Shanghai 1947 in turmoil

[Music] Shanghai storage seaport of the fabled Orient commercial metropolis of China and one of the world's greatest seaports in ten years its population doubles to a seating seven million people with everyone fighting for his own existence and struggling to earn the necessities of life with tremendous increase in export and import trade Soochow Creek is the scene of congestion and fever heat activity as river boats push their way up and down the waterways busily engaged in loading and unloading much-needed cargoes [Music] for the native boatman it is much work and little rest even when it comes to clearing the deck sharpened by eight years of war China's demand for goods from abroad grows and leaps and bounds as imports exceed 300 million dollars a year there is movement everywhere no standing still as official China struggles to come home amid chaos which sweeps over the nation's 4 million square miles and 450 million people countless barges laden with baled cotton crowd the Wankel river and the going is slow and toilsome as quickly as boats are unloaded just so fast are the essential materials rushed inland for this is China's greatest manufacturing center cotton hundreds of bales drums of gasoline by the thousands tins of kerosene cases of medical supplies and a thousand and one essentials are gobbled up in China's hungry Maw keeping pace with the increasing volume of imports is one of Shanghai's ever-present problems as these imports double month by month American gunboats ride a tanker in the shadow of Shanghai's waterfront here is the Occidental quality of Shanghai with its skyscrapers trolley cars and semi foreign atmosphere with leaders striving to stem China's constant economic chaos Shanghai bulges with milling crowds vehicles of all sorts and the familiar rickshaw Shanghai streets present a mass of pushing rushing pedestrians all forming a human barrier to speed on every avenue and Road as the population continues to soar to unbelievable heights so two bounces the cost of living to more than 5,000 times pre-war levels speculative activity still is great and common everyday goods are scarce [Music] [Applause] [Music] although manufacturing gradually gains momentum the makers of crude wooden shoes still ply their trade sure of a market from those fortunate enough to have the necessary purchase price fittings are a simple matter and it is a lucky child who has parents with a wherewithal the uneducated and illiterate are numbered by the millions which gives to the public letter writer a continuous stream of customers and it is said that these commercial scribes never tell a family secret although they hear and write hundreds of bits of gossip every day openly venting their smuggle or pilfered goods the black marketeers are one of the big problems for Shanghai civic leaders and bags for the ladies cotton pens keychains cigarette holders and knickknacks for the men nylon stockings all sizes and shades watches and jewelry for those who can afford them perfumes and cosmetics for the ladies and canned goods by the thousand canned vegetables are much in demand as even the black market prices are lower than those asked by the farmers who struggle to grow fresh vegetables and laborious leek art them to the marketplace also in this conglomeration of black-market goods are hundreds upon hundreds of packages and cans of GI rations all selling to eager buyers at a fairly low price another problem causing great speculation in this vast city on the west bank of the Yangtze River is the low value of the Chinese dollar the wealthy speculate with gold articles and gold bars when the price of gold is right then when gold goes down they buy it back when these scenes were filmed the value of the Chinese dollar had shrunk from two to two thousand for $1 American money far beyond the city coolly still take the places machinery as they work as human mules doing the almost impossible job of pulling a barge against the stream in shallow water hundreds of pulling tugging coolies performed these body breaking tasks each day seemingly against all laws of nature that demand a sufficiency of proper food the diet of these men is mostly rice and as a luxury a bit of green vegetable or fish if the native rice costs a small fortune in Chinese dollars and the price of a pound of beef is almost prohibitive the bare necessities of life are very expensive and the influx of thousands of people does not help the serious food problem in Shanghai nevertheless these coolly survive in a continuous line laborious ly transport steel for China's Mills pipelines electrical mechanical and chemical equipment for its industries and huge logs for its factories but amid this topsy-turvy hustle and bustle the more prosperous natives find time and money to crowd into the theatres their taste varies from the tree hurtling Tarson to the more complacent atmosphere of kismet however the Orthodox prefer the native Chinese theater and there are several in Shanghai where they have their own stars and favorite performers new neon lights and red Chinese characters flash by night but there is little real gaiety among the people restaurants and cafes are crowded and dancing to modern band music is the favorite pastime of Shanghai's Cafe Society although the men dress an Occidental fashion these women stick to their oriental gowns of genuine beauty every day thousands of people come to Shanghai only to be faced with a housing shortage an absolute lack of living accommodations while other thousands seek to migrate to nearby cities and towns less crowded at every hour of day and night hundreds stand in line at the North Station railroad ticket office hoping to purchase tickets to outside points [Music] they cook and eat their rights wherever they may be for many wait two and three days before succeeding and buying a ticket some entire families stay at the station for days and baby is fed while daddy waits in line outside the station the situation is even worse and incredible as it may seem some sprawl out on the sidewalks and sleep as they wait many trains are not nearly hours late but days behind and schedules are as much of a jumble as the city itself [Music] others too poor to have railroad fare start their migration on foot carrying all their worldly belongings and dragging their weary bodies to somewhere anywhere where they can start life anew away from the city of disarray and chaos Shanghai China's great metropolis city of contrasts and confusion [Music]

Channel: MichaelRogge

Views: 183,929

Keywords: michael rogge, Shanghai (City/Town/Village), 1947

Id: oUadez_8Eww

Length: 8min 20sec (500 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 03 2013