Shamian

23°06′34″N 113°14′22″E / 23.10944°N 113.23944°E / 23.10944; 113.23944

Shamian (also romanized as Shameen or Shamin, both from its

Shamian Island was an important port for Guangzhou's foreign trade from the Song to the Qing dynasty.^[1] From the 18th to the mid 19th century, the foreigners lived and did business in a row of houses known as the Thirteen Factories, on the banks of the Pearl River to the east the present Shamian,^[3] which was then an anchorage for thousands of boat people.^[4][5] 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 and Second Opium Wars. 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, 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 island was the scene of fighting during the "June 23 incident" in 1925.^[9][10]

Features

Religious buildings

The French Catholic chapel, Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel (露德圣母堂; 露德聖母堂), has been restored and stands on the main boulevard.^[2] Located at the French end of the island, it was completed in 1892.^[11]

The British Protestant church,

While Shamian Island in history housed the majority of the consulates in Guangzhou, all have since moved out except the consulate general of Poland which remains at No. 63 Shamian Main Street.[13]

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.^[14][15]
• France. No. 20 South Shamian Street.^[15]
• Poland. No. 63 Shamian Main Street.
• Germany. No. 59 Shamian Main Street South. The building also housed the Asiatic Petroleum Company.^[15]
• Japan. No. 22 South Shamian Street.^[15]
• Norway. No. 54 Shamian Main Street North.^[15]
• Portugal. No. 42 South Shamian Street.^[15]
• Soviet Union. The Soviet Consulate was for some time located at 68 Shamian Main Street North, in a 1916 building.^[15][16]
• United Kingdom. No. 44-46 South Shamian Street.^[15]
• United States. The
  Tianhe District. In July 2013, the consulate was relocated to a new building within Zhujiang New Town.^[17] The consulate's location made Shamian Island a hub for U.S. families adopting children from China.^[18]

Various

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).^[19] The five north–south streets are named Shamian 1 Street to Shamian 5 Street.

• The Bund
• Gulangyu Island, in Xiamen
• Treaty ports
• List of French possessions and colonies

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shamian Island.

• Website dedicated to old Shamian
• Pictures of Shamian Island, with detailed captions. Includes colorful historical descriptions of the island and its residents.
• An American in China: 1936–39 A Memoir. The website is a companion project of the book collecting the 1930s writings of Thomas, Gould H. (June 2005). An American in China 1936–1939: A Memoir. Greatrix Press.
  ISBN 978-0975880005
  .
• Shameen: A Colonial Heritage. By Dr Howard M. Scott
• Layout of the Main Streets of Shameen Island
• ISSN 0974-5432. Archived from the original
  (PDF) on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
• Shamian Primary School (in Chinese)