The Yangtze River is the mother river of the Chinese nation and the golden waterway of economic and social development. Along the Yangtze River, many booming cities have emerged. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic of China, the world-famous "Five Tigers of the Yangtze River" appeared along the Yangtze River, which were Chongqing, Wuhan, Anqing, Nanjing, and Shanghai.
Yangtze
Chongqing is located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Since it was opened as a commercial port in 1890, Chongqing has become a place for Western powers to dump goods and plunder raw materials, and objectively strengthened the connection between this inland city and the outside world. Chongqing has entered the process of modernization, and its industry and commerce have made great progress. By the time of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, chongqing had become the most industrially concentrated and developed city in Sichuan and even in the southwest region as a large number of enterprises moving inwards.
Wuhan is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is known as the "Thoroughfare of Nine Provinces". In the late Qing Dynasty, under the careful management of Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, and others, the three towns of Wuhan rose rapidly and became megacities not inferior to Shanghai and Tianjin. By 1914, the total population of the three towns in Wuhan was close to 1 million people, surpassing Beijing, Tianjin and Nanjing, and was known as the "Chicago of the East".
Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower
Anqing is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In 1667, Jiangnan Province was divided into two by the Qing court and became Anhui Province and Jiangsu Province. The capital of Jiangsu Province was located in Jiangning (present-day Nanjing), and the capital of Anhui Province was located in Anqing. Anqing's geographical location is very important, after becoming the capital of Anhui Province, it ushered in more than 200 years of prosperity.
Located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing is known as the "Ancient Capital of the Six Dynasties". After Zhu Yuanzhang set the capital in Nanjing, Nanjing once again became the political, economic and cultural center of the country. During the Qing Dynasty, Nanjing was the residence of the Viceroy of Liangjiang. At the beginning of the establishment of the Republic of China, Nanjing became a temporary capital. After the establishment of the National Government, Nanjing was the capital. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, Nanjing was one of the country's premier metropolises.
Shanghai is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Before 1843, Shanghai was just a small county with no name. After the opening of Shanghai in 1843, it ushered in a period of great prosperity that lasted for more than 100 years, becoming the most prosperous and developed metropolis in China and even the Far East during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.
Shanghai during the Republic of China
The "Five Tigers of the Yangtze River" have their own characteristics and advantages. However, with the passage of time, for more than 100 years, Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghai have maintained a momentum of rapid development. Chongqing, Wuhan and Nanjing are all new first-tier cities, and Shanghai is one of the four first-tier cities. Only Anqing gradually declined, did not keep up with the pace of the development of the times, and became an ordinary prefecture-level city.
What causes this?
In a word, Anqing's prosperity and decline stem from its unique strategic location.
Anqing
Anqing is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, located at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Anhui River, and is also a barrier to Nanjing, which has been a major transportation route and a military town since ancient times. Qian Chengzhi, a poet at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem praising: "The Yangtze River is sealed by this throat, and Wuchu divides the first state of Xinjiang." For this reason, the Qing Dynasty set up the city of Anhui in Anqing after the separation of jiangsu and Anhui.
After Anqing became the provincial capital, various resources gathered here, driving the vigorous development of industry, commerce and agriculture. However, after the outbreak of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, the capital was set at Nanjing (Tianjing), and the Taiping Army and the Xiang Army launched a fierce tug-of-war around Anqing. This tug-of-war was fought intermittently for seven or eight years. From 1860 to 1861, the two sides fought an unusually fierce armageddon. As a result of the decisive battle, Zeng Guoquan led the Xiang army to defeat the Taiping Army and capture Anqing.
The protracted war destroyed Anqing's prosperity and devastated the city. Although after the war, the provincial capital was still moved back to Anqing, and Zeng Guofan also launched the Foreign Affairs Movement in Anqing, founded China's first government-run new arsenal Anqing Inner Ordnance Institute, and built China's first steam engine and the first motorized ship, but the reconstruction work was extremely difficult, and it was difficult for Anqing to restore its former prosperity.
General of the Xiang Army
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Japanese army captured Anqing, and the city of Anhui was forced to move to Lu'an, Tunxi and other places. The Japanese army burned and plundered in Anqing, once again destroying the city that had been reborn from the fire. Many industries have been devastated and disappeared.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, the capital of Anhui Province was not relocated back to Anqing, but moved to Hefei. In 1952, Hefei officially became the capital of Anhui Province. Since then, Anqing has no longer become the provincial capital, and after several changes in administrative divisions, it has become today's prefecture-level city.
The resources possessed by a prefecture-level city are obviously not comparable to those of a provincial capital. For 70 years, Anqing has quietly moved toward mediocrity and decline. In 2019, Anqing's regional GDP was 238.05 billion yuan, which could not catch up with the fraction of Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghai. Even within Anhui Province, Anqing's regional GDP ranking is not high.
There are a total of 16 provincial-level cities (prefecture-level cities) in Anhui Province. In 2019, Anqing's GDP ranked 5th in the province, behind Hefei, Wuhu, Chuzhou and Fuyang.
Will the people of Anqing now miss the glorious years of the "Five Tigers of the Yangtze River"?