Geographical advantages of Jiangmen

1, superior natural geographical advantages, laid a good foundation for building the city.

Jiangmen is located in south-central Guangdong Province, downstream of Xijiang River and west of Pearl River Delta. The Xijiang River in the Pearl River system mainly originates from the water cave at the eastern foot of Maxiong Mountain in Guyi County, Yunnan Province, and flows through Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces from west to east. In countless years, a large amount of sediment rolled eastward in the upper reaches of the Xijiang River and deposited on the calm water between countless islands at sea until a delta was formed, which looked like a replica of a human hand. Five fingers, one is Modaomen, the other is Niwan Gate, the other is Tiger Jumping Gate, the other is Cliff Gate and the other is Hengmen, firmly grasping the South China Sea of the Pacific Ocean. Jiangmen is especially on people's wrists. It is said that five people from Xijiang go to sea. Jiangmen, relying on the Xijiang River, can reach Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau in the upper part, and Zhaoqing, Wuzhou and Xinhui, Kaiping, Enping, Yangjiang, Shuidong, Dianbai, Leizhou, Lianjiang, Zhanjiang and Hainan Island in Guangxi in the lower part. It is the sleeping barrier of guangzhou fu and the transportation hub of Siyi and even western Guangdong. So Jiangmen has always been a battleground for military strategists. North Street, located 3 kilometers northeast of Jiangmen, landed in13rd century, beside the Xijiang River, and is the gateway of land and water transportation in Jiangmen. The river here is wide and the water level on the shore is deep, which is suitable for large-tonnage ships to berth. It is a natural harbor with unique geographical conditions. It is precisely because Jiangmen has such natural geographical advantages that it has become a coveted place for imperialism. After the Second Opium War from 65438 to 0860, the imperialists opened more coastal and inland foreign trade ports and extended their clutches to the Pearl River Delta in order to strengthen their economic and cultural aggression against southern China. In the 23rd year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (1685), Guangdong Customs was established and Zhengshuikou was established in Jiangmen, commonly known as "Jiangmen Changguan". In the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897), Jiangmen became the first stop for loading and unloading passengers and goods in Xijiang, a branch of Sanshui. In June+10 of the same year, Guangdong Customs set up an office in Jiangmen, which was the first time Jiangmen was designated as a small entrance for people and goods by treaty, and Jiangmen became a waterway transportation hub and commodity circulation center for foreign trade of Xijiang South Road. In order to further turn Jiangmen, a commodity distribution center and an import and export commodity distribution center, into a transshipment port for import and export commodities, and as a "bridgehead" for its penetration into the hometown of overseas Chinese in Wuyi and other markets in central and western Guangdong, imperialism carried out economic aggression. On the fourth day of August in the 28th year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty (i.e.1September 5, 902), the Qing government was forced to sign the Sino-British Treaty of Continuing Trade and Navigation (i.e., the Ma Kai Treaty). 1On March 7th, 904, Jiangmen Customs was formally established, and Guangdong Customs placed Jiangmen and Ganzhu under Jiangmen Customs. The opening of the port and the establishment of Jiangmen Customs have promoted the development of land and water transportation, foreign trade and commerce in Jiangmen, expanded the radiation and influence on Wuyi and even western Guangdong, and thus accelerated the pace of urban construction in Jiangmen.

2. The developed commodity economy has created favorable conditions for Jiangmen to build a city.

A city is the center of commodity economic activities in a region. In the commodity economy society, it is difficult for a place to become a city only by administrative means, and it must rely on the development of commodity economy. Although Jiangmen is not close to the coast, it can go to sea through five gates, backed by Wuyi hometown of overseas Chinese, facing the province, Hong Kong and Macao, and can be called a treasure house for business.

Jiangmen's commodity economy sprouted in14th century. At that time, there was a small fair on the top of the fair in today's Pengjiang District. During the first, third and fifth expositions, farmers and fishermen from four neighboring towns brought their agricultural and sideline products and fish products here for sale or exchange. Later, the market gradually expanded to the seaside, and by the 6th century, it had developed into a very lively commodity distribution center with "thousands of ships swarming along the river like ants". By the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, it was even more "merchants gathered and traded in the millions". Various warehouses, fruit and vegetable warehouses, fish warehouses, pig warehouses, livestock warehouses and Chinese fir and bamboo warehouses have been established one after another. There are two modes of operation: retail and wholesale, and the purchase and sale of goods are as far away as Guangzhou, Hainan, Zhanjiang and Yangjiang. Close to Xiangshan (now Zhongshan), Shunde, Taishan, Kaiping, Xinhui, Heshan and other counties, by the end of Qing Qianlong, Jiangmen had become the commercial center in the west of the Pearl River Delta, with restaurants, hotels and shops all over the streets, showing a prosperous scene. In the 28th year of Guangxu (1900), Jiangmen became a foreign trade port in Wuyi and even western Guangdong, and its commerce and trade became more active. This can be seen from the ten-year report of Jiangmen Customs (1904 ~ 1965438) submitted by GReady, the fourth taxation section (agent) of Jiangmen Customs. One paragraph in the report describes it as follows: "Jiangmen connects all five human waterways in the Delta and has been an important trade center in this region for many centuries. The appearance of ships as a means of transportation has gradually declined the once prosperous civilian ships. However, in Jiangmen, all kinds of ships are crowded on the Jiangmen River, which may not be easy to see in other parts of China: navigable turbines are towering between people and ships; 6 ~ 12 sailboats of 300 ~ 400 tons from Singapore and India, equipped with anti-piracy heavy guns; Equipped with two steamboats with gun holes and bulletproof plates to protect the cockpit, dragging a huge passenger ship with bright paint and bright flags to spray steam; Official salt ships, grain ships, civilian ships full of pottery or pigs, live ducks, fruits, eggs and silkworms; Boats and sampans with holes on both sides and running tanks for live fish; Some exiled lepers occupied it. The countless ships mentioned above make Jiangmen River very crowded, making it difficult for small boats to sail. Due to this frequent congestion,1When Jiangmen opened as a foreign trade port on March 7, 904, the customs office was located on the right bank of Xijiang River (that is, North Street? Author's note), there is an excellent anchorage opposite. Therefore, large-tonnage ships do not need to enter Hanoi, and passengers and goods are transported from the urban area to large ships by civilian ships or sampans. " At that time, cloth, sugar, rice, matches, petroleum products, western medicine and medical equipment, adult fish and seafood, hardware department stores and so on. Imported from Hong Kong and Macao every year, it flows into the counties on the western edge of the Pearl River Delta through Jiangmen. Cut tobacco, tea, sunflower fans, silk, fresh fruit and grass cloth produced in neighboring counties are exported to other parts of the province and all over the world through Jiangmen. Every year, the value of goods imported from Hong Kong and Macao and from inside and outside the province is 24.4 million yuan, while the value of goods exported to and outside the province is15.8 million yuan. At that time, Jiangmen was a town in Xinhui County, but because it was a waterway transportation hub from Xinhui, Taishan, Kaiping, Enping and Heshan Wuyi to the provincial capitals of Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao, and North Street was also a commercial port of various countries, Jiangmen was a gathering place for postal, electricity, land and air services of Wuyi. In 1908, Tan Jian's Xinhui Local Records commented on Jiangmen in this way: "If the network is well organized, it is like clothes." After the opening of Jiangmen, the land and water patrol department, telegraph office, post office and other institutions were set up, and manual telegraph and land mail routes were opened: businessmen from Britain, the United States and Japan set up 13 kerosene company in Jiangmen, and churches from Britain, the United States and Canada also set up churches in Jiangmen to preach and increase medical care. Jiangmen has gradually become a hot spot for "Chinese and foreign mixed places, business trips and beatings". By the end of Qing Dynasty, there were 27 air routes from Jiangmen to other places. In the early years of the Republic of China (19 12), Jiangmen became an important stationing place for various armies because of its convenient transportation and developed commerce. The geographical location and commercial advantages of Jiangmen Port have attracted overseas Chinese from Wuyi to do business, buy houses and introduce modern advanced technology. Suning Railway goes straight to North Street, Jiangmen Paper Mill, Jiangmen Guangxin Electric Power Co., Ltd., Jiangmen Lingxin Telephone Co., Ltd. and Suichang Match Factory were completed and put into operation, and Bank of China Jiangmen Branch and Guangdong Central Bank Jiangmen Branch were established one after another. By the mid-1920s, Jiangmen's economy had formed a scale, with foreign trade, commercial services, communications, posts and telecommunications reaching record highs. According to the statistics of Jiangmen Customs, in the Republic of China 12 (1923), there were 650,000 passengers entering and leaving Jiangmen Port, and the total value of import and export trade reached 654.38+0.778 million. Among them, imports accounted for 84.78%. Cultural undertakings have changed under the impetus of economic development and the influence of western culture. News, film and television entertainment, new schools and western medicine clinics (hospitals) have been gradually established from scratch. The introduction of tobacco, gambling, prostitution and other underworld businesses in shopping malls has also flourished, and the underworld forces have gradually expanded. According to statistics, 192 1 year, there are 70,000 permanent residents and floating population in Jiangmen.

Because Jiangmen has the above-mentioned natural geographical and economic advantages, on June 6th 1925, it was decided by the 2nd1provincial government meeting of Guangdong Provincial Government to build Jiangmen Port into a municipality directly under the central government. The establishment of Jiangmen means the promotion of its political, military, economic and cultural status, and the enhancement of its influence and radiation on Wuyi hometown of overseas Chinese and even western Guangdong. Its performance is as follows:

First, the political and military status is prominent. The establishment of Jiangmen coincided with the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the * * * production party, and Jiangmen gradually became the center of workers and peasants movement in Jiang Hui and Wuyi. The Kuomintang, the * * * production party and mass organizations take Jiangmen as a political platform to carry out various political activities. Warlords of various factions also sent troops to station, and regarded Jiangmen as the "bridgehead blade" of Wuyi after the fair. On September 24th of the same year, Li, commander of the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, led his troops to Jiangmen and set up the Military Command Office. In the same month, the preparatory office of Xinhui County Farmers' Association held a county-wide farmers' congress in Jiangmen to implement the spirit of the first provincial farmers' congress, develop farmers' associations and establish farmers' self-defense forces; On February 9, 65438, Xintai County Branch of Guangdong Women's Liberation Association was established in Jiangmen. 1in mid-March, 926, the 13th Division of the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army entered Jiangmen; In early April, Jiangmen Student Union was established; On April 20th, the first congress of Jiangmen City was held, and the executive committee and supervisory committee of the first Kuomintang Party Department in Jiangmen City were elected. On July 1 1, fourth area Pacification Committee was established in Jiangmen. 1927 1 month, * * * Siyi Local Working Committee (later renamed Wuyi District Committee) was established in Jiangmen; In the same month, the Central Xinhui County Committee was established in Jiangmen; In March, the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army established Wuyi Guerrilla Command in Jiangmen. Even after Jiangmen was abolished on February 26th, 193 1, its political status was not weakened. /kloc-in March, Xinhui county government moved from Huicheng to Jiangmen. The Jiangmen Party Department of the Kuomintang still maintained its original organizational system until 1934. After the "September 18th Incident", Jiangmen Businessmen's Economic Scattering Committee and Suning Railway Federation of Trade Unions Anti-Japanese Association were established in Jiangmen to organize people to carry out the anti-Japanese national salvation movement.

Second, the urban landscape is changing rapidly. After Jiangmen was built, the city hall began to formulate urban construction plans and transform the city appearance. Starting from 1927, the city will carry out large-scale municipal construction, open and expand streets, build underground waterways, install street lamps, build buildings, build long dikes and develop parks. The bungalows in Xinlong Street, Xinshi Street, Zenghua Street, Li Anping Road, Xingning Road, Chang Di and other places have been demolished one after another to widen the streets, and arcade buildings with shops on the ground floor and houses on the upper floor have been built: 4-6-storey buildings have also been built on Chang 'an Road. 1928, the Municipal Promotion Committee was established, and more than 200,000 silver was donated by the people to build a long embankment from Yulan (now Zhupaitou) to Juyuan intersection, with a total length of 1.80 km. At the same time, Chang 'an Road and Diaotai Road will be continued, and Taiping, Tangbu New City, Baoshan and other 13 roads will be widened, with a total length of 3658.54 meters. Residential areas such as Renheli, Juehunli, Li Xingping and Taoyuanfang have been formed in the eastern part of the business district, and residential areas such as Hongmenlou and Li Huaqing 10 have been gradually formed in the south bank of Jiangmen River. Most of the buildings in these communities are planned and unified, most of which are two floors, but also bungalows and a few three floors. At the beginning of February/Kloc-0 in the Republic of China, after Jiangmen abolished the municipal organizational system, Xinhui county government agencies moved to Jiangmen, and carried out large-scale construction, demolished houses and rectified roads. The county government set up a township office and continued to build the sand tail section of the long embankment in the form of cooperation between the government and the people. At the same time, 33 roads including Zilai, Zini, Zisha, yangqiao, Xiangxi, Kuiwei, Canghou, Shangbu, Pumice, Zhendong, Zhu Yi, Yong 'an, Xinhua, Juyuan, Gu Lan and Xinye have been built. The road width is generally 6 ~ 14m, with asphalt or concrete pavement. By the eve of liberation in 1938, there were 46 main streets in the town, with a total length of 14.67 km, of which the total roadway area was128,900 square meters, mostly concrete pavement. However, due to years of disrepair, the roads are pitted and the drainage is not smooth. After Jiangmen was established, it was vigorously rectified, completely changing the old appearance of the original Jiangmen town and appearing in Wuyi area with a new image.

Third, the economy has leapt to a new level. After the establishment of the city, Jiangmen's territory expanded and its population soared. According to the statistics of 1930, Jiangmen has 15077 households with a population of 8 1874. The market is more prosperous and is known as "Little Macau". At that time, the transportation was developed, and a transportation network was formed, which was mainly based on waterways and supplemented by railways and highways. Only six passenger ships sail from Jiangmen to Hong Kong every day, and Jiangmen Port has become the second largest inland river port in Guangdong Province after Guangzhou. In the early years of the Republic of China, despite the political turmoil, Jiangmen's business was very prosperous. Especially after it became a provincial city, merchants from all over the country came in an endless stream, and hawkers from four towns came in an endless stream. By 1932, there are 3,000 merchants in * *. Among them, there are more than 50 silk products, more than 60 department store stationery, colored hardware and electrical appliances 133, 50 sugar, tobacco, liquor and tea industries, 59 livestock slaughtering and barbecue industries, 24 aquaculture industries and 7 wine and tea tourism industries 17. Due to the gathering of businessmen and active trade, the financial industry is booming. There are 5 public banks, 4 private commercial banks, more than 50 banks (banks) and 10 pawn shops and insurance agencies in the city, which handle financial business in Jiangmen, Xinhui, Gaoming, Heshan and Zhongshan respectively. During the period of the Republic of China, the jurisdiction of Jiangmen Customs was extended to the areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Yangjiang, Yamen, Shuidong and the Three Gorges. It is divided into five places: Dianbai, Bohe, Duhu, zhapo and Beijinkou. However, affected by the global economic crisis and Japan's invasion of China, the import and export trade gradually declined. By the twenty-fifth year of the Republic of China, the import and export trade had fallen to $654.38 +0.9739 million yuan. During the seven years from 1939 to 1945 when the Japanese army occupied Jiangmen, everything was very depressed. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, industry and commerce gradually recovered and developed, and light industrial enterprises such as batteries, glass and sugar were set up one after another. Domestic commercial import and export trade, financial insurance, cinema ballroom and casino prostitute village flourished. Although Jiangmen was a small town of 30,000 people at that time, there were no management institutions such as telecommunications bureau, post office, shipping bureau, commodity inspection bureau and overseas Chinese affairs bureau. Popular banks such as Guangdong Bank, Agricultural Bank, China Bank, Bank of Communications, Postal Savings Bank Bureau and Central Cooperative Bank still have branches in Jiangmen, opening 34 passenger lines by sea and 5 by road, and also opening a passenger line by seaplane in Suijiang, showing a prosperous scene. From 37 years of the Republic of China to the eve of liberation, the economic development of Jiangmen was seriously restricted because the Kuomintang reactionaries lost their popular support politically and were on the verge of collapse economically. However, it is still a foreign trade port, wholesale market, transportation hub and financial, post and telecommunications, overseas Chinese affairs center in central Guangdong, and news, medical care, entertainment and cultural undertakings are still in the leading position.