About French concession

The Shanghai French Concession was a foreign concession in Shanghai,China from 1849 until 1946, and it was progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The concession came to an end in practice in 1943 when the Vichy French government signed it over to the pro-Japanese puppet government in Nanking. 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 ofCatholicism in Shanghai. Despite rampant re-development over the last few decades, the area retains a distinct character, and is a popular tourist destination.

The French Concession was established 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.

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 would give up its concessions in China. The French concessions of Tianjin, Hankou and Guangzhouwere 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. After the war, neither Vichy France nor Wang's Nationalist Government were universally recognised as legitimate, but the new post-war government of France acknowledged that it was a fait accompli in the Sino-French Accord of February 1946. This accord, signed by Chiang Kaishek's ruling Kuomintang led to Chinese troops pulling out of the northern half of French Indochina in exchange for France relinquishing all its foreign concessions in China as well as the colony ofKwangchowan.

In 1902, the Concession introduced platanes (London Planes) as a roadside tree onAvenue Joffre. Because this tree, now popular as a roadside tree throughout China, was first introduced in the French Concession in Shanghai, it is known in Chineseas the "French Plane".

The French Concession remained largely unchanged in the early decades of Communistrule in China. In the late 1980s and the early 1990s, however, largely unregulated re-development of the area has torn apart many neighbourhoods. For example, the London Planes that graced the former Avenue Joffre (now Huaihai Road) were removed in the 1990s, only to be later replaced after public outcry. The old French Club building and its gardens, which used to be a sports field in the early days, were gutted and became the base of the high-rise Okura Garden Hotel.

After the 2000s, the government enforced more stringent development and planning controls in this area.I think it is a wise choice to visit the French concession,if you travel in Shanghai.