British territory of Shanghai

**The British territory of Shanghai(英屬上海)**is also known as the Territory of Shanghai, Shanghai, Sanghai. It is a territory of the British Empire, and now maintains special autonomy as a New Territory/Special Colony in the British Empire. It maintains a good amount of autonomy, and is also the hub of Asian colonies in the British Empire. The capital is Pudong District.

## **History**

### Before 1840

Shanghai before being British was also a bustling city at the Song Dynasty. Emperor Taizu at an old age had watched some movies in the theaters, but he was shot by a man who opposed the Song Dynasty, and was later killed too. The Song Dynasty became a puppetry after the Liao took over some northern parts of the Song, but the Song dynasty resisted after Emperor Zhengzhong led the army to swoop back the Liao, and although the Liao were defeated, Song could not obtain back Hebei and some Qingdao. In the Yuan Dynasty, Shanghai went into a sad age, as the Great Yuan Depression soon came to action, and so the Chinese, angry and unhappy of Yuan's new reforms, overthrew the Yuan and made different bands of countries, which the one controlling Shanghai was namely the Kingdom of Shanghai and Nanjing, which gradually was defeated by the Hongwu Emperor. Shanghai eventually regrew back its own business, lasting for so long until in 1840 it was occupied and annexed by the British.

### 1840

1840 was a harsh year for the Qing Dynasty, which is on the merge of collapse. Because of the Divergence in the Opium Wars, things have went very violent and scary, as the British landed around 3000 troops from their ships, and then easily wiped out the Qing forces in Zhenjiang(鎮江), taking over the city of Shanghai and continuously repelling against the Qing, defeating them with their superior artillery and guns, advancing towards Nanjing. Like in real life, Qing automatically surrenders, fearing an invasion into Nanjing. The British, not eager in taking Hong Kong because of its infertile land and having almost no infrastructure at all , forces the Qing to sign the Nanjing Convention, as British troops peacefully march into the fort of Zhenjiang and also the city of Shanghai, because they had just chose to take Shanghai and the nearby forts of Zhenjiang. The British Shanghai Provisional Government was founded in 1840 as a temporary government to stabilize and bring in the new governor, which the government was disbanded in 1841, following up a new government set up in the Shanghai Pudong Government.

### 1841-1870

In 1841, Sir Henry Pottinger became governor of the territory, making up a lot of progress in Britnizing (British influence) in Shanghai, including setting up new districts and also new factories and western ports, and effectively bought the areas near the Zhenjiang forts with a cheap price, even buying the city of Zhenjiang and connecting it towards Shanghai. Henry Pottinger died in 1850 due to the Taiping Revolution, where he died in battle with his troops during the Battle of Nantong. The 2nd governor, Sir John Bowring, became the governor in 1851, after a short rebellion by the Jinshan Militia which was badly suppressed. Bowring again opened a new era of glory and fame in British Shanghai, opening lots and lots of factories around the sea, causing mild air pollution and water pollution that would greatly affect the territory later. Because of the Taiping Revolution, many families have illegally or legally immigrated into the territory, causing a surge in the population. These low-skilled workers made their homes on the outskirts of Shanghai, as Bowring ordered residential housing in these new suburbs, making the city much better, and also made production of textile and other kinds of industries surge. The golden age of Shanghai starts, as merchants from different countries come and trade, the Shanghai ports were greatly expanded and Bowring himself was proud. Finally, Bowring died at the age of 57, due to pneumonia, in 1862. His grave could be found at the Shanghai Westminister's Gardens and Graveyard.

### 1871-1900

After Bowring's death in 1869, the 3rd governor, Sir Arthur Kennedy, applied for office. He wasn't brilliant, but he managed to build blast furnaces in 1872 to produce steel and pig iron for exporting and for the military. Since the military in British Shanghai is insignificant, Kennedy recruited around 4000 soldiers from England and Shanghai, half of them are Chinese, as they are trained to defend the city. In the following year, Kennedy started building up a new metro in Shanghai, starting from Pudong Station to Shanghai Central Station, which was the first metro in Asia. Steam locomotives were used as well, with infrastructure wildly booming. Kennedy also set up the Shanghai University and the Shanghai Medical and Treatment University, along with several public hospitals and small clinics. Public education became free in 1889, and in 1890, Kennedy was shot by the General of the 4th Shanghai Regiment, Yuan Shikai, which made the Kingdom of Shanghai and Zhenjiang, but was overthrowed by General Sir John Watson of the 2nd Shanghai Regiment in 1891, which Yuan Shikai ran to the Qing. Sir John Watson automatically became the 4th governor, and held a strong fist among his troops and the whole city itself, and this strong fist lasted until 1902, where Watson was killed during a fight with his colleagues in the Shanghai Boxing Center.

### 1900-1930

Nothing special really happened after Watson died, with the 5th governor, Sir Matthew Nathan, being as a drunk man which allowed nightclubs and bars to be opened, making the Huangpu North,Central,South and West Streets a bustling place full of drunks and men who wants to do some no-no things in town. Following the British Crash, Shanghai's economy was very impacted, and uprisings began to rise once unemployment rose by 20%. British Shanghai was tiring itself out.

### Today

Now, British Shanghai is not too bustling as before, but it is now controlled by numerous gangs and cartels all around Shanghai. Although it is the hub of everything in Asia, only half of Shanghai is really controlled by the British, mostly full of legal trading and safety, while the other half are controlled by these gangs, the largest being the Red Dragon. Illegal activities are common here., with poppies and illegal drugs flowing over the Shanghai markets, as the air is heavily polluted and creates heavy smog over the watchtowers and old buildings of Shanghai. The metro is also expanded gradually, mostly just to link dangerous areas to let those gangs to move around as well.

## **Geography**

The geography of Shanghai itself is almost identical in the parallel world, with the exception being that some lakes, such as the Dianshan Lake, the largest lake in Shanghai, shrank into 3 quarters of its size due to making use of some shallow regions for private housing and manors with a private beach. Shanghai still sits near the Yangtze River mouth, and nothing does really change. The waterways have changed over time, shrinking into small creeks and even stopped flowing after the source of it was cut. The islands of British Shanghai include Kinmen Island, one of the four islands also given to the British and later incorporated into British Shanghai, Little Kinmen, Penghu, and all of Chongming Island. All of these are habitated, but the islands further than 5 nautical miles of Shanghai are either incorporated and ceded to British Shanghai, or uninhabited islands. Those are in the British Overseas Islands.

## **Demographics**

The demographics have gradually increased over the years. According to a population "check-up" in Shanghai, there are in total around 8,237,678 people in the city itself in 1932, and in another survey, there are in total, around 2,303,402 people in Zhenjiang, and approximately a 100,000-150,000 people living in the towns and outskirts in Shanghai. Here are the population increases:

2,000,000 1845

3-4,000,000 1855

6,000,000 1870

8,000,000 1890

7,342,192 1910

8,022,922 1920

8,122,978 1930

8,237,678 1932

[Note to mind:most of these statistics from 1845-1890 are merely estimates.]

### Ethnics

Ethnics of British Shanghai include:

86% Chinese

10% British

2% Japanese

1.2% East Asian

0.5% European

0.2% Canadians

0.1% French

### Languages

Almost all of the people here speak Shanghai Putonghua, as 94% of the people speak it as their first language. Hakka is next with 2% choosing as their first language. The third language is of course English, with 3% of the population choosing it as their first language. English is still widely spoken in Shanghai as 79% of the population speak it, most of them choosing it their second language. Japanese, French , Spanish, Cantonese, Canadian English, and Portuguese are chose as people's external 3rd language.

## **Economy**

The economy of British Shanghai is around 2-3 billion in GBP in GDP, and its per capita is around 250 GBP PPP. The economic sectors of British Shanghai are light and heavy manufacturing, trade, an insignificant primary industry, and tourism.

### Manufacturing

Manufacturing in Shanghai had since gone great since the 1850s, as textile manufacturing are among the most popular in the 19th century, textile is shipped from British Shanghai to other areas, such as England,Canada, and Japan. Then, steel became an important thing in building new ships and better infrastructure, so new blast furnaces were built in the late 19th century to provide steel in the region. This made British Shanghai more polluted everywhere. Since the 1900s, although manufacturing have been making Shanghai's economy greater, the Shanghai Government could not solve the pollution problem. Since 1892, the number of Yangtze Dolphins have since decreased in the Shanghai areas or have just moved out towards Hankou,Wuchang, or even further to YiChang. The city is very polluted due to manufacturing.

### Trade

Trade in the city had also grown since the 1860s, after large exports of textile had been given out to Japan,Taiwan,Qing,Britain themselves, or other countries that are willing to trade with the British. British Shanghai imports mostly fresh food and pickled food, to keep up population from not being hungry, and also some necessities, although they also produce much of it. They export pig iron, steel, textile, necessities, and canned food from importing pigs and fishing sardines. Kwanning Port is the largest and by far, most efficient port in the whole China. There are in total 4 ports in Shanghai, and 3 harbors as well.

### Agriculture

Agriculture in Shanghai is small in Shanghai GDP, but they still grow potatoes, carrots , choi sum, and soy. There are also 2 soy sauce manufacturers that produces enough soy sauce for the people in Shanghai, and also 1 pickled carrot and scallions manufacturer named PickSca.

## **Districts**

There are in total 11 districts in the country, namely:

Huangpu District-The central hub of the city

Pudong District-The administrative center of the city

Puxi District- The economic boom happened here.

Baoshan District- Industrial district

Jiading District- Industrial district

Fengxian District- Largest suburb in the city, mostly having the trade

Qingpu District-Industrial district, has the manufacturer PickSca

Songjiang District- Western Government Capital, serves as an administrative town with some forests and residential housing.

Jinshan District- Agriculture in the region is big and large, but it is still insignificant. The only place worth of interest is the Blast Furnace Corporation, which produces some steel at the edge of the district.

Zhenjiang District- Has Agriculture, Industry of Textile, and has a large armory. Worth of interests are the large wall, fortifying against the warlords, and the Zhenjiang Museum, which mostly are those pieces left behind by the British after they robbed the remaining cities back in 1840.

Chongning District- A very fortified district, serving as the main industrial area, and produces enough artillery and its corresponding ammo to bombard half of China!(according to rich fat manufacturers)It also has a nice military base and a port too.

## **Military**

The Royal Army of British Shanghai consists of around 75,000 soldiers, defending the country. It was founded on 1845, and mostly just defends and never really done anything, except suppressing some rebellions. Several joint Japanese-British Military exercises have been performed here and a total of 2,000 Japanese soldiers have resided here. Most of the Royal Army have been actively patrolling around the borders since the collapse of the Qing Empire. Several times gunfire has been exchanged between local warlords and the British Shanghai Royal Army. Both times occurred in 1924 and 1925, and repeatedly the British invaded the Zhili Clique. Eventually they backed down and collapsed soon into chaos. The British Royal Navy has a base in the Chongning District and has stationed a large fleet there, with world-class shipbuilders. Near Pudong International Airport there is a military airbase called Baoshan Airfield. Several Military institutions are also there for eager learners. There are officially 2 bases there, one for the navy and another for the army. They are called the Victoria Military Institution and Cavendish Royal Naval Institute, and they have the highest military and navy degree in Asia with the exception of Japanese Institutions.

## **Flora and Fauna**

Shanghai's flora has a variety of flowers, such as the rose, daffodils, poppies, and dandelions. The fauna isn't great, but it does have some deer, rats, stray cats and dogs, and also some escaped wild parrots brought by Bowring that escaped in 1858 after a fire burned the aviary and a lot of birds flew out, never to be see again, but after 50 years, some of the people have see occasional sightings of parrots and mostly pigeons, who reside around sewers and people's roofs.

## **Transport**

### Rail

There are 3 train systems in Shanghai, the Zhenjiang-Shanghai railway(stopped running in 1929), the Shanghai Metro, and the Zhenjiang Light Rail. The Shanghai Metro has 4 metro lines, Line 1,2,3, and 4. Line 1 goes from Pudong North Station to Fengxian Beach Station. Line 2 goes from Pudong Station to Puxi West Station. Line 3 goes from the Shanghai Airport Station to the Shanghai Rail Station, and Line 4 connects the Shanghai Rail Station to Songjiang Station. The Zhenjiang Light rail consists of 4 lines, the Zhenjiang Central Line, which operates from Zhenjiang Guo Station to Jinshan Park Station. Zhenjiang North-South Line operates from Zhenjiang Port Station to Yijiang Pavilion Station. Zhenjiang West-East Line operates from Jinshan Park Station all the way to the Zhenjiao North Station. Zhenjiang "Scenic" Ride Line operates from Boxian Park Station to Jingyan Temple Station. The Shanghai-Zhenjiang railway operated from 1856 to 1929, with a few changes. It goes from the Shanghai Rail Station, Baoshan Station, Baoshan North Station, Suzhou Station, Wuxi Station, Changzhou Station, and then finally to Zhenjiang Station. It was discontinued in 1860,1869,1889,1902, and 1910, but later reopened again and again.

### Taxi

There are 3 types of taxi companies around British Shanghai, the first being the Shanghai Motor Company, serving most of the city center and administrative center, being as the largest taxi company in Shanghai, and holds a half of the taxi monopoly in British Shanghai. The second being the Shanghai Imperial Taxi Company, which holds some areas in Eastern Shanghai, but largely based on Chongning Island. It holds around 39% of the taxi monopoly, and got good sales. the last one, known as the British Shanghai Taxi Company, only owns 11% of the taxi monopoly and is largely based on the Western Shanghai Areas, which is sparsely populated.

### Cruise

The Yangtze Cruise dominates the whole ship monopoly, and provides cruise service to other British Shanghai external islands, and also to other harbors around British Shanghai. Sadly it doesn't earn much profit, and today it is a wrecked up ship company with the outsides fine but the insides in a corporation civil war.

### Air

British Shanghai only has one public airport, the Pudong Airport, which has 2 runways and has a daily number of people to around 4-5 million, with Imperial Airways and Chinese Airlines making the airport its hub. Popular destinations go to Nanking(Nanjing), London, Tokyo, Yokohama, Seoul, Kinmen , New York(fueling in Tokyo and Hawaii) and Bangkok.

## **Education**

There are public education in British Shanghai. Free education of 9 years are given to the children in Shanghai. Private schools such as the Shanghai Private Boarding School provide higher education as public education isn't a good choice for the children(they provide basic education to the poor), and Shanghai also has 3 universities, the Shanghai Medical University, Shanghai University, and the Shanghai Baptist Christian University. All three need a degree of Level 5 in most of the higher order test once those children become 20. These universities provide history, geography, medicine, biology, chemistry, physics, math, and engineering.