Districts in the Shanghai walled city (1882)

Original title : Districts in the Shanghai walled city (1882)

Year : 2009

Author : Christian Henriot

Cartographer : Isabelle Durand

Map support : Digital

Topic : Virtual Shanghai

Digitized file : Yes

Map type : Base maps

Comments : This map presents the administrative divisions established in the walled city and its suburbs after the Taiping Rebellion. This system of division was meant to establish self-defense territorial and social units. The actual date of creation, as well as dismantling, is unclear. We have no document about the use of these districts for administrative purposes. The administrative history of the walled city remains a black hole for lack of documents, destruction of archives and absence of research. Each district was numbered on the original map, with District 3 split into North (3N) and South (3S). When this system disappeared, no memory of it remained, except for one district: District 16, in Chinese "Shiliupu", the actual commercial and economic center of Shanghai until the opening of the city to foreign trade in 1846. The name Shiliupu remained due to its importance as the economic heart of the city.

Place of publication : Lyon