Globalization Has Become a Reality in Shanghai

Shanghai is set to be home to nearly 24 million of people. China’s economy has grown at a fast rate of 10 percent each year this past few decades, There is not doubt that Shanghai has been one of many cities in China has that experienced changes of culture throughout time. In this short essay, I would discuss some of the major key events that has transform Shanghai into the city we known now, some of them being: migration, imperialism, and western civilization.

This changes have become important factors that has helped in the grow of the city. It is thanks to this that globalization became a reality in Shanghai.

Shanghai was not always this prospect as it is today. At the beginning of the 11th century Shanghai was just a simple small market town, growing steady by year. In 1533 a wall was built around the town. It wasn’t until 1842 the Treaty of Nanking that the British was able to demand China to open 5 ports, marking the beginning of Shanghai trade.

This was due to the fact that “Colonies provided necessary raw materials for the advanced industrial production in European factory”1 During the 19th century, these Shanghai residents of Shanghai were divided between three settlements: the French, the American, and then British. Two of these settlements later came to a union and formed the international settlement, although French settlement did not form part of it. Interactions with the occidentals at the ports, together with the inland areas of the city contributed to the beginning of Western imperialism in China.

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Adaption to imperialism brought more jobs opportunities to the citizens, gave them a better education, and ideas of development lead to the urbanization in Shanghais around the 19th century. “Industrialization promoted large-scale diffusion of commercial fertilizers and power-driven agricultural machines such as water pumps, rice and flour millers”. There was a period were the citizens fear, and were against western imperialism, “The dark side of imperialism, the arguments for cultural and racial superiority of the European peoples, were common throughout the imperial world.” 1 Though things changed during the 20th century, were nearly more than 80 percent of Shanghai residents were immigrants brought from imperialism. These immigrants gave birth to new communities, contributing more to the spatial growth of Shanghai. “The traditional societies were replaced by European businessmen and investors.”

The 20th century marked the beginning of the contraction of an important buildings in Shanghai: municipal government and public facilities were brought. By 1921, the Development Bank was built, in order to cover the demand for communication, and media which also turned to be yet another key that helped to the city’s grow. Business, and corporations prospered, which became a pull factor to more citizens, moving from the rural eras of China, the urban Shanghai. In the past Shanghai faced imperialism that lead to a faster city urbanization, today one of the most noticeable controversies that this changed has brought to this city can be notices in the city’s atmosphere. Today China is the number one contributor of the burned carbon dioxin that is destroying the ozone layer. “PM 2.5 pollutants,rose 14 percent from the equivalent period of last year to 66 micrograms per cubic meter.”

Due to the rising demand for vehicles emission, and new building projects —in order to keep up with the population growth — the air in Shanghai gets worse by year. Shanghai is now the residue of more than 24 million people, that is more than the entire population that live in Australia combine. The demand of carbon has made the city the number one polluted city in the world, number of smog levels it is said to be higher than the recommend by the World Health Organization. Due to rising levels of smog: school, and public facilities are being told to closed for continues days. There are times were people are afraid to breath afraid that inhaling the air could increase their risk to lug cancer. It has been reported that during the past years the government has tried to controlled the population, thus reducing the causes that lead to the demand for carbon dioxin.

In conclusion, Shanghai went from being a unimportant city in China, that grew up large thanks to international conflicts, and interactions. It is hard to imagine what could of been of of Shanghai without western imperialism which is responsible to a lot of changes, and treaties. Lets not forget that it was also thanks to immigration, and the city’s natives acceptance to changes in the city that made this possible. The people that first reside in Shanghai had to adapt to the fast growing past of the city, leaving behind a good portion of their authenticity. All this changes had brought upon the people a problem that cannot control.

Yes, Shanghai is still number one most populated city in China, and most popular, but it is also the number one most polluted city today. It has changed throughout the years, and has gone through varies changes that has affected the life of its citizens. But all this new changes that once brought prosperity, and fortune to the city, has become the number one reason why people die. In my maps you will be able to see how Shanghai went from being a small town, with dead markets to a city were you can barely tell there are buildings due to the strong amount of smog surrounding them.