Did you know that Belgium once owned a bit of China? From 1902 to 1931, Belgium, like a number of other countries, had a concession in the Chinese port city of Tianjin.
What were concessions?
Concessions were territories in China that were governed and occupied by foreign powers. They are frequently associated with colonialism and imperialism. They were basically enclaves inside key cities that became treaty ports. No concessions exist today; by 1943 they had all been dissolved.
Foreign concessions in Tianjin
The foreign concessions in Tianjin were territories ceded by the Qing Dynasty of China to a number of European countries, the United States and Japan within the city of Tianjin. Altogether, nine foreign concessions were signed in Tianjin. They contributed to the rapid development of Tianjin from the early to mid-20th century. The first foreign concessions in Tianjin were granted in 1860.
The Belgian concession in Tianjin
On February 6, 1902, Maurice Joostens, the Belgian envoy in Beijing, and Minister Yao Shideng representing the Qing government, concluded an agreement for a perpetual concession of a site in Tien-Tsin (as Tianjin was then called) to Belgium. The Belgian concession was about 44 hectares (0.44 square kilometers) in size and was located on the Hai He River, an important transport route to the sea.
However, when compared with the concessions in Tianjin of other countries, the location of the Belgian concession was the least ideal. Although the Dazhigu area where the concession was located had good shipping conditions, it was remote from the old city of Tianjin.
The Belgian government invested little in the concession. As a result, the Belgian part of Tianjin did not bustle like other European-owned Chinese cities such as Hong Kong and Macau. Few buildings were built, most of which no longer exist. Even the Belgian consulate was in British territory.
Big in trams and electricity
What the Belgians did invest in were railways, electric power systems and tramways. In 1904, China and Belgium signed a contract granting the Compagnie de Tramways et d’Eclairage de Tientsin an official monopoly for 50 years over trams and electric lighting in the whole city.
In 1906 the first tram line was opened, making Tianjin the first Chinese city with a modern public transportation system. Shanghai, China’s largest city, had to wait until 1908 for electric trams.
The electricity supply and the tram business were very profitable ventures. Almost everything was supplied and maintained by Belgians. By 1912, the company had recovered its entire investment and was making substantial income. Every day, the company deposited the three incomes from its electric lights, trams, and electricity meters into the Huabei Bank and transferred the money to Belgium. It is said that the company was responsible for the Belgian government’s national education budget at the time.
By 1914, the tram network had crossed Tianjin city into the Austrian, French, Japanese, Italian and Russian concessions. (By the way, did you know that a Belgian missionary to China is credited as inventing the first car?)
The end of the Belgian concession in Tianjin
The duration of the concession was short-lived. With an impending financial crisis looming over the concession, in January 1927 the Belgian Minister to China announced that Belgium was willing to return the Tianjin Concession to China as a gesture of friendship.
On August 31, 1929, China and Belgium signed a charter for the return of the Tianjin-Belgium Concession. The administrative power of the concession and all the public properties of the concession were transferred to the Chinese government.
In March 1931, the handover ceremony was officially held, and the Belgian concession in Tianjin was changed to the Fourth District (Special District) of the Tianjin Special Administrative Region.
The end of the company
In 1943 the Compagnie de tramways et d’éclairage de Tientsin was taken over by the Japanese army. Members of the Belgian staff, often with their families, were sent to internment camps. Following the end of World War II, the Chinese authorities took over the network. Two more lines were built under Chinese administration, but the network was finally closed around 1972.
Wow!
I have read a few books on Belgian history, but I ain’t never come across Tianjin.
Thanks for digging this up!
And looking at the map with all the other concessions, I notice that I didn’t know about any of them either.
Not even about the German one, I am ashamed to say. I did know about the German colony of Qingdao in China, maybe that history dwarfed that of the concession(s).
I am curious whether you can still find traces of the concessions in today’s Tianjin.
Personally I doubt if much still exists from the old concessions Andreas. But it would be interesting to find out.
Kind of weird that Tianjin now has a larger population than some of the former concession powers.
Your previous question got me interested and I found this on restoring some of the old buildings from the concessions era:
ZHANG ZHENDONG WUDADAO AREA MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE CONSULTANT “The concession history is a disgrace, but the architecture is art. Art has no national boundaries. We restore these buildings to make better use of them. Now we have renovated 90 houses for private companies. We welcome them to set up their offices here. It can also show their characters.”
I think you have to go on a tour around the world, reporting about all things Belgian that you can find from China to Congo, from Guatemala to Guinea, from Morocco to Mexico.
Good idea. The words “need a sponsor” immediately spring to mind.
If I was the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs or the Minister of Culture, I would jump at this opportunity!
An interesting bit of history.
Interesting, never heard about it before!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_concession_of_Tianjin
Very interesting. And such a Belgian story, only putting some half-arsed effort in it.
Ha, yes, or maybe “focusing on our strengths” is another way of looking at it!
Love the old photos, Denzil. Strange things went on in the world back then. Still do!
Yes, we can look back and complain about things and then see the same if not worse happening today.
I admire your positive attitude 😉
This is an interesting piece of history I didn’t know anything about, so thanks for teaching me something new today Denzil.
Thanks for reading and commenting Carol! There’s always something new to discover from the past, isn’t there?
You can find remains of the concessions in Tianjin. In the area where the concessions were, most of the buildings are of a western/european architecture. The area is called WuDaDao, the Five Great Avenues.
The buildings house restaurants and shops now, some are western, some are Chinese, and some are fast food. The streets are all more narrow and often one way, so traffic is limited, and there are horse-drawn carriages that give tours around the various concessions. The area is definitely different from the surrounding city.