treaty port
Port in Asia where the Western powers had special commercial privileges in the 19th century. As a result of the enforced unequal treaties, treaty ports were established mainly in China, from 1842; and Japan, from 1854 to 1899. Foreigners living in ‘concessions’ in the ports were not subject to local taxes or laws.
On the eve of the republican revolution in 1911 there were more than 50 treaty ports in China, mainly on the eastern seaboard and along the Chang Jiang River. They were dynamic focuses for Westernization and industrialization. Although resented by the Guomindang (nationalist) government, foreign privileges in the treaty ports lasted until 1943.
