Today is the start of the Art Deco Congress in Paris, celebrating the 100 anniversary of the Exposition International des Arts Décoratifs where Art Deco was introduced to the Word.
Paris Art Deco Congress
Bretons association in Old Shanghai
Although they were at most 1500 French people in Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s, they were keen on getting together in regional groups. This was made clear in previous post. “French regional associations in Old Shanghai“.
Amongst the French regions, Brittany has long had an history of emigration with a strong diaspora and support network. Breton cultural movement developped in the late 19th century, resulting in the creation of the Brittany flag in 1923 by Breton nationalist architect Morvan Marechal. Named the Gwenn-ha-du, it was presented at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs. This major exhibition showcased Art Deco to the World, heavily influencing Shanghai architecture. This year is the 100th anniversary of the exhibition, with multiple events in Paris around this theme.
Bretons were active in Shanghai in the 1930s, as shown in articles in Le journal de Shanghai. Here is the story of the short-lived but active “Association amicale des Bretons de Shanghai”. Information mostly came from articles in “Le journal de Shanghai”. It is amusing to see that the activites of the 1930s Breton association is pretty similar to the one today.
15 Apr 1935 – Foundation of the association. President was Commandant Le Floch who was a professor at Ecole Remie, Rue Remie (today Yong Kang Lu / 永康路) and Vice-President was Mr H Chatel, who was the owner of the French Pharmacie Grenard & Co, 57 Nanking Road.
21st Apr 1935 – General assembly of the association, named “Le Biniou” at the Cercle Jeanne d’Arc, 199 Route du P`ere Robert (today RuiJin 2 Lu / 瑞金二路). All bretons in Shanghai were are invited.
29th Jun 1935 – Banquet of the “Association amicale des Bretons de Shanghai” re-named “Ar Mor” in “le foyer du Marin et du Soldat”, 49 Rue Victor Emmanuel III (today Shaoxing Lu / 绍兴路). 200 people attended, lead by the Commandant Le Floch, president of the association. Main guest included the French Consul and other important people of the French and Breton community.
An article with picture (see above) was published in Brittany newspaper Ouest Eclair on 13th Aug 1925. Another article with similar content but no photo was published in “La dépêche de Brest” 20th July 1935.
5th November 1935 – 1st Conference (“causerie) by Mr Schveitzer, a teacher at the French school, about the life of Breton navigator Yves de Kerguelen-Tremarec.
7th November 1935 – 2nd Banquet of the association. with about 200 people, also at the “foyer du Marin et du Soldat”. Commandant Le Floch had great success in singing “la Chanson du cidre” (1929), which later became one of the most important Breton song.
19th Jan 1936 – Children party by the association. Paulette Hameury was the daughter of the association secretary.
20th jan 1936
20th February 1936 – General assembly of the association, also at “Le foyer du Marin et du Soldat”.
16th Jun 1936 – Official opening of the “Jardin des Bretons de Shanghai”, Bretons Garden in Shanghai. This garden was located on Point Island (today Fuxing Dao / 复兴岛 in Yangpu district). Many French officials attended the ceremony. This was a great project for the Breton community that was to be developed in the following year. Unfortunately, the Japanese forces invaded Shanghai starting with Hongkou and Yangpu district in August 1937. No news of the Jardin des Bretons was found after this article.
October 1936 – Departure of Commandant le Floch leaving back to France. This is the last news I could find about the association.
A Shanghai Breton association was revived in 2008, with a meeting at Breton restaurant “La cr`êperie”. French online newspaper, Le Petit Journal, posted an article of the Bretons community in Shanghai in February 2025 (follow this link to read it).
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人和館 / Renheguan
Looking for Old Shanghai style places, I ended up by invitation in Old Shanghai themed restaurant 人和館 / Renheguan.
Although it is located in a modern building (and not in an old house unfortunately), the owner has managed to recreate a great old Shanghai atmosphere. I went on a day when it was packed, and the whole place was bustling and Shanghainese language was all over the place… as it should be.
The restaurant is located on Zhao Jia Bang Lu, formerly the Zhaojia creek / 肇嘉浜, that used to be the separation between the French Concession and the South part of the Chinese city, called 南市. Old houses are located in the area, that was quite upscale in the 1930s so it’s a good place from a historical point of view.
Since the restaurant has 1 start Michelin, the food was excellent, well executed and delicious. This really felt like a short trip to Old Shanghai, reminding me of the now closed Xian Qiang Fang.
人和館 / Renheguan can be found at 407 Zhaojiabang Road / 肇嘉浜路407号.
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French regional associations in Old Shanghai
French people love “associations” or clubs around a specific topic. Incorporating a non-profit corporation (“association loi 1901” in French) is easy to create a legal framework for a sport club, a cultural society or a charity. As soon as a number of French people gather together, they form an “association”.
The oldest one representing French people abroad is UFE (Union des Français de l’étranger), founded in Paris in 1927. It was recreated in Shanghai around 2002. Its role is mostly to foster the social life of French people, organizing parties, talks and social events. I did not find traces of a representation in Old Shanghai, but maybe there was. However French people had many places to gather, such as the high end Cercle Sportif Français, and the more affordable Cercle Français.
A revival of those clubs was the Cercle Francophone de Shanghai (1991), now renamed as Shanghai Accueil. Another noticeable one is Solidarité Shanghai, which cares for French people in distress in Shanghai. I am sure something like that existed in Old Shanghai, at least informally, but I did not find traces either.
Along those national associations, there are also many that gather French people from a particular region of France. Bretons, Alsatians, Marseille and Lyon people are probably the biggest ones along with smaller ones like the ones of people from Bourgogne-Franche Comté, that I founded. I was amazed to find out that those kind of associations existed in Old Shanghai, as shown in below article from “Le Journal de Shanghai” 21st March 1928.
Here is a translation of the article:
“By the way…
In Shanghai, we have a consul general from Auvergne and a general from Brittany. I’m not even entirely sure that we don’t have, among the representatives of France’s friends and allies, a minister plenipotentiary from Provence and an ambassador from Champagne. In any case, there is probably no other place in the world where French regionalism takes on such a distinctly separatist character as it does here.”
As the article shows, French people in modern Shanghai have only restarted what already existed in Old Shanghai. Funny enough I have recently been appointed as an ambassador for the city of Dijon, contributing to this even more. Apart from this article, I only found actual traces of a Breton association called “Ar mor” that was created in December 1935, as shown by a small article in the Journal de Shanghai.
France is a centralized country and not a federation like Germany or Italy. Centralization and suppression of regional identity in France was particularly strong in the 19th and first half of the 20th century. Regional languages were suppressed, particularly after the introduction of free compulsory education in the late 19th century. It is then quite impressive to see this kind of regionalism in Old Shanghai, probably amplified by the distance with the home country.
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Farewell to Tess Johnston
This is with great sadness that I learned that Tess Johnston has passed away on 14 September 2025.
When she was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1931, nobody could have predicted that Tess Johnston would fall in love with Shanghai and spend a large share of her life in this city. Working with the American diplomatic service, based in East Berlin and Saigon before reaching Shanghai in 1981. Fascinated by the city’s architecture frozen in time, she was one of the first foreigners to study it on location. After studying it for years, she turned her passion into a first book, along with photographer Deke Ehr / 尔东强, “A last look, Western architecture in Old Shanghai”, 1993.
This was the first book showing pictures of Shanghai historic architecture and research about the history of those buildings. It shed a new light on the city’s architecture and history. Knowledge of the city’s history was limited then and research was much harder before the internet but the book inspired lot’s of people and numerous projects contributing to better understand Old Shanghai. She became an inspiration for generations of amateur researchers (like me) and academics to dig deeper into Shanghai history.
The pair would write numerous other books focused on areas in Shanghai like “Frenchtown Shanghai”, 2000, focusing on the former French Concession. They also studied other former “treaty port” cities in China like Hankou, Qingdao, Tianjin, Xiamen, GuLangYu island and Canton. A new edition of the book “A last look” was published in 2004. Their last and best collaboration was “Shanghai Art Deco”, 2006.
Her next project was a series of practical guide books about Old Shanghai, talking the shape of guided walks. Many of the experts on Old Shanghai collaborated to these books that are invaluable.
Although she was not originally from the city, Tess Johnston became the most knowledgeable person about Old Shanghai. She embodied it as much as people form the same generation who actually grew up in Shanghai like her friends Lynn Pan, Betty Bar, Rena Krasno and Sam Moshinsky. Although she did not grow up in Old Shanghai, it very much felt like she actually had.
Tess Johnston also used to give walking tour of Old Shanghai. I was lucky enough to take part to one in of those in 2012 (see post “Touring with a legend“). Aged 81 then, she was still full of energy and passion for the city, making this a memorable event as those tour became more and more rare. Although she left Shanghai a few years ago to go back to the US, her spirit never really left the city.
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Tramways of Hong Kong and Shanghai
I have always had a very special interest for tramways. When living in Budapest before Shanghai, I used them daily. There tramways have been kept, maintained and expanded since the early part of the XXth century. In Shanghai, trams were dismantled in the ’70s. This early symbol of modernity was sacrificed to the new modernity of bus running on petrol and automobiles.
Trams in Shanghai were introduced in March 1908 in the international settlement (line from the Bund to Jing An temple). Part of today’s Metro line 2 follows the same track. This was followed in May 1908 by the first line of the French Concession. Part of today’s Metro line 1 follows the same line. The third company in the Chinese city, the Nanshi line was opened in 1913.
In Chinese trams are called 有轨电车, but the colloquial name in Shanghainese was 铛铛车 / Dang Dang Chi, meaning dang dang car because of the bell used to wave off people and obstacles on the tracks.
The closest thing to tramway in Shanghai is probably the line 71, that crosses Shanghai on a East West line under the Yanan elevated motorway. Although it’s not a real tramway, but a trolley bus, it follows part of the former tramway track on former Avenue Joffre / Avenue Edouard VII. The story goes that it was originally planned to be an actual tramway, but then the project changed to a trolley bus that is more flexible. Anyway, it makes an enjoyable ride in central Shanghai, giving a bit of old time tramway feeling.
Many cities in China operated tramways, but the only one that kept them running continuously in mainland China is Dalian, that started operation in 1909.
Hong Kong is the other place to watch old tramways, where they have been running since 1904. Hong Kong tramways are nicknamed 叮叮车 Ding ding chi, similar to the name in Shanghai. Since I go to Hong Kong regularly, I often enjoy taking the tram to go to some business meetings.
Trams in Hong Kong were originally very similar to Shanghai ones. They changed to double deckers in the 1910s. As far as I could find, Hong Kong is the only place in the World were the entire tram fleet is made of double deckers. They never existed in Shanghai.
Tram cars in Hong Kong are of various age, and some are very old but well maintained. I recently took a tram with nice wooden chairs with rattan seat. Windows were wooden with a wooden supported roof. I don’t know when this car was built, but it felt like from the 40s or maybe even earlier.
Taking the tram in HK is very practical for short distances on the island. It is also a great way for a quick and cheap time travel, particularly around (the few remaining) old buildings. It’s a great way to imagine what it was to go down Shanghai Nanking Road or Avenue Joffre on a tram.
For more information on the tramways and transport system in Shanghai, please go to post Old Shanghai Tramways and China General Omnibus Company.
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Her Lotus year, by Paul French
I have never found any interest in the life of British Royals. As Paul French looked into Wallis Simpson stay in Shanghai in his new book: “Her Lotus year”, this attracted my attention into this episode of Royal history.
Having spent years living in Shanghai, Paul French is no new comer to Old Shanghai and author of several deeply researched books on the topic. Those included “The Old Shanghai A-Z“, Carl Crow’s biography “A tough Old China hand” and “City of devils, a Shanghai noir”. He then turned on to Beijing, investigation a 1937 crime in “Midnight in Peking“. This made him the perfect candidate to investigate Wallis Simpson stay in China, a part that was mostly overlooked from other biographers.
Wallis Simpson arrived in Hong Kong in September 1924, rejoining her husband, an american navy officer, in an attempt to revive their marriage. The reunification failed and she embarked on daring trips to Canton, Shanghai and Beijing. China political situation at the time was chaotic at best, as the country was nearly in civil war. Several armies were fighting for controlling the country, in what became known as the warlord period. The complete chaos of China at the time is well described by journalist Albert Londres who travelled to China at the same time and related his trip in book “La Chine en folie“. Travelling as a single women, Wallis Simpson was probably on missions carrying important documents for the US army or administration, shown by the monetary and logistics support she received.
Arriving in Shanghai in November 1924 on Canadian ship “Empress of Russia”, she stayed at the high end Palace Hotel on the Bund, close to the American consulate. Wallis Simpson quickly integrated the top of Shanghai foreign society, with the help of “Robbie” an English architect who later designed the new Shanghai Race Club building in 1934. He took her to the Majestic Hotel, to the horse races, and among the powerful people of city. In December 1924 she departed to Beijing. She only spent a few weeks in Shanghai, and none of the rumors seem true, apart from Wallis Simpson easily befriending people in the higher tier of society.
One of the recurring theme about Wallis Simpson is the “China dossier” compiled by the British secret services, showing how scandalous she was. She was rumored to have had affairs with multiple men, even selling sexual services and using the exotic skills learned in Asia to capture her preys. The “Shanghai grip” was particularly talked about, “The ability to make a match stick feel like a cigar”. Paul French rigorous inquiry shows that most of those rumors where unfounded, but cleverly crafted so as to be made easily believable. A number of the stories were actually true, referring to other women living in China in the same period. Confusion was easily spread, supported by the Western fascination for the exotic East.
Paul French conclusion is that the whole China Dossier was falsely created to destroy the reputation of Wallis Simpson and discourage her marriage with future King Edward the VIII. In the end, the King abdicated a few days after his coronation, to be able to marry her. In retrospect, this was a perfect outcome as Edward VIII seems to have had a lack of judgment if not strong sympathies for Nazi Germany, even visiting Adolf Hitler in October 1937.
With little actual facts, Paul French is great at filling the gaps of the story and gives a lot of background information thanks to his in-depth knowledge of Shanghai and Beijing at the time. The books make an entertaining and easy read, while being supported by in-depth research. Besides the Wallis angle, it is also a great introduction to foreigners life in Beijing in the 1920s, where Wallis Simpson spent most of her China time.
For more books by Paul French, follow this link.
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Shanghai-la-Juive
“Shanghai-la-juive” by Michèle Kahn had been on my bookshelves for years. I finally took the time to read it this summer, and I wish had done it earlier.
Published originally in 1997, the novel tells the story of Walter Neumann, a young Austrian Jew who reached Shanghai in 1938. Arriving without a penny like many other in Shanghai at that time, he finds his way through the city during this hard time and the following years of WW2. He climbs the back streets of Hongkou districts, the Wiener Café in the French Concession, to the Luxury of Grosvenor House, falling back again to the Hongkou Ghetto. Torn between his chinese girlfriend and his Russian jew fiancée, his crosses the path of many interesting characters. This gives the reader of view of various backgrounds and layers of society.
As made clear by the title, the novel is focused on the Jewish community in Shanghai. It tells the story of the approximately 20.000 Jews that escaped persecution in Central Europe and took refuge in Shanghai. Most of them were from Germany and Austria, but also from Poland and Lithuania. As many were housed in Hongkou (Hongkew then) district, this part of the city soon saw many shops opened by the newcomers and became known as little Vienna. A big part of the book is taking place there.
The book also shows the relationship between the different Jewish communities including those that were in Shanghai before the massive influx of refugees. Characters mostly come from Central Europe and China. Very little is said about other western communities that were running Shanghai apart from historical background. As Shanghai was very well divided along social and national lines, various nationalities or social strata did not mix much, just like in the book.
Tragic events in Europe are in the mind of most people, with some desperately waiting for news of relatives back in Europe that they never received. Like for the rest of the World, the real extend of the holocaust only came clear at the end of the WW2, but it is constantly in the background. The story of the Shanghai Jewish refugees was not well known in the 1990s and this book was surely a revelation for many at that time. This story has since been told in books and articles, often by actual people who lived those events, like Rena Krasno and Liliane Willens and many others. One of the notable documentary on the topic is Shanghai exodus. Israeli journalist turned tour guide Dvir Bar Gal has intensely researched the topic and toured thousands of people in the old Hong Kou district that has now sadly mostly disappeared. The only remaining part is the former Ohel Moshe synagogue, that is now the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum.
Michele Kahn research has clearly been very deep, as shown by the bibliography and the numerous Shanghai survivors she interviewed. I particularly like the way she introduces historical background in the story with a light and very natural touch, unlike other Old Shanghai novel that feel like a boring history lesson.
Although focused on a very specific time and community in Shanghai, I find Shanghai-la-juive a really good read, while standing on an in-depth and well documented research. The book was a success when published, having received good reviews from critics. It sold well and was republished several times. Written in 1996, it still felt very fresh nearly 30 years later. Unfortunately, it does not seem to have published in any other language than French so far.
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More Dijon Art Deco
The summer of 2025 was an opportunity to spend more time in my home city, Dijon, and to revisit its art deco heritage. With more time at hand, I could explore more areas, expanding from my original post from 2013 (see post “Dijon Art Deco” for more details). This is a side post from the main topic of the blog, Old Shanghai.
Although its traces go back to the Roman Empire, the city is mostly known for its medieval architecture, built during the Duke of Burgundy time in the 14th and 15th century. 16th and 17th Century renaissance architecture saw the rise “hôtels particuliers” or private mansions closely inspired by Paris ones like Hotel Sully. The city was called “small Paris” for a while. Dijon population grew rapidly in the 1920s, creating opportunities for construction. The style in vogue was modernistic, part of it is now called Art Deco.
One of the most noticed Art / Deco modernist building is on 9 Rue Dr Chaussier, from 1938. The U shaped design with double exposure creates a lot of light in the apartments. The inside staircase is clearly streamline design and architect P. Leroy used floor patterns similar to the one used on the MS Normandy, as well as some LVK buildings in Shanghai (see post “Deja vu from Paris to Shanghai” for more information).
Unfortunately, the building was taken over by the Gestapo after June 1940 and used as its headquarter for the city. Brand new and located close to the German authorities headquarters in the city, it was an easy prey for the invaders. This story is quiet similar to the one of “Bridge House” in Shanghai, a great Art Deco building that became the headquarter of the Japanese Kempeitai.
Another great art deco building in the city center is the newly renovated Hotel Central by Dijon Architect Gaston Paris.
The city historical architecture was mostly protected, so Art Deco building in Dijon are mostly found in the suburbs of the time. Besides the Montchapet district seen in post “Dijon Art Deco“, the area of rue de la Maladière was also built during the 1920s and 1930s. In this area, the “Eglise du Sacré Coeur” is an art deco festival.
Started in 1933 and finished in 1938, the church combines some regional features (mostly the Burgundy style rood), with modernism of the time. Apart from the 50 meters clock tower, the main point is the giant fresco of Jesus over the heart of the Church.
The design of the side chapels and the stain glasses also has a strong Art Deco feeling.
The Sacre Coeur church of Dijon is on the great Art Deco churchs, built around the same time than Vichy’s Notre-Dame des malades (1925-1931), Paris Saint-Jean Bosco church in Paris (1933-1937). It is also a similar time line to Hudec Moore Church in Shanghai.
There are many more Art Deco apartments building in Dijon, including the massive Art Deco apartment building on 33 Rue Sambin, by Dijon Architects Joseph and André Favre.
For information on Dijon Art Deco, please go to post “Dijon Art Deco“. Although Shanghai Art Deco is not the same a Dijon’s, they have a lot in common in terms of time period and style. Looking for Dijon Art Deco is like keeping the link with old Shanghai when I am away.
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Albert Londres, “Madness in China”
French journalist Albert Londres (1884-1932) was one of the founders of investigative journalism. He travelled the World, writing about World affairs and looking into colonialism and international politics, as well as forced labor, drug trafficking and prostitution. One of his most interesting book, from Old Shanghai point of view, is 1925 “La Chine en folie”, relating his recent trip to China. As far as I know, it has never been translated in English.
Coming from Japan, Albert Londres started his trip in Beijing, telling the story of the unstable political situation of the time. He went on to interview northern warlord Tsang-Tso-Lin ( Zhang Zuolin / 張作霖). Staying at the Grand Hotel de Pékin, today the old wing of the Beijing Hotel, he encountered various characters including a Russian princess, three French mariners and his Chinese sidekick, Mr Pou, giving a really entertaining view of China at the time.
Most of the book takes place in Beijing and the North, but Albert Londres took a short trip to Shanghai. It is not clear how he went there, but he probably used the Peking Express train. Although he was amazed by the city, he clearly did not like it. “A free man cannot not talk about this city.”. “Some cities make guns, some make ham, Shanghai makes money.” He adds that in Shanghai the lingua franc is not English, but numbers for counting money.
“They all came! From New York, from Chicago, from Manchester, from London, from Lyon, from Hamburg, from Milan, from Amsterdam, from Barcelona, from Constantinople, from Tokyo, from Bagdad, all gentlemen and all wheeler-dealers ran to the promised land. Thus Shanghai was born, from a Chinese mother and a american-english-french-german-dutch-italian-japanese-jewish-spanish father.”
Visiting the Bund and the business district, he felt surrounded by banks. He then moves to Little Tokyo in Hongkou and ends up in the French Concession. “Here is the French Concession. The only one, as others are all together in International settlement. 200.000 Chinese live under our rules. It is run by a municipal council, just like Pontoise and Paris.” Gambling is, for him, the life of city. Londres ended up his journey at the Cercle sportif Français. Although the Shanghai part only counts a few pages, it gives a great impression of 1920s Shanghai.
Albert Londres came a second time to China in 1931, writing numerous articles about the political situation then. He toured China and French Indochina, researching the gigantic income made by the state opium trading company in the French colony of Indochina. He also looked in-depth into the deal between the French consulate and police in Shanghai, with the mafia controlling the opium trade. It is well believed that he was planning to publish a series of article or a book on those topic after coming back to France. He unexpectedly died in the sinking and fire of the Messagerie Maritime Ship MS Georges Philippar in the Arabian Sea, putting an end to this book’s publication.
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