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Dateline
- 5000 B.C. First evidence of settlements in the Shanghai area.
- 475-221 B.C. Shanghai region is ruled by Chunshen, prime minister of the ancient Kingdom of Chu.
- A.D. 5th-7th century Shanghai is a small fishing village on the banks of the Wusong Jiang (today's Suzhou Creek), which was known as Hu (for the crab traps in the river), and had its source in Tai Hu (Lake Tai). Later Shanghai would be known as Hu, and to this day, the name is still in use, as in the Huning Expressway connecting Shanghai to Nanjing.
- A.D. 751 During the Tang Dynasty, the Shanghai region is incorporated into the county of Huating.
- 1292 Shanghai benefits from its proximity to Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), and quickly develops from a commercial town (zhen) to a county seat (xian).
- early 1400s Ming Dynasty engineers dredge the Huangpu River (also known as shen), making it the main tributary to serve Shanghai, and eventually eclipsing the Wusong Jiang.
- 1553 City wall is built around what is today Shanghai's Old Town (Nanshi) as defense against Japanese pirates.
- 1603 Shanghai-born Xu Guangqi is baptized Paul by Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci in Beijing, and later deeds some of his land in Shanghai (today's Xujiahui, meaning Xu family village) to the Catholic Church, thus initiating Shanghai's first contact with the Jesuits.
- 1664 By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Shanghai has become a major cotton and textile center; its population will soon reach 200,000.
- 1832 The British-based East India Company explores Shanghai and the Yangzi River as a potential trading center for tea, silk, and opium, but is rebuffed by proud local officials.
- 1842 Following the First Opium War, the Treaty of Nanjing opened five Chinese cities, including Shanghai, to British consuls and merchants and their families. The British establish a consulate in Shanghai to promote international trade; city population reaches 500,000.
- 1845 The British Concession is established. Miss Fay, the first unmarried American woman in China, arrives to help establish the Protestant Episcopal Mission.
- 1848 The American Concession is established in Hongkou, north of Suzhou Creek.
- 1849 The French establish their concession west of the old Chinese city and south of the British concession and are subject to direct French rule through the Conseil d'Administration Municipale.
- 1850 The first English-language newspaper in Shanghai, the North China Herald, is launched, serving fewer than 200 readers.
- 1853-55 The Taiping rebels attempting to overthrow the Qing government make Nanjing their capital in 1853; the Small Sword Society, which claimed affiliation with the Taipings, take over the old Chinese city, driving thousands of Chinese into the foreign concessions. Many Westerners become rich from building housing for the Chinese refugees. Small Sword Society eventually defeated by Qing troops.
- 1854 Shanghai Municipal Council is formed to rule the British Concession. British also form Chinese Maritime Customs to control trade.
- 1863 The International Settlement is formed from the merging of the British and American concessions, and is subject to rule by the Shanghai Municipal Council.
- 1871 The term "Shanghai," meaning to drug and forcibly kidnap hands for a departing ship, enters the English language; during this period, many sailors were literally "Shanghaied," waking up at sea on clipper ships bound for China.
- 1895 The Treaty of Shimonoseki after Japan defeats China in the Sino-Japanese war allows Japanese to set up factories in Shanghai and other ports.
- 1912 Shanghai's old city wall is demolished following the downfall of the last imperial dynasty (the Qing) and the establishment of the Republic of China under Sun Yat-sen, who lives from 1918 to 1924 in Shanghai. The foreign population in Shanghai tops 10,000.
- 1917 White Russians, fleeing the Russian Revolution, make Shanghai's international concessions their temporary home; by 1936, their population is 15,000.
- 1921 The Chinese Communist Party is founded in Shanghai, with Mao Zedong in attendance.
- 1924 Triads make their presence felt as Du Yuesheng ("Big-eared Du") takes power from Huang Jinrong ("Pockmark Huang") as head of the Green Gang.
- 1925 A student protest on behalf of exploited Shanghai workers, known as the "May 30th Movement," leads to students being shot at by the Shanghai Municipal police, and paves the way for communist revolutionaries in China.
- 1927 On April 12, Chiang Kai-shek, the new leader of the Kuomintang (Nationalists), assisted by the Green Gang, round up and execute communist leaders in Shanghai at today's Longhua Martyrs' Cemetery near Longhua Temple, thus initiating a protracted civil war.
- 1928 A greyhound racetrack (Canidrome) opens to 50,000 spectators in the French Concession.
- 1929 Shanghai millionaire Victor Sassoon opens the landmark Cathay Hotel (now the Peace Hotel) on the Bund; Noel Coward writes his play Private Lives here in 1930.
- 1931 Triad godfather "Big-Eared Du" is elected to the governing council in the French Concession.
- 1935 Population reaches nearly four million, including 60,000 foreigners.
- 1936 Lu Xun, China's best-known modern author, dies at his residence in Shanghai's Hongkou District.
- 1937 Japan invades China, taking over Shanghai on August 13, initially leaving foreign concessions untouched. World War II in China is known primarily as the Anti-Japanese War. The Shanghai Municipal Council tallies 20,000 corpses of homeless people who have died in the streets during the year.
- 1943 British and American forces relinquish their extraterritorial powers and concessions to the Chinese. In response to German requests to implement the Final Solution in Shanghai, the occupying Japanese army forces the stateless Jews escaping Nazism into a confined "Designated Area" in Hongkou District.
- 1945 World War II ends when Japan surrenders. American troops enter Shanghai.
- 1949 Mao Zedong proclaims the creation of the People's Republic of China on Oct 1, ending civil war; earlier, communists "liberate" Shanghai on May 25, without incident. Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Mei-ling, and the rest of the Soong family, except for Soong Ching-ling, escape to Taiwan. Chen Yi becomes Shanghai's first communist mayor. Remaining colonialists and foreign companies pull out within a year. CCP begins to shut down vice industries.
- 1952 People's Park and People's Square are created on the former site of Shanghai's racetrack.
- 1966-76 The Cultural Revolution, led by the Shanghai-based "Gang of Four," which includes Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, a former Shanghai actress, isolates and immobilizes China.
- 1972 China reenters the world stage when Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou E[Li]nlai sign the Shanghai Communique at the Jin Jiang Hotel.
- 1976 The Cultural Revolution ends with Mao's death.
- 1978 A rehabilitated Deng Xiaoping initiates "opening and reforms" (gaige kaifang).
- 1982 Shanghai opens the Hongqiao Development Zone to attract foreign investors.
- 1985 Jiang Zemin becomes mayor of Shanghai.
- 1989 Weeks of student protest result in the Tian'anmen massacre in Beijing; Shanghai mayor Zhu Rongji and predecessor Jiang Zemin maintain calm in Shanghai.
- 1990 Deng Xiaoping designates Shanghai to spearhead China's economic reform; the first (and largest) stock market opens; development of the Pudong New Area on the east side of the Huangpu River begins.
- 1994 Jiang Zemin, former Shanghai mayor, becomes president. Metro Line 1, the second subway built in China, begins service.
- 1995 The Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the tallest such structure in Asia, opens in Pudong, symbolizing the new Shanghai.
- 1996 The new Shanghai Museum, China's finest, opens on People's Square.
- 1997 Jiang Zemin, Shanghai's former mayor, becomes China's paramount leader after Deng Xiaoping's death; Zhu Rongji, former Shanghai mayor, becomes the chief architect of China's economic revolution and China's premier in 1998.
- 1999 Nanjing Lu Pedestrian Mall, Pudong International Airport, the Yan'an Elevated Expressway, and a second subway line open just in time to celebrate 50 years of communist rule. Fortune 500 Global Economic Forum takes place in Shanghai.
- 2001 Shanghai hosts the APEC Conference. China enters the World Trade Organization in December.
- 2002 Shanghai wins the bid to host the World Expo of 2010; complete redevelopment of the Huangpu River and downtown riverfront launched.
- 2003 The world's fastest train, the Maglev, starts operating, connecting Pudong Airport to the city.
- 2004 Shanghai hosts the first Formula One Grand Prix race in China, and will continue to do so until 2010.
- 2006 China announces plans for a high-speed rail line between Shanghai and Beijing, and a second Maglev train between Shanghai and Hangzhou. Both lines will operate out of what will be Asia's largest railway station, which is to be built in the western suburb of Hongqiao. All three projects are expected to be complete in 2010.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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