Kiangsu [Jiangsu] (Antique map)

Uncommon map of the province of Shandong, published in Shanghai in 1917. Jinan, its capital, appears as Tsinan. It shows in great detail two foreign concessions: the bay of Jiaozhou (“Kiaochow Bay”), former German concession (and birthplace of the famous Tsingtao beer), described as “Neutral Territory”; and the British Weihaiwei, around the present-day city of Weihai. This was a territory leased by the United Kingdom from 1898 to 1930, with Port Edward as capital, which was located in what is today the centre of the Huancui district, in the city of Weihai, Shandong province. The War Office was responsible for the territory, since it was anticipated that it would become a naval base similar to the British one in Hong Kong. There also appear the railways between Weifang and Yantai, and part of the Grand Canal, from Cangzhou to the north to the beginning of the Huai-Yang Canal to the south, passing through Dezhou, Liaocheng and Jining. This map formed part of the New Atlas of China by John Edwin Dingle, a rare publication of the Far Eastern Geographical Establishment, which constitutes a notable testimony of the Western presence in Shanghai after the First Opium War. Although bilingual (English-Mandarin), the atlas was probably aimed above all at foreign businessmen seeking opportunities for profit and adventure in the country. Colour lithograph.