The Tianjin German Concession was first established in 1895, when it was only 1034 acres, and its western boundary sea road is now Dagu South Road. However, in 1902, taking advantage of the invasion of China by the Eight-Power Alliance, Germany forcibly established the New Territories, more than doubling the area of the concession.
The new concession was mainly extended to the west, with Racecourse Road as the dividing line from the British Concession in the north, Kowloon Road in the west, and People's Park in the south to the causeway. However, until the German Concession was recovered in 1917, the new boundary did not undergo much construction, so not many old buildings remained.
If we explore the range from Kowloon Road to Dagu South Road, it can be roughly divided into two areas, with Guangdong Road as the axis on the west side, full of American barracks and supporting buildings. The axis of Jiangxi Road is Anxinzhuang and Sanyizhuang, traditional Chinese residential areas.
This "Sanyizhuang" refers to Liangjiayuan, Xiaojin Zhuang, and Xiaowangzhuang. The three villages, originally located on the axis of present-day Jiefang South Road (on the east bank of the Wallzi River), were forcibly relocated here with the demarcation of the German Concession in 1895. At the time of the relocation, the three villages were merged into one, and the villagers agreed on a new name "Sanyizhuang". When the Eight-Power Coalition invaded in 1900, German troops were stationed here.
Anxinzhuang is basically on the original site, opposite the three villages above, across the walled river. The name of the village originated from the late Qing dynasty bureaucrat An Weijun. In 1925, the German Dexing Real Estate Company built a large area of lanes, which were damaged after the Tangshan earthquake and rebuilt into buildings.
Another example is the Ronghuali community on the east side of Kowloon Road, which was originally built by Americans in the 20s of the last century, and was also demolished after the earthquake. The area north of today's People's Park, between Kowloon Road and Dagu South Road, is basically a brick-concrete building built in the 80s of the last century, which has a sense of history. (Tsu 404, 2023.05.10)