Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2017 | Page 18

The Wall of Shanghai
Kennedy School, Ko, Gregory - 10
T
he Wall of Shanghai was built in 1554 during the Ming Dynasty. During the time, Shanghai was known as “The
Walled City”. It was called a number of other names like “The Chinese City and the Southern City”. The wall
was originally built to keep the Japanese pirates from raiding the coastlines of China. The Japanese pirates called
themselves the WoKou (a.k.a. Dwarf bandit). This has been a significant era for the Shanghainese.
Life before and after the wall was unsettling. It was because of the changes the wall made to the locals of Old Shanghai.
Before the wall, pirates were invading Shanghai and stealing artifacts and money. The Ming Dynasty leader, Zhu
Honcong decided to build a wall between the coastline of Shanghai and the East China Sea to protect his people. The
wall was measured 10 metres high and span 5 kilometres in circumference. It also had six land gates and four water gates
to allow access in and out of the city. Once the wall was built, Shanghai became isolated and the locals could not see the
world outside. The wall made it more challenging for merchants who normally traveled to Shanghai to sell and trade. At
the same time, many Shanghainese stayed within the walls and had less information of the outside world. Therefore,
while the rest of the world was advancing forward in technology, Shanghai was left behind within their Walled City.
Soon after the wall was built, the pirates stopped invading because they knew they could not penetrate the solid wall and
enter Shanghai. The Pirate Age ended in the 1770’s and peace around the waters of Shanghai was restored. In the 1800’s,
trade came back to Shanghai. Many ships from all over the world came through the Huang Pu River and lined up at the
Shiliu Pu wharf to unload their goods for the people of Shanghai. It was not until 1912 when General Chen Qimei’s
forces were occupying Shanghai after the Wuchang Uprising that the wall was finally dismantled.
I hope you have learned that the Wall of Shanghai was a very important structure and fortification in Shanghainese
history.