Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2017 | Page 32

The Old City of Shanhai Yew Chung International School, Zhu, Emily - 10 H ello everyone, today I’m going to take you to the Old City of Shanghai , also formerly known as the Chinese City. The old town of Shanghai is a large area that remained walled when this city was divided into foreign concessions. The Chinese City was actually the county seat for the old county of Shanghai. With the advent of foreign concessions in Shanghai, the Old city of Shanghai became just one part of Shanghai’s urban core but continued for decades to be the seat of the Chinese authority in Shanghai. The wall that was surrounding the old city was built in 1554 during the Ming dynasty, it’s purpose is similar to the Great Wall of China but instead of protecting China from northern invaders, it protected the town from raids by the Japanese pirates. The city wall measures approximately 10 metres high and 5 kilometres in circumference. Notable features include the City God Temple which is located in the center of the Old City and is connected to the Yuyuan garden. With an exception of 2 sections, the walls were demolished in 1912. The Old city of Shanghai was for decades amazingly conterminous with the old Nanshi District, which is now a part of the Huangpu District.