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Treaty ports generally refer to ports established for trade between countries or regions, but in modern China, they have a specific connotation and refer to treaty ports opened through the relevant provisions of unequal treaties. Through a series of unequal treaties, the great powers forced China to open more than 100 treaty ports. Initially, they were limited to the southeastern coast, but soon expanded from the coast to the inland, and connected the originally isolated points to form a network of treaty port cities. Through this network, the great powers not only achieved their goals of invading, exploiting, and enslaving China, and China gradually became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society; moreover, as a self-contained urban network, the treaty ports had their own political, economic, and cultural characteristics, and also played an important role in the social progress and development of modern China. The treaty ports were the base that nurtured the power of change in modern China.