Historically, Shamian Island is not an island, but a desolate sandbar formed by alluvial when the Pearl River water rushed to the sea. It is still connected with the land and is called Shicuizhou.
Shi Cuizhou is very small, with an area of only 0.3 square kilometers, but it has been an important commercial center in Guangzhou since ancient times. Since the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, together with the nearby "Shangxiajiu", Shi Cuizhou has formed an important cargo trading center in the southeast coast of China, where countless goods are exchanged and transshipped, thus shouldering the trade burden of Guangzhou. In the Ming Dynasty, Huajie Pavilion was established here to manage the import and export of foreign goods. This shows how prosperous Shi Cuizhou was at that time.
But after the Opium War, everything changed. 1859, Britain and France took a fancy to this treasure trove of geomantic omen, and they sent the British official representative "Burke" to negotiate with the Qing government, forcing the Qing government to dig a stream (Shajiyong) with a width of 40 meters and a length of 1200 meters north of Shicuizhou, making it an island called Shamian Island. Later, the Qing government was forced to sign the Treaty of Shamian Concession, forcibly plundering the right to use Shamian Island and forcing Shamian Island to become a concession.
Subsequently, they began to build a large number of western-style buildings on it, including churches, schools, post offices, hospitals, clubs and so on, for the use of people on the island. In the decades after signing the lease treaty, the public facilities on Shamian Island have gradually improved, attracting a large number of foreign firms, including Swire, Mitsubishi, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank.
At that time, in addition to Britain and France, there were Dutch consulates, Soviet consulates and American consulates. So the buildings on the island are diverse, covering the styles of European countries. There are new baroque trendy buildings, gothic-like classical buildings, and Roman coupon gallery buildings. But on the whole, the buildings in it are mainly Anglo-French architecture, which belongs to typical western classical architecture.
Such a clear and concentrated western-style building is unique in more than 30 concession areas in history. Even the Italian style street in Tianjin, the Bund in Shanghai and Badaguan in Qingdao have no typical architectural style of sand surface. Therefore, the sand surface is also called the open-air European museum. I suggest that friends who like European architecture must come and have a look. The European architecture with different styles here will surely feast their eyes.
Later, after years of changes, the European architecture on Shamian Island also showed an old state. Refusing walls, falling walls and overgrown old trees are silently telling the forgotten history. Shamian Island, once a concession between Britain and France, really witnessed the decline of the Qing Dynasty, but now it has become a national key historical relics protection area. These European-style buildings, which have witnessed the history, have revived in a new way and become famous tourist attractions.
Last year, Guangzhou spent 350 million yuan to renovate the buildings on this small island for four months. The newly built pavement has been widened a lot, green plants have been filled in, walls have been repaired again, and the interiors of some buildings have been repaired. Many public facilities have been added to the roadside to facilitate tourists to rest. Shamian Island, which has a history of hundreds of years, has taken on a new look and become more beautiful.
Shamian Island * * * has 150 European-style buildings with different styles and characteristics, which are most suitable for hanging out and punching cards. This exotic area is also the place with the highest appearance rate of wedding photos. On weekends or holidays, tourists who take photos and punch in are bustling, injecting fresh vitality into the sand surface and becoming a network celebrity attraction in Guangzhou.
Ancient European-style buildings and mossy old trees are reborn in the crowds coming and going, but after you come here, you can still find peace from these mottled sunshine, as if you have traveled through time and space and returned to the old days.
Unlike other scenic spots, Shamian Island has a large number of shops to visit, but there are also many online celebrity shops in the periphery. For example, Starbucks, known as the most beautiful in Guangzhou, is painted with a bright layer of Tiffany green, attracting a large number of tourists to punch in and take pictures. It's really comfortable to order a cup of coffee here and choose a window seat to stare blankly.
Even McDonald's, which has always been lively, has changed its old style and become a European retro style after entering Shamian. The huge yellow logo is embedded in the pure white exterior wall, with a lively and just-right ins style in a low-key manner. It's definitely Dabao Store.
Shamian Island was once a witness to the humiliation of the Opium War. After being rented out for a hundred years, when the new China became strong, it became evidence for us to look back at history and always urged us to move forward. Nowadays, the sand surface that has witnessed the historical changes of 150 years has become a suitable place for taking photos and a good place for leisure.
150 The next great changes will still be witnessed by Shamian, but in different ways.