The origins of the Guangzhen International Settlement (Nanzhese) can be traced back to the year 1867 when a united municipal council was created to serve the foreign concessions. Unlike other colonies in Nanzhao the settlement remained Nanzhese sovereign territory.
The International settlement was centred around Luhebei and Guangzhoaze District's where many reminants of the settlement can be found in the form of historic buildings.
History[]
The Bank of Carpathia (left) and the Governing Council (right) in the former Carpathian Concession.
The first settlement in Guangzhen was opened in 1850 by Atridea. It was outside the walled city in what is now Little Mimbasa, Guangzhoaze District. By 1857 the Atridean concession was flourishing and with Carpathia not wanting Nanzhao to be entirely Atridean with control over two colonies so it signed a deal with the Imperial government of Nanzhao to formerly start a concession and by 1862 a sucessful Carpathian concession has been built and was rapidly expanding, it was located opposite the Atridean concession in what is now Luhebei and Dongcheng.
In 1867 the first meeting of the Guangzhen Municipal Council met. The aims of this first Council were simply to assist in the formation of roads, refuse collection and taxation across the disparate Concessions.
During the Hefei Revolution the Concessions came under seige from the Nanzhese government and rebels. the Western residents of the concession's, known as "Gunagzheners", refused to pay taxes to the Nanzhese government except for land and maritime rates. They also claimed the right to exclude Nanzhese troops from the concession areas. In 1869 the Carpathian, Atridean and ??? concession's joined the ??? Settlement to become the Guangzhen International Settlement. The Nanzhese retained control over the original walled city and the area surrounding the foreign enclaves. This led to sometimes absurd administrative outcomes, such as the need to have multiple drivers' licenses to travel through the complete city.
In 1949, with the Communist Party of Nanzhao taking control over Nanzhao the foreign nationals either moved or where forced out of Nanzhao and Guangzhen was returned to complete Nanzhese control. During the revolution many old buildings where torn down or destroyed by a major fire that raved the old city.