Study On The Municipal Construction Of British Concessions Along The Yangtze River In Modern Times And Its Associated Impacts(1861-1929)

Municipal construction is an important vehicle in the evolution and development of modern cities,and the built environment constituted by infrastructure is an important topic of architectural research.The opening and construction of the British Concessions along the Yangtze River promoted the process of modernization and transformation of the cities along the Yangtze River.The current research on it lacks first-hand construction archives,mostly focusing on the construction content of the whole city after the Republic of China,and lacks systematic correlation and comparison across regions.Based on primary archives,the thesis adopts the research methods of documentary research,comparative research and field survey to analyze the British Concessions in Hankou,Zhenjiang and Jiujiang along the Yangtze River in terms of municipal management system,municipal planning and municipal technical practice,and to study the impact of the British Concessions along the Yangtze River from the perspective of municipal construction,between the British Concessions and other foreign settlements along the Yangtze River,and between the British Concessions and today’s urban built environment.By analyzing and comparing the contents of municipal institutions and municipal regulations,we summarize the interrelationship between the British Concessions in the municipal management system and its influence on the establishment of municipal management in other foreign settlements along the Yangtze River;by analyzing the site selection process and planning patterns of the British Concession,we summarize its municipal planning strategies,its influence on the planning of other foreign settlements and the urban form today;by sorting out the infrastructure such as riverbanks,roads,drainage system,water and electricity supply,we analyze the interrelationship between the British Concessions and other foreign settlements along the Yangtze River,together with the built environment of today’s cities.The study shows that the British Concessions of Hankou,Zhenjiang and Jiujiang along the Yangtze River were driven by an efficient and democratic municipal management system and foreign engineers,and carried out modern municipal infrastructure construction based on municipal planning oriented to trade and economy.The construction process was influenced by the suzerain state,the Shanghai public concession and other British concessions in China,among which the Hankou British concession played a leading and exemplary role in the construction of Zhenjiang and Jiujiang British concessions;in addition,the British concessions along the Yangtze River in modern times showed common and ephemeral influences in terms of the inheritance of the system,the commonality of planning and the transmission of technology,which have left a profound mark on the urban form and built environment today.