Evolution Of Modern Shanghai Eight Immortals Bridge City (1860-1949),

The paper attempts to seek the particularity and regularity in the process of formation and development through the way of city history-study, with the Baxian-bridge District of modern Shanghai as a research object.Before Shanghai opened trade, the Baxian-bridge Area belonged to Chaozhou Villa, in which the graves, field and stream were crossly-distributed. Natural villages, with temples, ancestral halls, funeral homes, Fenying, were scattered there, taking on a look of field picture.In 1849, (Daoguang 29th year, Qing Dynasty), the east part of the Baxian-bridge area——the eastern of Zhou river, was assigned to the French Concession. Factors of modernization affected the region gradually so that the village fields began to change. In 1900, the French Concession expanded westward, and the total Baxian-bridge strip was assigned to the French Concession. The expansion caused the Baxian-bridge area to be enlarged as well.The construction of cross-border roads and modern municipal services of French Concession promoted the process of urbanization in the Baxian-bridge area. The rural social factors in the area were promoted towords modern urbanization. In the early 20th century, the Baxian-bridg area with"Hua-yang farm"as its center began to form. Since 1917, the Big-World and other public entertainment places have appeared one after another, resulting in the prosperity of the neighbourhood. Driven by the increasingly prosperous business in the Big-World area, social life in the Baxian-bridge Area changed and the geographical scope of this area became narrowed.In order to compete with the Public Concession, the French Concession implementated a"Relax policy"to"tobacco, gambling, prostitution"which were popular in Shanghai then. Following the"drug attack drug","China autonomy"policy, Huang jin-rong, the figure of Shanghai Gangdom, and others who lived in the Baxian-bridge, were recruited into concession. The Baxian-bridge Area became the Gangdom dens of Shanghai.In the early 1930s, a large number of old alley was constructed there. After the 1930s, the Baxian-bridge area entered a prosperous period. After the two war events of"January 28"in 1932 and"August 13"in 1937, residents of Nanshi, Pudong, Zhabei, and some neighboring counties and provinces fled to the French Concession, so the population of this area surged. Some famous stores and big shops moved to the vicinity for business. More than 10 banks and silver houses, big or small, pooled here, the development of Baxian-bridge appeared malformations. In a certain period of time, breathing all, the husi, brothels and dance halls, hotels, restaurants rose one after another. Hooligans, local ruffians and despotic aggregation gathered, and the Baxian-bridge became a dirty place.After the liberation of Shanghai, the Baxian-bridge formed a region of economic prosperity and good social order with thorough rectification. With the disappearance of the Baxian-bridg dangdom and the removal of some old buildings in Shanghai, the Baxian-bridge area has gradually been covered by the modern buildings and green space, with its region reduced to less than 1 square km today.Throughout the urbanization of the Baxian-bridge in one century, we can see that the prosperity and development of a city mainly depends on three factors: the rational municipal planning, the reasonable using of population and quality and the positive development of the tertiary industry. However, there will be some serious urban problems, if the prosperity and development of a city is excessively indulged and improperly controled.