Immigrants At Hankow's Urbanization, 1850-1911

After the fatal flood at 1849 and the ruinous fire at the beginning of 1850 and the succedent Taiping rebellion, Hankow was almost ruined and was forced to start another reestablishment. From then on Hankow came into steady development days till 1911 revolution, In that period a new round of immigrant heat lashed Hankow and made up of the basic origin of modern Hankow people and had great influence on Hankow's resuscitation and urbanization. This text tried to clarify that history with four chapters.Chapter one illuminate briefly the huge disasters to Hankow and the elementary reconstruction of the city with the return of immigrants. Although Hankow was attacked by successional unusual tragedies and was almost razed to the ground, but it recovered wonderfully with strong commercial vigor. While the society went to security after 1856, surviving immigrants came back from their local origin and rebuilt Hankow effectively.Chapter two analysed emphatically the new immigrant heat from 1861 to 1899 and its infection to the reconstruction and urbanization of Hankow. Not as the travelling merchants and their employee before, these immigrants mainly came from the villages around Hankow, partly because of the attraction of the growing city and partly because of the impeling of the agricultural crisis and population stress in the countries. This heat also changed the force balance of people from different provinces.Chapter three analysed emphatically immigrants' influence on the early expandment of the urban. From its establishment to 1911 revolution, the urban grew rapidly. Its population, economic and size all enlarged fast, its economic and society structure transferred as urbanization standard, its function improved gradually, its management system was evolved, and the culture of itself came into being. We can found the force of immigrants in all those changes.Chapter four took a simple analysis to the way of Hankow's urbanization. The urbanization of Hankow was essentially the leap from traditional town to modern urban, and it was similarly a process which attracted immigrants and assimilated them, it was a natural developmental course and showed the probability of city modernization in china. However, the way of Hankow's urbanization was not mature, not perfect, not example, and not idyllic. Only with a well country environment can form a good urbanization.