Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 40

The Battle of Shanghai
Sha Tin Junior School, Chu, Cyrus - 7
O
nce upon a time, there was a place called the Old City of Shanghai, it was a little community. The city was
clean, but old fashioned, there were humps on the top of roofs made from ceramic plates. In the middle
there was a big temple, which was also known as the army headquarters. One day, a fleet of Japanese pirates
suddenly decided to declare an attack on the city. The pirates wore red, white and blue clothes, looking furious and
they seeked to conquer the city for themselves. Their ships all had bone and skull cross flags hoisted up and a big
sail with a wooden body. The citizens were shrieking with fear, trying to hide and get cover. Some people also tried
to fight back, but it was no use. The old city fought hard to fend off the attack, but most homes were destroyed in
battle. When all hope was nearly lost, one of the soldiers said “What we’re using is no use! We need a new tactic!”
Another soldier said, “Let’s use cannons and bombs!”
“Sure” everyone agreed. Soon after, the pirate ships were all destroyed! Forcing the pirate fleet to fall back. All of
the Chinese soldiers cheered “Victory!”.
Meanwhile, at the army headquarters, the generals had to plan what to do to stop the Japanese pirates from
attacking the old city ever again. One of them had a plan, he said “Let’s build a big wall out of rocks and bricks so
the Japanese pirates cannot attack us using their cannons again”.
“Good thinking!” the general exclaimed. Immediately, they ordered the builders to begin building the big wall. It
took about two months to complete, but eventually they finished and it was glorious. The wall was as tall as a palm
trees, it was red and purple, surrounding the city in a large circle. There was also a little entrance at the side so that
people could leave and re-enter.
Not long after, the pirates returned with an even stronger attack. They tried to battle their way through, but
fortunately for the Chinese the wall held up strong. “This is useless” said the captain. “Our cannons cannot shoot
through the wall” yelled one of the pirates. “Our ships are being completely destroyed and we’ve gotten no
progress.” The pirates were forced to give up and retreated in defeat, never daring to coming back again. The
Japanese pirates lost and the Old City of Shanghai won the war!
That night the city had a huge celebration at the town hall. Fireworks filled the dark night sky, the banquet hall was
beautifully decorated, they had a big feast. There were noodles, jelly, seafood of all sorts and a tall large cake in the
centre. Music also rang through the celebration and everyone drank loads.
From then on, the day the Old City of Shanghai won against the Japanese pirates became a public holiday, calling
for celebrating across the city.