UNDERSTAND CHINA · MODERN HISTORY
Guangzhou
Guangzhou did not begin connecting with the world after 1840. Its modern transformation came as older maritime institutions, the postwar treaty-port system, revolutionary organisation, modern education and public space accumulated. Reform and opening then expanded these links through the Canton Fair, manufacturing networks and the Pearl River Delta.
City timeline
- 1840s · War disrupts the old trade system — The Opium War and the treaty system altered Guangzhou’s long-standing trading role, making port space and sovereignty central to its modern history.
- 1856—1861 · Second Opium War and Shamian concession — Guangzhou came under military attack; the British and French concessions on Shamian further divided policing, municipal authority and residence.
- 1911—1920s · Revolutionary politics converge — The Huanghuagang Uprising, Sun Yat-sen’s political activity, the Whampoa Military Academy and mass movements made the city a major revolutionary centre.
- 1925—1927 · Strike, Northern Expedition and political violence — The Canton-Hong Kong Strike and National Revolution widened mass participation; the collapse of the United Front, uprising and suppression imposed grave costs on workers and families.
- 1938—1945 · Occupation by invading Japanese forces and civilian survival — Invading Japanese forces and their occupation authorities controlled the port and transport while civilians endured air raids, displacement, requisition, inflation and shortages.
- 1957 · The Canton Fair begins — The China Export Commodities Fair began in Guangzhou, extending foreign trade through new state institutions and an exhibition platform.
- 1978—1990s · Regional markets, migration and the Pearl River Delta — Market reform, township industry and interprovincial labour migration linked Guangzhou with surrounding manufacturing cities into a new metropolitan region.
Begin with these places
- Shamian and the Thirteen Factories area — Observe how foreign-trade spaces shifted along the Pearl River.
- Guangzhou Museum of Modern History and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall — Connect revolutionary politics with urban public space.
- Former site of the Whampoa Military Academy — Understand 1920s politics, military education and regional transport.