Complex sentence: During the late Qing Dynasty, Shanghai's economy began to rival the traditionally larger market at Suzhou, with 18th-and early 19th-century exports of cotton, silk, and fertilizer reaching as far as Polynesia and Persia.
Split into simpler sentences: During the late Qing Dynasty, Shanghai's economy began to rival that of the traditionally larger market at Suzhou. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, exports of cotton, silk, and fertilizer reached as far as Polynesia and Persia.