A Research On The Economic And Social Changes Of Shantou Port And Its Hinterland In The Early And Middle Period Of The Republic Of

After the second Opium War, as one of the ten trading ports, Shantou emergedrapidly as a well-known medium-sized city in modern China. By the early-middleperiod of the Republic of China(1912-1939), Shantou port had gradually become acenter of people flow, goods flow, capital flow and information flow etc. in the borderregion of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi due to the construction of Chaoshan railway,the development of water transportation of Hanjiang River and Meijiang River, theformation of highway network in Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi, and theimprovement of the modern commerce and industry and information service in thehinterland, and consequently achieved its most splendid period of development. From1932to1937, Shantou port ranked third only to Shanghai and Guangzhou inshippings that have intercourse with foreign countries and aggregate tonnage. Theadvancement of seaborne trade promoted long-term development of many aspectssuch as modern industry, commerce, finance, real estate, urban public utilities andurban construction in Shantou, among which the flourish commerce ranked theseventh to Shanghai, Tianjin, Dalian, Hankou, Jiaozhou and Guangzhou. The freshimage of Shantou as a modern industrial and commercial city set an example for theurban and rural areas in northern Guangdong, western Fujiang and southern Jiangxi.The advanced technologies and experience in administration from western countriesare spread through Shantou to the surrounding areas, and in consequence theproduction capabilities of its hinterland are promoted, the industrial structures areoptimized and the living standards of the people are improved, and thus thedevelopment of economy and society in the border region of Guangdong, Fujian andJiangxi is promoted. For all these reasons, under the circumstances of economicglobalization and regional integration, the research on the re-rising of Shantou port isgetting more and more attention from all walks of life.The present study will discuss the changes of the economy and society of Shantouport and its hinterland in early-middle period of the Republic of China, which includes five parts: the first part makes clear the range of the hinterland of Shantouport, and the natural conditions and historical backgrounds that influence theformation of hinterland; the second part studies the trade of Shantou port in the periodof the Republic of China, emphasizing the analysis on the domestic and overseas tradeindex, trade partners and structure of imports and exports; the third part deals with theinteractive relationship between Shantou port and its hinterland, placing extraemphasis on the analysis of the interactions within the hinterland and theconstructions of communication network, information network, industry, commerceand agriculture; the fourth part analyzes the interactive relationship about socialchange between Shantou port and its hinterland, mainly stresses on changes of politics,education and living styles of the people within hinterland; the last part provideshistorical enlightenments on the economic development and social changes ofShantou port and its economic hinterland.