58 ◾ Investment and Employment Opportunities in China
In 1554 a city wall, which measured 10 m high and 5 km in circumference, was built to
protect the town from raids by Japanese pirates. And in 1602, which was during Wanli reign
(1573–1620), Shanghai received an important psychological boost from the erection of a City God
Temple. During the Qing Dynasty, Shanghai became one of the most important sea ports in the
Yangtze Delta region. By 1735 Shanghai had become the major trade port in the lower Yangtze
River region.
International attention of Shanghai grew in the nineteenth century when Europeans rec-
ognized the city’s economic and trade potential. e first opium war with British forces ended
with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing. at allowed t ...