Geography
   The island covers an area of 0.3 km2,900 m from east to west, and 300 m from north to south.It is bordered in the south by the Pearl River, and it is separated from the mainland by a canal.

History

   Shamian Island was an important port for Guangzhou's foreign trade from the Song to the Qing Dynasty. From the 18th to the mid 19th century, the foreigners lived and did business in a row of houses known as the Thirteen Factories, near the present Shamian,which was then an anchorage for thousands of boat people. Shamian became a strategic point for city defense during the period of the First and Second Opium Wars. In 1859,the territory was divided in two concessions given to France and the United Kingdom (of which 3/5 belonged to the British and 2/5 to the French).It was connected to the mainland by two bridges, which were closed at 10pm as a security measure. The English bridge to the north was guarded by Sikhs, and the French bridge to the east was guarded by Annamite French troops.

Trading companies from Britain, the United States, France, Holland, Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Japan built stone mansions along the waterfront.The construction on the island was characterized by climate-adapted but Western-plan detached houses with hipped roofs and large verandahs.

The island was the scene of fighting during the "June 23 incident" in 1925.

After 1949, the mansions of Shamian became government offices or apartment houses and the churches were turned into factories.