In modern times, Shandong and Germany have a lot of intersections, and before and after World War I was the sphere of influence of Germany. Shandong people were very smart. After seeing the Jiaoji Railway open to traffic, they applied to the court in 1904 to take the initiative to open a port to do business with foreigners. From then on, there have been industry, national industry and commerce, and the integration of Chinese and Western cultures. In 1902, before the opening of the port, the urban area of Jinan was only 2.5 square kilometers, with a population of 50,000, mainly the provincial government offices, the locations of Jinan Prefecture, and the Licheng County Office. In 1928, the urban area was 10 square kilometers and the population was more than 100,000. Since ancient times, Jinan has had the Yellow River Lukou Wharf and the Xiaoqing River Huangtai Port Wharf, which has convenient canal transportation. In addition, the Jiaoji Railway and Jinpu Railway that have just been opened to traffic provide necessary conditions for great development. Opening a port means breaking the autistic city wall. There is no extra space in the old city, so people turn their attention to the outside of the city, and the west of the city will become new fertile soil. The street name is very recognizable and is named in the form of Jingwei. From Jingyi Road to Jingshilu , from Weiyi Road to Weishilu, the chessboard shapes are crisscrossed. The center of the new city is Jinger Road and Weisi Road, with shops thriving. The rise of new cities has enabled national industry and commerce to gain new opportunities. People in China know that Shanghai has , the Rong brothers, , and there is also a famous Miao brother in Jinan. At its peak, they all have their business in Nanjing and Xi'an. The Miao brothers first used the convenience of canal transportation to build grain stacks in Luokou. After making profits, they made grain stacks in Xinzhuangmen. They monopolized the raw rice from the south and the sorghum business from the north to the south in Jinan. World War I was a golden decade for China's development. Miao quickly started flour and textile business and became Shandong's largest business giant. Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan all have consulates in Jinan, and foreigners open shops in commercial ports to do business with Chinese people. At the same time, they also found that if China's national capital wants to further expand, it is not enough to rely solely on their own funds. It is a killing two birds with one stone. So in 1906, Dezhou opened its first bank in Jinan, Dehua Bank. Then foreign banks were established like mushrooms after a rain.
The century-old shops we are familiar with appeared during that period: Hongjitang, Ruifengxiang , Fuchengxin, Hendri , Yulu pawnshop, Longxiang cloth shop, Royal Palace Photo Studio, Yanxitang , Taifeng Garden... In "The Gate of the Mansion", the owner of Baicao Hall, the prototype is Bai Jingqi , the owner of Beijing Tongrentang , Le Jingyu . There is a story in the play that tells the story of Bai Jingqi who was young who went to Jinan and founded Heiqilong Jiaozhuang. The prototype is Jinan Hongjitang in 1907. The original Hongjitang moved to Yuanqian Street. In 1916, it set up a main store (East No.) on Yuanqian Street (North of the East Section of Quancheng Road) and set up a store (East No.) in 1920, and second store (Medium No.) in 1935. The front building of West is in Western style, the back building is in Chinese style, with a courtyard in the middle, and a east-west wing room.
The current Zhijin City area was the link connecting the old city and the commercial port area at that time. Zhijin City, as the name suggests, is related to dyeing cloth. The prototype of "Da Langfang" Zhang Dongmu's former residence and Dongyuansheng Langfang are located in a residential area between Jinping Street and Jinchan Street. When I mention the time-honored Chinese brand Ruifengxiang, the first feeling is that Beijing’s “ Eight Great Xiang ”. In fact, Ruifengxiang was founded in Jinan in 1862. The founder is a descendant of Mencius . This was only known after I visited the Meng Mansion and Meng Temple in Zoucheng . In 1862, Ruifengxiang set up a main store on Yuanxi Street, and Changji Cloth Store and Hongji Cloth Store were set up on Quancheng Road and . In 1958, the Yuanxi Street store was incorporated into the Longxiang cloth store on Quancheng Road, and the Longxiang West Record on Jinger Road was given to Ruifengxiang.
Westerns not only do business with us, but also bring in schools, churches, hospitals, cinemas and parks. Commercial Port Park was built in 1904 in Jinan. In 1925, it was renamed Zhongshan Park to commemorate Mr. Sun Yat-sen. There is an old Jinan-style snack on the west side of the door. Xiaoguanghan Cinema was built in 1904 in Jinan's first cinema. The Jinan Hospital of Tongrenhui, Japan, was founded in 1917 and is now a provincial hospital. The Medical Department of Qilu University is an affiliated hospital. It was founded in 1917 and is now the Qilu Hospital . The Joseph Hospital of Jinan Church Hospital was founded in 1925 and is now the Second Municipal Hospital.
Hongjialou Catholic Church was completed in 1906 and is the largest Catholic church in North China. The Christian Independent Council Chapel was designed and built by the Chinese in 1926. Qilu University . In 1902, the Christian Association of the United States, Britain and Canada founded Shandong Christian University and became the predecessor of Qilu University. It was once as famous as Yenjing University as the first institution in North China. Laoshe taught here. In 1952, it was split into Shandong University , Jinan University , and Nanjing University. Shandong University, in 1926, warlord Zhang Zongchang merged six public universities in Shandong into provincial Shandong University, and its subordinate provincial high school became the experimental middle school in today's province.
