Establishment . The initials "R.F." mean "République française" (French Republic). In 1896, France signed the "Hankou French concession lease" with the Qing government, formally establishing a concession area of 187 acres that expanded once again in 1902. The
Russian concession of Hankou was established in the same year; both were established in the same area, with the Russian concession accounting for 2/3rds of the area and the French accounting for 1/3rd.
Expansion After the Chinese government took back the
Japanese concession of Hankou on August 13, 1938, only the French concession remained. With the gradual deterioration of the situation in Wuhan due to Japanese fighting, many Chinese flowed into the concession, viewing it as a safe haven. The concession quickly became overcrowded; while Chinese residents numbered 22651 at the end of 1937, that number more than doubled to 47081 by 1938. It's like it may have exceeded that number too; according to a 1940 survey, the number of Chinese residents greatly exceeded the recorded number of residents as almost all houses had additional Chinese living in basements and pavilions. To prevent Chinese overpopulation in the concession and to prevent possible
anti-Japanese activities that may lead to Japanese interference, the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Industry of the French Concession allocated ~22033
yuan to purchase
barbed wire and the barbed
Tribulus terrestris plant around the junctions of the Chinese block.
Sandbags were also piled into a makeshift fortress at the end of each grid, with French and
Annamese soldiers patrolling the borders, armed with machine guns and cannons. A grid with double rows of wooden pillars were also built for blockades. When it is heard the Japanese were coming to Wuhan, on the afternoon of October 25, the concession was officially closed. Later that day, the Japanese entered into Wuhan.
Isolation from France Following the bloody
Battle of Wuhan, the French concession became an isolated parcel of territory in the otherwise turbulent Japanese-occupied China, and even more thousands of refugees fled into the concession to flee war; during this period, it is said more than 100000 people were housed in the concession, both Chinese and foreigners alike. Thus, the price of daily necessities rose rapidly. == References ==