No one is willing to recall the history at the end of the Qing Dynasty. The cowardice and incompetence of the Qing government at that time led to heavy losses on the mainland, and not only that, but some of the land that was taken away has not been recovered. It is worth mentioning that at that time, Portugal wanted to lease Hong Kong for 100 years, but the far-sighted Li Hongzhang refused their request.
Because he knew that once the land was leased for more than 100 years, it was equivalent to losing ownership of the land. Therefore, Li Hongzhang firmly agreed to lease Macau for 99 years, and because of this, Macau could finally return to the country. One area was also occupied by the French, 300 times the size of Macau. Seeing this, I believe some people will ask, where is this place? Was it finally taken back?
Brazen encroachment on Guangzhou Bay
A long time ago, the Portuguese came to Macau. They claimed that they had encountered storms and could not continue their journey, hoping that the locals would take them in. The local villagers were warm and simple, they didn't think much and directly agreed to the request of the Portuguese, but they did not expect that later they actually directly occupied Macau. The French, who had long coveted China, saw that it was profitable again, and they followed the Portuguese method and took Canton Bay.
Not only that, because of the repeated defeats of the Qing government, this made the French more unscrupulous, and later, they even directly asked the government to lease Guangzhou Bay to them for a hundred years. However, the French demand was firmly opposed by the local villagers, who not only fought against the French, but even organized to drive the French out of Canton Bay.
However, the strength of the local population was too weak to compete with the French. However, while the people of Guangzhou Bay were in dire straits, the Qing government chose to stand idly by. Later, the cowardly and incompetent Qing government ignored the protests of the people of Guangzhou Bay and directly agreed to the demands of the French. So, from then on, the smugly French took over Canton Bay.
Falling into the hands of the enemy Guangzhou Bay was ravaged
After Canton Bay came under French jurisdiction, the area was re-established as a new administrative region. Not only that, because the original French came here on the ship "Batewa". Therefore, the Chinese people also renamed the important city of Guangzhou Bay as "Baitwa City". However, although Guangzhou Bay temporarily fell into the hands of the French, the Guangzhou Bay area did not decline.
In the past, people living in the Guangzhou Bay area had to fish for a living, and although life was poor, they were peaceful. Later, under the management of the French, all walks of life developed significantly. It didn't take long for Guangzhou Bay to become the most prosperous trading port in China at that time.
Not only that, the French also vigorously developed the economy and culture in Guangzhou Bay, to this end, they built many schools, banks, and even vigorously opened factories and built many docks, which promoted the development of Guangzhou Bay but destroyed the local environment.
In 1943, the Japanese occupied the Guangzhou Bay area. Because of the arrival of the Japanese, the economy of the Guangzhou Bay area declined rapidly, not only that, the Japanese burned, killed and looted in the local area, and did all kinds of evil, and what the French and Japanese did made the local people hate this batch of invaders.
Return to the motherland and rejuvenate
Although Guangzhou fell into the hands of the French and the Japanese, China has never forgotten Guangzhou Bay or the people of Guangzhou Bay. In 1927, after the outbreak of the Canton Uprising, the French army was severely damaged. In 1945, World War II ended, and the Japanese were completely driven out of China.
Unlike in the past, China and France are now allies, and the heroic performance of Chinese in the Sino-Japanese War finally made the French realize that they could no longer occupy the island. Therefore, in this situation, China and France signed a treaty, which brought Guangzhou Bay back into the embrace of the motherland. After Guangzhou Bay returned to the embrace of the motherland, it also had a new name: Zhanjiang. It is worth mentioning that Guangzhou Bay has been separated from China for decades, but this does not affect the relationship between China and Guangzhou Bay.
In the years since, China's science and technology and culture have been continuously developed, and Chinese has gained confidence. Not only that, after getting rid of the oppression of the invaders, the local residents returned to a peaceful and happy life. Later, Zhanjiang came out of the shadows and regained its strength. In this process, Zhanjiang also promoted the development of the whole Guangdong.
Epilogue:
China's territories will never be divided, they will always belong to China. The reason why we can say such words with such confidence is because after a long period of development, China has already taken on a different appearance, and it is no longer as backward and poor as before. Today, we no longer have to worry that the land beneath our feet will become the territory of other countries at any time. Not only that, but areas that, like Guangzhou Bay, which fell into the hands of others, have also been revitalized under Chinese administration.