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Changde Road ¡ª¡ªa epitome of concession period Changde Road is one of the five famous roads in Tianjin. Between 1860 and 1903, nine western countries secured concession areas in Tianjin and they were Britain, France, America, Germany, Japan, Russia, Italy, Belgium and Austria. Each country built their residences and offices following each's architectural style. There are now over 2,000 villas, with distinct variations in shape and style and all together, they occupy an area of 1,000,000 square meters. Villas in the Heping District area were designed by European architects and constructed by Chinese workers. They were mostly built for Chinese occupants. As private houses, these villas allowed some scope for the personal tastes of their owners in the design and this resulted in both Western and Chinese architectural designs. Given the area's considerable historical, architectural and cultural value, in 1984 Tianjin Municipal Government began restoring run-down buildings to its former glory.  In
1860, with the opening of Tianjin as a treaty port, Britain, France
and America secured concession areas in Tianjin of about 28, 22 and
8 hectares respectively. Between 1895-1898, Germany acquired 62 hectares,
Japan acquired 100 hectares and Britain expanded its existing area
westwards to a total of 98 hectares. New concession areas were expanded
to include Russia (328 hectares), Italy (46), Belgium (45) and Austria
(62) between 1900 to 1902.During this period the American concession was absorbed into the British one, which expanded westwards in 1901 and reached a total area of a little under 370 hectares. The French, German and Japanese concessions were also expanded to 171, 245 and 124 hectares respectively. The total concession area was thus about 1,400 hectares. The Russian concession area which was one of the last planned, was laid out but never completed. The German and Austrian concessions were confiscated by the Chinese government in 1917, but was allowed to operate under a separate administration. The French, British and United States concessions were located in a strip of land between the south-west bank of the Hai He River and the main road to Tang Gu. Occupants of the British Concession area leased the land for ninety-nine years at 1,500 copper cash per mu and also had the bear the costs of drainage, lighting, road-making and other public works. By 1870 Victoria Road was laid out with elms on either side of the road.
The American concession area, according to Michie, still had no houses
and was mostly full of ice pits, while the French concession was 'a
wretched terrain given up to pools, cabbage gardens, hot pits for
storing fruit and vegetables, and a rowdy, sinful, and criminal population'
(Rasmussen 1925). This was an exaggeration, but only a slight one.
Rasmussen's map shows the development at this time located along the
south-west bank of the Hai He River and along Victoria Road, to the
British concession, and over to the territories of the French and
the American areas. The French concession of 1861 was a compact area
close to the Hai He River. The Japanese obtained their concession
in 1898, adjoining the French in the north-west. In 1900 they obtained
a further small area of river bank extending towards the Old City.
The German concession was between Da Gu Road and the River, adjoining
the British on the south-east.  The
area around the First Palace consists almost solely of Italian-style
villas built between 1901 to 1940. Most of these buildings are set
back away from the street. This style coupled with the leafy tree
canopy over the paved pavements make this area a significant heritage
site and ideal tourist spot. Most of the buildings are villas or apartment
blocks that are two to three stories high, many with a half-storey
basement. The architectural style and decoration is Italianate (a
style not found in Italy, but rather deriving form a romantic English
interpretation of elements of Italian architecture). |
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