Shajichong) to the north, making it an island. Since then, Shamian became a strategic point for city defense during the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
s. The British captured the Shamian Fort in the
Canton River operations in March 1841 during the First Opium War. In the 1847
expedition to Canton
The Expedition to Canton was a British punitive expedition that captured the forts along the Pearl River, Guangdong province, China, on 2–3 April 1847. Beginning at the Humen Strait (Bogue), the British captured the forts leading up to the city ...
, they seized the Shamian batteries along with the rest of the forts guarding the city. In the first armed conflict of the Second Opium War, the British
recaptured the forts in 1856.
In 1859,
the territory was divided in two
concessions given to France and the United Kingdom (of which 3/5 belonged to the British and 2/5 to the French). It was connected to the mainland by two bridges, which were closed at 10pm as a security measure.
The British arch bridge, also called the "Bridge of England" and built in 1861, to the north was guarded by
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
police officers, and the French bridge to the east was guarded by
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
(
Cochinchina
Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...
) recruits with the
Troupes coloniales
The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...
.
Trading companies from Britain, the United States, France, Holland, Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Japan built stone mansions along the waterfront.
The construction on the island was characterized by climate-adapted but Western-plan detached houses with hipped roofs and large verandahs.
The island was the scene of fighting during the "
June 23 incident" in 1925.
After 1949, the mansions of Shamian became government offices or apartment houses and the churches were turned into factories.
Features
Religious buildings
The French Catholic chapel, Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel (), has been restored and stands on the main boulevard.
Located at the French end of the island, it was completed in 1892.
The British Protestant church,
Christ Church Shameen
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
() was built in 1865.
Government
The community includes the Shamian Police Station ().
Consulates
While Shamian Island has historically been the site of a number of consulates, the only one located on Shamian Island is the Consulate of Poland, at No. 63 Shamian Main Street.
Former consulates on the Island include:
* Czechoslovakia. The Czech Consulate was for some time located at No. 1 North Shamian Street, in a 1911 building, which later hosted the North Korean trade delegation in Guangzhou.
[Layout of the Main Streets of Shameen Island](_blank)
/ref>
* France. No. 20 South Shamian Street.
* Poland. No. 63 Shamian Main Street.
* Germany. No. 59 Shamian Main Street South. The building also housed the Asiatic Petroleum Company Asiatic Petroleum Company (APC) was a joint venture between the Shell and Royal Dutch oil companies founded in 1903. It operated in Asia in the early twentieth century. The corporate headquarters were on The Bund in Shanghai, China. The division ...
.
* Japan. No. 22 South Shamian Street.
* Norway. No. 54 Shamian Main Street North.
* Portugal. No. 42 South Shamian Street.
* Soviet Union. The Soviet Consulate was for some time located at 68 Shamian Main Street North, in a 1916 building.
* United Kingdom. No. 44-46 South Shamian Street.
* United States. The U.S. Consulate Guangzhou was located at No. 56 Shamian Main Street North from 1873 to 1938, and later during several months in 1949. In April 1990, the consulate moved again to Shamian Island, where it occupied the Consulate Tower, a new building at No. 1 Shamian South Street, built on reclaimed land near the Pearl River and next to the White Swan Hotel. In 2005, the Consular Section of the Consulate moved to a location in Tianhe District
Tianhe District () is one of the eleven districts of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. In Chinese, the name Tianhe literally means "a river in the sky/heavens", which is also a Chinese name for the Milky Way. It is bordered by Yuexi ...
. In July 2013, the Consulate was relocated to a new building within Zhujiang New Town
Zhujiang New Town or Zhujiang New City is a central business district in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is bounded by Huangpu Avenue on the north, the Pearl River (China), Pearl River on the south, Guangzhou Avenue on the wes ...
. The consulate's location made Shamian Island a hub for U.S. families adopting children from China.
Education
Schools in the community include Shamian Primary School () and Shamian Experimental Primary School ().
Recreation
Shamian Park () and the Shamian Tennis Courts () are in the community.
Statues
Various bronze statue
Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as well as bronze elements t ...
s are scattered around the island which depict life as it was during earlier periods on the island, as well as from more recent times. For example, one statue entitled "A gentleman, a lady and a darn woman" shows a Western couple watching a Chinese woman darning cloth. Another depicts the changing appearances and stature of Chinese women, with a woman from colonial times in traditional clothing, a slightly taller woman from the early or mid 20th century wearing a cheongsam
''Cheongsam'' (, ), also known as the ''qipao'' () and sometimes referred to as the mandarin gown, is a Chinese dress worn by women which takes inspiration from the , the ethnic clothing of the Manchu people. The cheongsam is most often see ...
, and a relatively tall and slender young Chinese woman wearing shorts and talking on a mobile phone.
Transportation
The three east-west streets of the island, formerly named "Canal Street", "Central Avenue" (a tree-lined boulevard), and "Front Avenue" (originally lined on the riverside by parks) were renamed "Shamian North Road" (Shamian Beijie), "Shamian Main Street" (Shamian Dajie), and "Shamian South Road" (Shamian Nanjie). The five north-south streets are named Shamian 1 Street to Shamian 5 Street.
Huangsha Station of Guangzhou Metro
The Guangzhou Metro () ( and ) is the rapid transit system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, af ...
is located within a short walk from the island, via an overpass crossing the busy Liu'ersan Road. There is also a ferry running from Huangsha Pier to Fangcun Pier, which runs every 10 minutes carrying foot-passengers and bicycles. Fares are from 0.5 RMB for a foot passenger and 1 RMB for a passenger with a bike. There are no public buses on the island itself, although there are several nearby bus stops.
See also
*The Bund
The Bund or Waitan (, Shanghainese romanization: ''Nga3thae1'', , ) is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central Shanghai. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road (East Zhongshan Road No.1) within the former Shang ...
*Gulangyu Island
The Gulangyu, Gulang Island or Kulangsu is a pedestrian-only island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeastern China. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the island is about in area, and is reached by an 8-minute ferry ride fro ...
, in Xiamen
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
*Treaty ports
Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire.
...
*List of French possessions and colonies
From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over , the second largest empire in the world at the time behind only the Spanish Empire. During the 19th and 20th centuri ...
References
External links
Website dedicated to old Shamian
Pictures of Shamian Island
with detailed captions. Includes colorful historical descriptions of the island and its residents.
The website is a companion project of the book collecting the 1930s writings of
By Dr Howard M. Scott
Layout of the Main Streets of Shameen Island
*
Shamian Primary School
{{Authority control
Islands of Guangzhou
Islands of the Pearl River (China)
Concessions in China
Tourist attractions in Guangzhou
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Guangdong
Artificial islands of China
Township-level divisions of Guangdong
Subdistricts of the People's Republic of China
Liwan District