Map of the concessionsWestern ships anchored alongside the European concessions in 1874
The foreign concessions in Tianjin (formerly romanized as Tientsin) were concession territories ceded by Qing China to a number of European countries, the United States and Japan within the city of Tianjin. There were altogether nine foreign concessions in old Tianjin on the eve of World War II. These concessions also contributed to the rapid development of Tianjin from the early to mid-20th century. The first foreign concessions in Tianjin were granted in 1860. By 1943, all the foreign concessions, except the Japanese concession, had ceased to exist de facto.
Prior to the 19th century, the Chinese were concerned that European trade and missionary activity would upset the order of the empire. Strictly controlled and subject to import tariffs, European traders were limited to operating in Canton and Macao. Following a series of military defeats against Britain and France, Qing China were slowly forced to permit extraterritorial privileges for foreign nationals and even cessions of Chinese sovereignty over certain ports and mineral rights.
Tianjin's position at the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Hai River connecting Beijing to the Bohai Bay made it one of the premier ports of northern China. Foreign trade was approved there for the British and French by the 1860 Peking Convention. Its importance increased even further when it was connected to the Tangshan coal fields by the Kaiping Tramway, the railroad that eventually connected all of northern China and Manchuria. Between 1895 and 1900, the two original powers were joined by Japan, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Belgium–countries without concessions elsewhere in China–in establishing self-contained concessions each with their own prisons, schools, barracks and hospitals. The European settlements covered 5 square miles (13km2) in all, the riverfront being governed by foreign powers.[1] After decades, the Japanese, French, and British concessions (which were situated on the right bank of the Peiho River)[1] became the most prosperous ones.
With the overthrow of the Chinese Qing dynasty, the new Republic of China managed a restructuring of Chinese domestic and foreign relations, allowing it to recognize European states as equals. In turn, the concessions in Tianjin were dismantled in the early to mid-20th century with successful recognition of the European states of the Republic of China, which gave European property owners equality before Chinese officials. However, World War II disrupted this nascent development: the Japanese seized the concessions of powers allied against it during its occupation of the country. Starting with Britain in 1943, all foreign powers relinquished their concessions in China, including in Tianjin.
Postcard from the American concession c.1900Troops of the 15th Infantry on parade, 1931
The United States never requested or received a concession in Tianjin, but a de facto concession was administered from 1869 to 1880, principally under the aegis of the British mission. In 1902, the informal American territory became part of the British concession. The United States maintained a permanent garrison at Tianjin, which was provided from January 1912 to 1938 by the 15th Infantry, US Army and then by the US Marine Corps until December 8, 1941, the day that the United States entered the Second World War and all territories of the United States and the British Empire in Asia and the Pacific faced the threat of attack by the Empire of Japan.
Lloyd Horne recalled of his time there in the 1930s, "I was detailed with the 15th Infantry to rescue missionaries that were being trapped there. It was like they were prisoners — they couldn't even come out of their billets without getting fired on or having rocks thrown at them."[2]
American Marines in Tianjin, (c.1930s, early 1940s)
Troops of the Austro-Hungarian naval corps in Tianjin c.1903–04
Austria-Hungary participated in the Eight-Nation Alliance that suppressed the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901). Austria-Hungary together with Italy sent the smallest force of the Eight-Nation Alliance. Four cruisers and 296 Hungarian enlisted soldiers were dispatched.[3]
On December 27, 1902, Austria-Hungary gained a concession zone in Tianjin as part of the reward for its contribution to the Alliance. The Austro-Hungarian concession zone was 150 acres (0.61km2) in area, situated next to the Pei-Ho river and outlined by the Imperial channel and the Tianjin-Beijing railway track. Its population was around 30,000 people. Order was maintained by 40 Austro-Hungarian marines and 80 Chinese militia (Shimbo).
The self-contained concession had its own thermae, theatre, pawnshop, school, barracks, prison, cemetery and hospital. It also contained the Austro-Hungarian consulate and its citizens were under Austro-Hungarian, not Chinese rule. Despite its relatively short life-span, the Austrians left their mark on the area, as can be seen in the Austrian architecture in the city.
The administration was done by a town council composed of local high-class noblemen and headed by the Austro-Hungarian consul and the military commander, the two of them had a majority vote. The focus of the juridical system was on smaller crimes and it was based on Austro-Hungarian law. If a Chinese person committed a crime on Chinese soil he could be tried in their own courts.[4]
Yuan's mansion in the Austro-Hungarian concession, built in 1908–1918
Austria-Hungary was, due to World War I, unable to maintain control of its concession. The concession zone was swiftly occupied by China at the Chinese declaration of war on the Central powers and on 14 August 1917 the lease was terminated, along with that of the larger German concession in the same city.[5] Austria finally abandoned all claim to it on September 10, 1919 (Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye), Hungary made a similar recognition on June 4, 1920 (Treaty of Trianon). The former Austro-Hungarian concession renamed the "Second Special District", was placed under the permanent administration of the Chinese government.[note 1]
The Belgian Concession was established in 1902 after Belgian envoy Maurice Joostens claimed the parcel in the negotiations following the defeat of the Boxer rebels. Located on the eastern bank of the Hai River (Hai He), the Belgian government and business community did not invest in development of the concession. The concession was nominal and of little value and an agreement to return the concession to China was signed in August 1929 and approved by the Belgian parliament in 1931.[6]
Main street in the Belgian concession, 1907
Much more important were contracts involving railways, electric power systems and tramways built and partly operated by Belgian private companies. In 1904, China and Belgium signed a contract with the Compagnie de tramways et d'éclairage de Tientsin, giving the company an official monopoly for 50 years over trams and electric lighting in the city. In 1906, with the opening of the first route of the tramway system, Tianjin became the first Chinese city to have a modern public transportation system (Shanghai had to wait until 1908 to get electric tramways). The supply of electricity and lighting and the trolley business were profitable ventures. By 1914, the network covered the Chinese city as well as the Austrian, French, Italian, Japanese and Russian concessions.
The Compagnie de tramways et d'éclairage de Tientsin was taken over by the Japanese army in 1943 and the members of the Belgian staff, often with their families, were sent to internment camps. Following the end of World War II, the Chinese authorities took over the network. The Brussels-based company tried to get compensation, but the Chinese Revolution in 1949 left them without any indemnity. Two more lines were built under Chinese administration, but the network was finally closed around 1972.
British concession (1860–1943)
Victoria Road, British concession, 1920sBritish Indian troops on parade in Tianjin in the 1920s
The British concession, which contained the trade and financial centres, was situated on the right bank of the river Haihe below the native city, occupying some 200 acres (0.81km2). It was held on a lease in perpetuity granted by the Chinese government to the British Crown, which sublet plots to private owners in the same way as was done at Hankou.[1]
The local management was entrusted to a municipal council organized on lines similar to those in Shanghai.[1] The seat of government was the stately Gordon Hall, situated on the financial street called Victoria Road (now Jiefang Lu).
The British concession was blockaded by the Japanese during the Tientsin incident in June 1939, causing a major diplomatic crisis.
The Japanese occupied the British concession upon their declaration of war against Britain on 7 December 1941 until the end of the war.
The French concession was established in 1860. After more than 100 years, almost every prominent building in the original concession is still extant, including the French Consulate, the Municipal Council, the French Club, the Catholic Cathedral, the French Garden and many others. Many of the bank buildings along the financial street (currently Jiefang Lu, formerly the Rue de France) are still in existence today.
French armoured car White TBC in Tianjin during the 1928 troubles
The villas around the Garden Road are beautiful and diverse. Many French celebrities lived in Tianjin. Among them, Paul Claudel (consul 1906 - 1909), and the natural scientist Father Emile Licent who conducted research in Tianjin from 1914 to 1939. He founded the Musee Hoang-Ho Pai-Ho (Museum of Yellow River and Peiho River) and left it 20,000 specimens of animals, plants and fossils, as well as 15,000 books. In 1998, the Tianjin government rebuilt the Tianjin Nature Museum.
The dome of the French Cathedral was damaged during the Cultural Revolution: some young Red Guards climbed to the top of the dome to destroy the cross, though later the Tianjin government not only repaired the cross but also renovated the entire church.
By the late 1870s, the German Empire was on a course of extensive economic involvement in several Chinese provinces, among them the Tianjin area. The German enclave south of the Hai River was situated between the British and one of the Japanese concessions. In July 1877 xenophobic groups threatened the life and property of German merchants in Tianjin. Local unrest intensified, mainly due to poor harvests and resulting famine, and Tianjin business interests requested armed protection. The German admiralty then dispatched the corvette SMS Luise to China. This initial show of support eventually evolved into a permanent presence in Chinese waters by initially modest German naval forces. It have total area of 2km2
Street in the German concession on the eve of World War IThe German Boxer War Memorial, 1905
After Germany acquired the Kiautschou Bay region in 1898 with a 99-year lease, a further concession was negotiated for the Tianjin enclave and economic growth escalated with infrastructure improvements. Major trading houses and diverse enterprises established themselves, including a branch of the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank. The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 initially laid siege to the foreign concessions in Tianjin, but the city was secured and used as a staging area for the eventual march on Peking by the eight-nation international relief forces.
China swiftly occupied the German concession after it declared war on the Central Powers in August 1917. In 1919, the former concession, renamed the "First Special District", was placed under the permanent administration of the Chinese government. The United States 15th Infantry was billeted in the former German barracks from 1917 until 1938, departing only after the Imperial Japanese Army entered Tianjin.
On September 7, 1901, Italy was granted a concession in Tianjin from the Chinese government. On June 7, 1902, the Italians took control of the concession, which was to be administered by an Italian consul. It became the headquarters[7] of the Italian Legione Redenta (an "Italian legio" made of irredentist troops in the defeated Austro-Hungarian empire), that fought in 1919 against Lenin's Soviet troops in Siberia and Manchuria.[8]
The Italian World War I monument and the Piazza Regina Elena
The Italians occupied temporarily during WW1 the Austrian concession, but withdrew from it in 1919 (while annexing some minor sections of this former concession).
When Tianjin became in danger of being stormed by warring factions during the civil war of 1927–1928, Italian troops temporarily occupied the Second Special District of the city in order to protect the city's power station and main railway station. They withdrew after a short while.[9]
In 1935, the Italian Concession had a population of about 6,261, including about 536 foreigners. The Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) stationed some vessels in Tianjin. During World War II, the concession had a garrison of approximately 600 Italian troops.
The Japanese concession was initially established in 1898 in the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War and additional areas were added in 1900–1902 after the Boxer Rebellion. In 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) occupied the entire city of Tianjin excluding the foreign concessions. These were occupied in 1941 and in 1943. The Japanese concession ceased to exist with the capitulation of Japan in 1945.
In 1924, the last emperor of the Qing dynasty, Puyi, was forced to leave the Forbidden City in Beijing and lived in Tianjin until 1931 when he was forcibly taken by the Japanese army to Dalian. The imperial concubine Wenxiu divorced Puyi in Tianjin, which was the first time in Chinese dynastic history that an imperial concubine divorced an emperor.
A treaty granting a concession to the Russian Empire in Tianjin was signed 31 December 1900. Even before the official treaty was signed, the general in charge of the Russian forces in the city since the Boxer Rebellion had already laid claim to the future concession by right of conquest and Russian troops had already begun placing boundary markers. The concession, on the left bank of the Peiho River, was larger than any of the other foreign concessions, which according to the agreement was due to "Russian trade at Tientsin being on the increase".[11] In reality, Russian economic involvement in Tientsin was insignificant and became even more so after the Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. For this reason, the concession remained largely underdeveloped.
The 398 hectares (3.98km2) concession was divided into two non-contiguous districts (east and west). In 1920, the Chinese Beiyang government retook the land and concession from Russia during its widescale civil war, and in 1924 the Soviet Union renounced its claim on the concession.
The Gulf Building (or Po Hai Building), built in 1937, was the tallest building in Tientsin before the 1960s. Tianjin World Financial Center can be seen behind.
Current statue and houses on Piazza Regina Elena, which is now a national historical and cultural site
North China Conservancy Commission
Sacred Heart Church, built in 1922
Japanese concession
Butoku Hall, one of the latest structures in the Japanese concession
Tsao Ju-lin's house
Matsushima Girls' Business School
The Old Silk Company
Lu Chung-lin's house
Zhang Villa, where former emperor Puyi lived from 1925 to 1927
Jing Garden aka. Garden of Serenity (静园), where the former emperor Puyi lived from 1927 to 1931
Notes
↑ The former German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian concessions, respectively renamed the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Special Districts, survived as distinct administrative entities administered by the Chinese government under a regime similar to that of the remaining foreign concessions.
Related Research Articles
Tianjin is a municipality and metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. As such, it is not part of a province of China. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the 2020 Chinese census. Its metropolitan area, which is made up of 12 central districts, was home to 11,165,706 inhabitants and is also the world's 29th-largest agglomeration and 11th-most populous city proper.
The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, which was being besieged by the popular Boxer militiamen, who were determined to remove foreign imperialism in China. The allied forces consisted of about 45,000 troops from the eight nations of Germany, Japan, Russia, Britain, France, the United States, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. Neither the Chinese nor the quasi-concerted foreign allies issued a formal declaration of war.
In international relations, a concession is a "synallagmatic act by which a State transfers the exercise of rights or functions proper to itself to a foreign private test which, in turn, participates in the performance of public functions and thus gains a privileged position vis-a-vis other private law subjects within the jurisdiction of the State concerned." International concessions are not defined in international law and do not generally fall under it. Rather, they are governed by the municipal law of the conceding state. There may, however, be a law of succession for such concessions, whereby the concession is continued even when the conceding state ceases to exist.
A colonial empire is a collective of territories, either contiguous with the imperial center or located overseas, settled by the population of a certain state and governed by that state.
Foreign concessions in China were a group of concessions that existed during the late Imperial China and the Republic of China, which were governed and occupied by foreign powers, and are frequently associated with colonialism and imperialism.
From the 17th century through to the 19th century, the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire made a few small short-lived attempts to expand overseas colonial trade through the acquisition of factories. In 1519–1556 Austria's ruler also separately ruled Spain, which did have a large colonial empire. However, no other Austrians were involved when Emperor Charles V held the crown of both the Spanish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, and the Spanish colonies were not linked to Austria.
The Battle of Tientsin, or the Relief of Tientsin, occurred on 13–14 July 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion in Northern China. A multinational military force, representing the Eight-Nation Alliance, rescued a besieged population of foreign nationals in the city of Tianjin by defeating the Chinese Imperial army and Boxers. The capture of Tianjin gave the Eight-Nation Alliance a base to launch a rescue mission for the foreign nationals besieged in the Legation Quarter of Beijing and to capture Beijing.
The Italian colonial empire, also known as the Italian Empire between 1936 and 1941, was founded in Africa in the 19th century and it comprised the colonies, protectorates, concessions and dependencies of the Kingdom of Italy. In Africa, the colonial empire included the territories of present-day Libya, Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia ; outside Africa, Italy possessed the Dodecanese Islands, Albania and also had a concession in Tianjin, China.
The Legione Redenta was an Italian military formation that participated in the Siberian intervention during the Russian Civil War. It was formed from 2500 prisoners of war who had been captured by the Russians from the Austro-Hungarian Army.
The Italian concession of Tianjin was a small territory (concession) in central Tianjin, China, controlled by the Kingdom of Italy between 1901 and 1943, officially ceded to China in 1947.
Tianjin Museum of Modern History (TMM) is located at No. 314 Hebei Road, in Heping District, Tianjin, the so-called “Five Great Avenues” area (a community of Western-style villas). TMM is mainly engaged in the study of the history of interactions between Tianjin and the West from the mid-16th century to the mid-20th century. It has made great efforts to preserve the cultural heritages of the former nine concessions in Tianjin. In the museum, a great number of old historical photos and objects collected from all over the world are exhibited, many of which are not available elsewhere in China and have great research value.
China participated in World War I from 1917 to 1918 in an alliance with the Entente Powers. Although China never sent troops overseas, 140,000 Chinese labourers served for both British and French forces before the end of the war. While neutral since 1914, Tuan Ch'i-jui, Premier of the Republic of China, spearheaded Chinese involvement in World War I. Tuan wanted to integrate China with Europe and the United States by declaring on the side of the Allies against the Central Powers. On 14 August 1917, China ended its neutrality, declaring war on the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Austro-Hungarian concession of Tianjin was a territory (concession) in the Chinese city of Tientsin occupied by Austria-Hungary between 1902 and 1920. It had been obtained by Austria-Hungary after the signing of the Boxer Protocol at the conclusion of the conflict between China and the Alliance of Eight Nations, which had sent an international expeditionary force to quell the Boxer Rebellion of 1901. Although the Austro-Hungarian occupation corps had been present from the previous year, the concession formally began on 27 December 1902. It is the shortest lived concession, having existed for only 14 years.
The Belgian concession of Tianjin was a 120-acre Belgian colonial concession in the Chinese city of Tianjin between 1902 and 1931, the only Belgian concession in China. Although its own concession had not been developed, Belgium had been very active in the infrastructure construction of Tianjin Huajie and other concessions, and can be called the “engineering captain” in the concessions of various other countries including the old city of Tianjin.
The British concession of Tianjin was one of seven total British concessions in China. It was one of nine foreign concessions in Tianjin, and was the earliest established and most successful out of all of the concessions. The concession bordered the French and Germans to the northwest and southeast, respectively, and faced the Russian concession across the Hai river. The settlement prospered economically, and many legacies of the British influence over Tianjin can be seen today.
The American concession of Tianjin was a territory (concession) in the Chinese city of Tientsin de facto occupied by the United States between the 1860s and 1901 in present-day Xiaobailou Subdistrict. American administration of the settlement existed in a legal gray area where no material paperwork ever existed to demarcate the concession, and its existence was only made possible by acknowledgement by all sides: the United States, the Qing dynasty, and other local concession municipal governments, including the German, Russian, and British concessions.
Concessions of Italy in China were territories that the Kingdom of Italy controlled in China during the first half of the 20th century. After participating with other colonial powers in the war against China in the second half of the 19th century, Italy obtained a concession in Tianjin (Tientsin) with full colonial rights and some minor areas in the defeated China.
The Italian Expeditionary Corps in China was an expeditionary force the Kingdom of Italy sent to China in the summer of 1900 to assist in the efforts of the Eight-Nation Alliance to put down the Boxer Rebellion. It began to return to Italy in 1901, but some of its elements operated in China until 1905. The Italian participation in the campaign against the Boxers allowed Italy to obtain the Italian concession of Tientsin in 1901.
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The HSBC Building on Victoria Road, built in 1925
The Yokohama Specie House on Victoria Road, built in 1926
The Russo-Asiatic House on Victoria Road, built in 1896
Victoria Restaurant, built in 1940, now Kiessling Restaurant
All Saints' Church, or Episcopal Church, built in 1936
The Astor Hotel on Victoria Road, built in 1886, was one of the oldest structures in the British concession.
The British Consul-General's Mansion, built in 1937
The auditorium of Tienchin Kung Hsueh (now Yaohua High School) in the 1940s
Tientsin Synagogue, built in 1940
Prince Ching's Mansion in the Extra Rural Extension
