Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - A karkashin Qing, Zhenjiang birni ne na rabin miliyan da ke kewaye da jerin ganuwar birni na tubali har zuwa sama. Biritaniya ta kama shi a ranar 21 ga Yuli 1842 yayin Yaƙin Opium na Farko kuma bayan tsananin juriya, ta bar hanyar buɗewa zuwa Nanjing kuma ta haifar da yarjejeniya don kauce wa asararsa. Shekaru goma bayan haka, ambaliyar ruwan Kogin Yellow ya canza hanyar da ke arewacin Shandong kuma ya rufe hanyar arewacin Grand Canal. Ba da daɗewa ba bayan haka, 'yan tawayen Taiping suka kori garin
a shekara ta 1853. Qing ya sake kama shi a cikin 1858 kuma ya buɗe a matsayin tashar jirgin ruwa a cikin 1861. A cikin shekarun 1870, 'yan kasuwar Chaozhou sun yi amfani da alaƙar su a Zhenjiang don sanya shi cibiyar rarraba yanki don opium da aka saya daga' yan kasuwa na ƙasashen waje a Shanghai; lokacin da David Sassoon ya yi ƙoƙarin kauce wa haraji ta hanyar isar da kayan sa kai tsaye ga 'yan kasuwar opium a Zhenjiang, Sinawa sun shirya don tsoratar da kwastomomin sa sannan suka sayi ƙungiyar sa da ta gaza. An kiyasta yawan jama'a a 168,000 a 1904.