Hankou was not called Hankou before, but Jiangxia. So, how did the name "Hankou" come from?
Jiangxia is located at the intersection of Hanshui River and Yangtze River, and the water transportation is very convenient. It is said to be the thoroughfare of nine provinces. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, businessmen from all over the world came to Jiangxia to do business, and it gradually prospered here. These important streets, such as Chang Di Street, Hanzheng Street and Hualou Street, have also been built.
At that time, due to traffic conditions, most businessmen who came to Jiangxia to do business were from this province; Among foreign businessmen, Shaanxi is the largest. Because Jiangxia is the outlet of Hanshui River flowing into the Yangtze River, and the birthplace of Hanshui River happens to be in Shaanxi, it is very convenient for Shaanxi businessmen to come to Jiangxia. At that time, there was a song circulating among them: "Business people don't worry, take good capital to prepare a boat and go to the Hanshui River. Business is booming, and Hankou counts. " Shaanxi people began to call Jiangxia Hankou. They said: Hankou and Hankou are the ports of the Hanshui River.
Over time, this name has gradually become a habit, and everyone thinks it is more appropriate than Jiangxia. So "Hankou" became the official name, but few people know the name Jiangxia.
During Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, the Hanjiang River was diverted several times, finally making Hankou a prime location adjacent to the two rivers. Businessmen from Shaanxi took a boat down the river and trafficked the goods to Hanzheng Street for transit. Hanzheng Street originally developed from the distribution and wholesale of goods. Hankou's name can be said to be named after Shaanxi businessmen, that is, the Hanshui River enters the Yangtze River estuary. The prosperity of Hankou cannot be separated from Hanzheng Street. Hankou's time-honored brands Ye Kaitai, Qian Xiangyi and Wang Yuxia all made their fortunes in this street. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Hankou was quite prosperous and was one of the four famous towns in the world.
At the beginning of the 20th century, with the opening of Hankou port, the establishment of concession and the opening of railway, Hankou commercial center gradually moved down to the bank of the Yangtze River. Hanzheng Street has evolved into a small commodity market. 1979, Hanzheng Street resumed the small commodity wholesale market, and the first batch of unemployed youth and social unemployed people set up stalls 100. Since 1989, the market sales of Hanzheng Street has exceeded 700 million yuan. Since 1990, the state and individuals have raised tens of millions of yuan to build and rebuild several trading buildings.
-Ancient history of Hankou.
Hankou: During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Hankou appeared as a place name in historical records. Today's Hankou actually has only a history of more than 500 years, which began with the diversion of Hanshui River during Chenghua period of Ming Dynasty. The Hanshui River was originally injected into the Yangtze River from the south of Guishan, and its mainstream was injected into the Yangtze River from Jijiazui in the north of Guishan during Chenghua years. After the diversion of the Hanshui River, the low-lying wasteland developed into Hankou, which is also known as the four famous towns with Zhu Xian in Henan, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi and Foshan in Guangdong.
Hankou has been open to trade since the Opium War. Western powers came to China with various political privileges and economic and technological advantages to set up foreign companies and factories. It not only dumps foreign goods, but also uses cheap labor and raw materials from the mainland to process agricultural and sideline products and sell them abroad, and at the same time directly produces goods to occupy the China market. In the concession areas along the Yangtze River, businessmen from eight countries set up banks to provide services such as exchange, credit, savings deposits, buying and selling currency and issuing paper money. 80% of these foreign banks were established in the late Qing Dynasty and a few in the early Republic of China, reaching 18 in 920. Macquarie Bank is the first bank to open in China. It was the first to set up a branch in the British Concession on 1863, and then five banks, namely Huilong Bank, HSBC Bank, Ruyin Li Bank and Bank of Li Sheng, were established in the UK. There are three banks in the United States: Citigroup, Huayou and World Bank, three banks in Zheng Jin, Sumitomo and Hankou in Japan, and Credit Suisse Bank in Germany, Russia, Belgium, Italy and France. Among many foreign banks, HSBC has a long history, the most active business, the greatest influence and the most prominent role.
With the opening of more and more foreign banks, Hankou has become the center of imperialist economic aggression, which enables foreign companies to obtain financing facilities and operate businesses many times more than their own working capital. 1902 Hankou's import and export value was 10032. 10000 taels of silver, to 152 199000 taels of silver, and Hankou's foreign exchange market was completely controlled by foreign banks. Hankou customs duties are also controlled by HSBC, which is the British customs treasury.