Shanghai French Concession which located within Luwan and Xuhui Area of Shanghai was one of the foreign concessions in Shanghai from 1849 to 1946. The area of the concession was progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The area which is covered within the concession including the premier residential and retail districts of Shanghai. Moreover, the Shanghai French Concession was the largest, earliest as well as the best developed throughout the four French Concessions in China. The other three French Concessions were Tianjin French Concession, Hankou French Concession and Guangzhou French Concession. Anyway, the practice of concession in Shanghai was ended when the Vichy French government signed it over to the pro-Japanese puppet government of Nanjing in year 1943.
The French Concession was established on 6 April 1849, when the French Consul to Shanghai, Charles de Montigny, obtained a proclamation from the Governor of Shanghai, which conceded certain territory for a French settlement. The borders of the concession had been expanded twice in 1900 and 1914. During the 1920’s the French Concession was developed into the premier residential area of Shanghai that attracted residents of various nationalities. Moreover, there were British and American merchants who worked in the International Settlement preferred to choose spacious houses in the newer part of the French Concession as well.
There was a period that the Russian population in the French was kept on increasing. As a result, two Russian Orthodox churches were left within the former French Concession. The large community of Russian had contributed a lot to the development of the musical profession in Shanghai on the other hand.
In 1902, the Concession had introduced London Planes as a roadside tree on Avenue Joffre. The introduction of this tree to Shanghai has enabled the tree to be a popular roadside tree throughout China.