Shenzhen (market town)

Shenzhen or Shumchun (Chinese:深圳墟/深圳镇) was a former market town near the China-Hong Kong border, notable for being the namesake of the city that was built on and around it. Replacing Nantou, it was, from 1953 to 1979 the county town of Bao'an County.[1]

A contemporary news article about the Japanese bombing of Shenzhen (romanised as Shumchun) in 1939
The arrival of the PLA at Shenzhen
An old sign at the old Tai Po Market Station that reads 'To Shum Chun'

Earliest known recorded mention of the name Shenzhen could date from 1410, during the Ming Dynasty.[2], but it was only after the arrival of the Kowloon–Canton Railway in 1910, that the town became strategically important, being last stop of the railway's Chinese section. Much of the original town has since been demolished to make way for developments, yet the general street grid largely remains. The contemporary location of Shenzhen roughly corresponds to the area around Dongmen (东门), a shopping district named after the former East Gate of the town.[3]

For half a year in 1899, Shenzhen was occupied by British forces under the command of Henry Arthur Blake, the then-governor of Hong Kong.[4] From 1941 to their 1945 surrender, Shenzhen, along with much of Southern China, was occupied by the Japanese, who used it as a base for the occupation of Hong Kong.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "昔日边陲小镇深圳的历史渊源".
  2. ↑ 深圳地名网 (27 May 2010). 深圳地名. Shenzhen Government (深圳政府在线). Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "深圳墟当年的确有道"东门"". 深圳档案. 2007-04-16. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  4. ↑ "深圳旧事".
  5. ↑ "日军进攻香港的深圳前夜(组图)".
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