Chinese 乍浦 Literal meaning Sudden Bank Wade–Giles Cha-pu | Postal Chapoo Hanyu Pinyin Province Zhejiang | |
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Zhapu, formerly romanized as Chapoo or Chapu, is a town in Pinghu County, Jiaxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, China. It is located in the southeastern part of Pinghu and borders Haiyan County to its south and southeast. The town covers an area of 54.4 square kilometers and has a population of 54,000.
Contents
Map of Zhapuzhen, Pinghu, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China, 314201
History
Zhapu is the site of a deepwater harbor on the northern shore of Hangzhou Bay, noted as a port since the Tang. Under the Qing, an extensive canal network connected it to Hangzhou and turned it into the area's principal port. Under the dynasty's restrictive trade policies, its merchants monopolized China's trade with Korea and Japan.
At the time of the First Opium War, Chapu was protected by an imperial army garrison and a city wall with a circuit of about 5 miles (8.0 km). The British captured the town on 18 May 1842 but abandoned it shortly thereafter. By that time, the harbor had begun silting up and was only accessible to the lighter-draft British vessels. It was omitted it from the treaty ports at the end of the war and declined in importance relative to nearby Shanghai and Ningbo.
By the early 20th century, its harbor had effectively silted up and the town became a backwater.