Land, Title Deed, and Urban Transformation.doc

Land, Title Deed, and Urban Transformation: Foreigners’ Acquisition of Real Property in Xiamen (1841~1945) Chen Yu (PhD Candidate) Introduction After the First Opium War of 1841, many treaty ports were opened in modern China, where foreigners resided and traded. During the development of treaty ports, land problem had been the key issue concerned by the Chinese government and foreign powers. Due to unequal treaties, rent-in-perpetuity system 永租制 and title deed 道契 were created to satisfy foreigners’ need of real property in China. Consequently, foreigners could rent land in China and their ownership could be legalized. With land transfer from the Chinese to foreigners, land usage and urban form subsequently changed. As one of the first five treaty ports in China, Xiamen (Amoy) had two different foreign settlements – one was the British Concession initiated in 1852 along the Inner Harbor on the Island of Xiamen and the other was Gulangyu International Settlement established in 1902 on Gulangyu, a small island southwest off the Island of Xiamen. There were two lease modes for foreigners in Xiamen, which affected their development of land. The first one is so-called guo xiang guo zu 国向国租 [lease between governments]. For example, the British Government rented a part of foreshore from local authorities. It became the British Concession, whose lots were subleased to the British subjects at a fixed rate. The second mode was called min xiang min zu 民向民租 [lease between peoples] that was popular outside the British Concession, especially on Gulangyu. In this mode, foreigners directly rented land from the natives at rates agreed by both parties. As “the largest and most conspicuous of the foreign communities” in China, the British was the earliest and most influential colonial power in Xiamen with regard to their political, economic and social influence. In the Treaty of Nanjing, they not only required Xiamen as one of the earliest five treaty ports, but also obtained Gulangyu