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International attention to Shanghai grew in the 19th century due to its economic and trade potential at the Yangtze River. During the First Opium War (1839–1842), British forces temporarily held the city. The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, opening Shanghai and other ports to international trade. In 1863, the British settlement, located to the south of Suzhou creek (Huangpu district), and the American settlement, to the north of Suzhou creek (Hongkou district), joined in order to form the International Settlement.<br/><br/>The French opted out of the Shanghai Municipal Council, and maintained its own French Concession. Citizens of many countries and all continents came to Shanghai to live and work during the ensuing decades; those who stayed for long periods called themselves 'Shanghailanders'. In the 1920s and 30s, some 20,000 so-called White Russians and Russian Jews fled the newly established Soviet Union and took up residence in Shanghai. By 1932, Shanghai had become the world's fifth largest city and home to 70,000 foreigners.
A panoramic view of The Bund looking north towards Waibaidu Bridge. Beyond the British flag is the clocktower of the Custom House, the distinctive steepled Sassoon House (now the Peace Hotel) and in the distance Broadway Mansions, completed in 1935.<br/><br/> The tall building under construction next to the Sassoon Building is the future Bank of China Building; construction commenced in 1936 and was completed in 1937, allowing this image to be accurately dated.<br/><br/> The Huangpu River is busy with waterborn traffic and partly concealed by clouds of steam and smoke. The skyline above the Bund and Hongkou District in the distance is heavily polluted.
An aerial image of bustling Hongkou District in the mid-1930s. Hongkou is the location of the Astor House Hotel, Broadway Mansions, Lu Xun Park and the Lu Xun memorial, as well as the junction of Suzhou Creek and the Huangpu River.