1933 North-China Daily News Map of Shanghai, China

An extremely rare 1933 North-China Daily News and Herald map of Shanghai. Focusing on the Bund and the International Settlement, the map extends from the Shanghai Hangchow Railroad in the west to the Shanghai Baptist College (now the University of Shanghai) in the east. Derived roughly from the Municipal Council Map of the same year, this map is in intensely detailed, with streets, businesses, clubs, parks, government offices, and civic institutions noted. This map was issued shortly after the 1932 Shanghai Incident in the final days of Shanghai's pre-war boomtime.

Shanghai International Settlement

The Shanghai International settlement was created in 1863 when the British and American Shanghai enclaves merged. These concessions had been granted to England and the United States as part of the Unequal Treaties that followed the Opium Wars. From about 1854 the settlements were governed by the Shanghai Municipal Council, a British dominated board of government officials and powerful merchants. The board issued restrictions limiting Chinese habitation on International Settlement territory and oversaw the construction of public services, including Trams, a sewage system, highways, and port buildings. The International settlement expanded several times in the late 19th and early 20th century. It became an enclave of peace and prosperity when the Japanese invaded Shanghai in 1937 but this abruptly came to an end with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and subsequent invasion of the International Settlement in 1941. After the war the International Settlement lands were returned to Chinese sovereignty.

The Beginning of the End

The 1910s-20s were a golden age for Shanghai. While China was ruled by Chiang Kai-shek, Shanghai was dominated by several consolidated foreign trade Concessions. Under the strict administrative control of the Concessions, the city became a cosmopolitan haven in the midst of political unrest and a center for global trade and finance. The Concessions occupied what is today central Shanghai's most desirable land, hugging the Huangpu River and Wusong River (Suzhou Creek). These extraterritorial European, Japanese, and American enclaves had elegant housing, fine roads, streetcars, elegant shops, clubs, and more. It was a place of excess, art, and extravagance, where fortunes could be made by the enterprising - and lost by the foolish. Moreover, lacking the moral constrains that limited social life in Europe and America, Shanghai became nexus for the opium trade, sexual excess, gambling, and other vices.

This ephemeral world come crashing down on January 28, 1932, when the Shanghai Incident or January 28 Incident (January 28 - March 3, 1932) pitted the Republic of China against the Empire of Japan. Responding to Chinese student protests against the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, the Japanese Navy bombarded Shanghai. Chiang Kai-shek sent the Chinese army in to defend the Shanghai students, threatening to escalate the conflict. The League of Nations, fearing all-out war, united to demand a ceasefire, which was signed. Nonetheless, most consider The January 28 incident to be the opening salvo of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1938 - 1945) which ultimately merged into World War II.

Publication History and Census

This map is loosely derived from the Municipal Council Map of Shanghai of 1933, but has slightly different coverage, being more inclusive to the north but less inclusive to the west. The Shanghai Daily News published multiple maps of Shanghai in their role as the official record of the British Consulate. This map is rare with the OCLC/WorldCat identifying only one copy, located at the University of Chicago.