Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2017 | Page 50

The New Tales Of Old Shanghai
Ying Wa College, Wong, Cheuk Lam Matthew - 14
S
hanghai is an old city with a long history . It used tp bed a small fishing village , whose lengthy
history can be traced back to ancient times .
The earliest settlements here are from ages ago-the Neolithic era. The earliest settlements
were the Majiabangs . They started living here in 5000 BC ! The people of the cultue used to grow rice
in fields called paddies . Growing rice was extremely crucial to their daily lives and their economic
system , because their main food source was rice. In additions , they also reared pigs and other livestock ,
and hunted wild game for food . This shows that they are not entirely dependent on farming for food .
They were later replaced by the Songzes , a similar culture in terms of living style .
A few thousand years later we have the eastern Jin dynasty . By that time , a busy and thriving
fishing village has developed in the original positions – It developed along a major river in the area of
the Suzhou Creek , a tributary of the Huang Pu river . The first fortress was built there in the Tang
Dynasty , It is called the Qinglong Zhen . Five years later , Huating Zhen was built there , shwing the
gradual increase in the strategical importance of old Shanghai .
In the year of 1074 , Emperor Shenzong of Song set up a Marine Office and Goods Control
Bureau here , indicating the increasing importance of the area .It also became a military and naval base
by the early 12 th century .
However , for the Shanghai to become a legitimate city , we would have to wait until the Yuan
Dynasty . By that time , Shanghai had a population of about 300000 and is a hub of trade via the
ocean .
In the Ming Dynasty , the national importance of Shanghai continues to rise . The government
specially ordered the Hunagpu River to be dredged , In 1553 , a wall was built around Nanshi in order
to protect the city from pirates . It was also in this city where the Jesits first came to China.
In the Qing Dynasty , Shanghai os starting to become a bigger economy than the traditionally
larger , Suzhou .It was also the forst cities opened for trade overseas.
This the tales of how Shanghai became the metropolis as today.