Shanghailander

Happy new year 1925

Playing around during Christmas time, I got a picture that could very well have been taken 100 years ago. Good way to start the year.

During our latest trip to the beautiful island of Gulangyu / 鼓浪屿 also called Kulangsu, in Xiamen / 厦门, I realized that my first trip there was exactly 20 years before. Things have changed on the island, but I still love going there.

My first ever trip to Gulangyu was in the first days of January 2005. It was part of group tour to Fujian, mostly focused on the World famous Tulou, aka Hakka buildings. Xiamen and Gulangyu were a side trip before taking the plane. I only spent a few hours there but got under the charm of the island and its old villas.

The beautiful house hosting Night Lilly B&B in 2007

The next trip took place in February 2007, way before mobile internet and AirBnb. I heard from friends of this charming place in the heights of Gulangyu. The Night Lily guest house is long gone, but it was really charming. There was no other hotels on the island, apart from the horrible state owned one. The house was really remote and difficult to find. GPS and mapping were not available yet so we navigated the small streets of Gulangyu with a paper map… and got lost many times. Shanghai was cold and grey, Gulangyu was sunny with 20 degrees… a real paradise of silence as we barely met any tourists on the island.

Unrenovated beautiful villa on Gulangyu in 2007

We went again to the island in February 2008. Night Lilly was closed, but some new home stay and guest house had opened. We stayed at the Art Deco Boat house. The weather was really cold and we spent a lot of time in a new cafe in the former German consulate. We also climbed the Sunlight Rock and took the (now gone) Gulangyu cable car.

Gulangyu cable car and Sunlight rock (2008)

2009 trip brought some news, a real modern hotel in an old Gulangyu villa. This trip was also the first post about Gulangyu on this blog, “The revival of Gulangyu“. Old houses started renovation, but many remained in their original state like the beautiful Huangjia garden, before becoming a luxury hotel.

Huangjia Garden before renovation (2009)

Following trip in 2012 was to attend Gulangyu International Piano festival. By this time, the island had already turned into a tourist attraction, but it still had its charm at night as described in post “Night on Gulangyu“.

It took us ten years to go back to Gulangyu. One of the first trip in early January 2023, we went right after the CoVid pandemic when travel became possible again. In the meantime, Gulangyu had become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017 followed by a massive increase in tourism. Luckily, right after CoVid visitors were few. This time we stayed in a different part of the of the island, on the West side that was more local and industrial. It was also the first opportunity to view the inside of beautiful Huang Zhongxun estate, part of the Hui-Bon-Hua family in Saigon, that I came to see every year, now the National Record Museum as mentioned in post “Rain on Gulangyu“.

The Huang Zhongcun house on Gulangyu (2005)

The next trip in January 2024 was also the opportunity to find the former French Consulate in Amoy, that was located on Gulangyu. The history of the Consulate is described in details in post “French Consulate of Amoy“.

Former Amoy French Consulate on Gulangyu (2024)

In the most recent trip, in late December 2024, we stayed in a place overlooking the main beach, just below the Sunlight Rock. The mansion was built famous overseas Chinese merchant of Indonesia Guo Chuyang in the 1920s. Xiamen had a lot of connection with South-East Asia, as explained in post “Xiamen, the South-East Asia Connection”. Guo Chuyang was one of them.

This trip was an opportunity to visit all the places that I love on Gulangyu. I also had the chance to visit the reopened Ba Guan Lou / 八卦楼, the largest mansion on the island that is also the organ museum.

There were a lot of visitors on Gulangyu as we landed on a Sunday, which was not so pleasant. Fortunately, by Monday most people were gone and the island was more tranquil. In 20 years of Gulangyu, the island has changed and has transformed into a tourist top spot. Best to visit it in the winter during a week day to get away from the crowd and enjoy its charm. And most importantly, stay overnight on the island.

City of lost souls by Martin Petersen

As a lover of crime novels and Old Shanghai, new book “City of lost souls” by Martin Petersen just fits the bill perfectly.

1930s and 40s crime movies are often called “Film noir” (black movies in French). This comes from the original “Roman noir” (“black novel” in French), a particular type of crime novel also called hardboiled crime fiction. Characters of this kind of stories are often disappointed with life, having a cynical attitude. Besides classics like Raymond Chandler, the best modern author of the genre is probably James Elroy (See post “Perfidia” for more details). One of the best film noir is “Casablanca” with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman that is some clear parallels with Old Shanghai.

A number of authors have tried to recreate Old Shanghai in crime novels. Some of the best attempts at Shanghai noir so far were Tom Brady’s “The master of rain” and MJ Lee “Death in Shanghai“. French readers can also enjoy Bruno Birolli’s “Le music-hall des espions“. “City of lots souls” is a great new addition with many of the genre’s cliches including a private detective, a femme fatale, a mystery and gun fights. The story keeps the reader turning the pages and the book is highly entertaining.

Author Martin Petersen has long been studying Old Shanghai history, and it shows in the book. Events fit right, characters are realistic and the author includes many smell, taste and noise that make the book feels like real. The book includes a large number of secondary characters that really existed, including media man Carl Crow, French jesuit Robert Jacquinot de Besange and Du YueSheng that are well played. It also reflects rightly the feelings of foreigners living in Shanghai at that time, including the attitude to Chinese people and drinking habits. Sometimes description of buildings and places are a little too long, but never boring.

There are few mistakes in Shanghai geography, with distances being sometimes underestimated compared to reality. For example, it is clearly not possible to see the French Park from Black stone apartments as mentioned in the book. Another point is the New Asia hotel, being mentioned as the headquarters of the Japanese in 1932… when it was actually built in 1933 on the ruins of the attack. A final point is about the Canidrome, that was not build by Henry Morris. Although located on a part of the former Morris estate, it was built by a group of French investors and run by French man Felix Bouvier. Still the author knows Old Shanghai well and errors are only minors, mostly on the French side.

The plot is interesting without being too complex, while taking the readers to various places in the city and beyond. Martin Petersen definitely got some inspiration from one of my favorite book, “Foreign devils on the Silk road” by Peter Hopkirk. The story is built around historical facts and feels right. The action is well paced making it a real page turner after having understood the weird and sometimes annoying page ordering. As a collector of Old Shanghai items and lover of film noir I recommend this book. Hopefully there will be some more episodes.

Xiamen, the South East Asia connection

Xiamen heritage is often linked to the island of Gulangyu about which I have written several posts. There is much more to it as Xiamen had 2 concessions. The original concession was the port of Amoy (English transcription close to the local dialect) / 厦门. It became part of the 5 first treaty port from the 1842 Nanjing treaty. It has to be noted that the prior battle of Amoy on 26th Aug 1841 was pivotal for the city and the whole of China.

As Amoy had long been a center for export of tea and silk, foreign trading companies found a natural home for their business. However, foreigners soon moved to Gulangyu to establish there base. The island became an international settlement in 1903, similar to the Shanghai international settlement. Modern urban development including paved road and electrification took place on the island, leaving the city behind for many years.

Fujian has a long been closely connected to South East Asia. Many Chinese traders moved to Melaka and Penang in the 18th and 19th Century. The main Chinese dialect in South East Asia is Hokkien, called MinNan Hua / 闽南话 in China, the language from South Fujian. The connection is also reflected in the food with Xiamen Sha Cha Mian being very close to Malaysian Laksa, and stir fried rice noodle being very similar in both places.

The return of Fujian immigrants from South East Asia in late 1920s sparkled the development of the city. With the 1929 crises taking on the World, China was still a good place to invest so people of South East Asian heritage cake back to Fujian. This fueled a construction boom in Amoy that transformed the city. Although technically a British Concession, Amoy was modernized by ethnic Chinese, not Westerners.

ZhongShan road / 中山路 feels very much like Shanghai Nanking Road (Today Nanjing Xi Lu / 南京西路). It was the high street were shoppers would flock, with a tramway line going up to the river. All buildings along this road date from 1929 or around that period, the time of the real-estate boom.

Although from the late 1920s, most of those buildings are of a style that was not modern of the time. With many glass color windows, they reflect more the style of colonial South East Asia than modernity. “Chinese from South East Asia were very conservative for architecture. They built in the style they knew, that was popular in South East Asia where they came from”, explained Aaron from Discover Amoy, a local friend who studied the history of his own city.

A few buildings in the area are of modernist style or Art Deco, including the ones above. Buildings on Zhong Shan lu have been restored, but it’s not the case of the side streets. A few steps away, nice buildings from the same time are still waiting for renovation. One of my favorite is Art Deco Orion novie theater.

Orion theater, a great art deco building

The main department store was run by French people, with “Epicerie” written on the store front (see below picture) of then and now.

Although Zongshan lu has received a lot of attention, the rest of the area is not so well preserved. It worth strolling around the whole area and enjoy the view. Hopefully, the preservation effort will be extended further.

For more info about other old foreign influenced city in China, go to post “Up River, Hankou’s foreign concessions” for Hankou (today Wuhan). For Tianjin, go to post “Piazza Regina Elena, Tientsin”. For posts about the island of Gulangyu follow this link.

Merry Christmas from Shanghailander

A merry Christmas to all readers of Shanghailander with this 1930 Christmas Card from the Shanghai Fire Brigade. Christmas cards have long been a tradition in the UK. With its strong British flavor, Shanghai International Settlement was no exception.

The inside of the card is very classic with text “Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Bright and Happy New Year.” At the bottom of the page: “Shanghai Fire Department” . There is also a handwritten note “Best Love to mother + Self, Dorothy xx “. I have not yet been able to find who Dorothy was but she was probably and employee or a board member of the Shanghai Fire Department in 1930.

Once again, Merry Christmas to all from Shanghailander.net

Les terres du mal

After “Le music-hall des espions“, Bruno Birolli published the second book of the Shanghai suite, “Les terres du mal”. Taking place a few years later than the first book of the series, this episode takes us again in 1930s Shanghai between gangsters and Shanghai inhabitants, both foreign and Chinese.

Main characters René Desfossés comes back, not in the French police anymore, but working for a large company. Archibald Swindon is also back, now in the role of heading the British secret service in Shanghai, mainly looking for communists agents. They find themselves tackling crime again, playing between the International Settlement and the French concession. A new character is introduced with communist agent “Hannah”. The book focuses a lot on movie studios and actress in Old Shanghai, with several characters inspired real characters like star “Lingyu” from Old Shanghai actress Ruan Lingyu / 阮玲玉 and aspiring actress Lan Ping who ends up leaving Shanghai to join communists rebels in Yan’An, inspired by Mao Zedong’s wife Jiang Qing / 江青.

Just like the first one, Birolli’s book includes a lot of details about Old Shanghai proving is in-depth knowledge of the topic. The story is very well documented, with characters inspired by real life people of the time. However, it is less interesting than in the first book, and a little too predictable. It is a fair read for all Shanghai lovers, but may not be so interesting for people unfamiliar with the topic. “Les terres du mal” is published in French only.

Resonance Art Deco Paris – Shanghai

Art Deco has been on the rise in the last 10 years, since I wrote post Art Deco in France. It has been the center of several major exhibition like “1925 When Art Deco dazzle the World” in Paris in 2014. Art Deco in China has also gained a lot of attention particular through Laszlo Hudec work as well as 2015 Word Congress on Art Deco in Shanghai. The link between Art Deco in France and China was shown in the small but beautiful “Art Deco, The French China connection” in Hong Kong in 2019. Now a new exhibition of showcasing Art Deco in Paris and Shanghai has opened in Shanghai. Showing many rare pieces, it is definitely worth a visit.

Located in the former British Consulate on the Bund, it matches this is a great location. The main theme of the exhibition is the strong link between art and craft in the 1920s and the 1930s, the art deco era. The tour de force was to bring pieces from Paris museum and show it along rarely seen pieces of Shanghai art deco. Art deco was a global style of art and craft, but it also had it own local variations.

Paris art deco wind screen, influenced by China

The exhibition also highlights the way art and craft in 1920s and 1930s influenced each other. Modern Shanghai was used a lot of western references, but Art deco in Europe was also heavily influenced by Asia and China. The exhibition success is to make this visible.

The exhibition tour de force is to show numerous Shanghai art deco pieces, furniture, lights, cloths and advertising posters. It is very diverse, showing the width and variety of Shanghai art deco production. It also shows rarely scene pieces including real old Shanghai Qipaos and wonderful dragon carpets reminding of the cover of Tintin’s Blue Lotus. It also adds movies including the ones of Ruan Lingyu / 阮玲玉 and literature including 1930s Shanghai author like Mu ShiYing / 穆時英 and Shi Zhecun / 施蛰存.

The exhibition is located at Bund 33 and will last until February 16th 2025. Tickets are 150 RMB for person, 200 RMB for 2 people. It is a must go for anybody interested in Shanghai history and art deco lovers.

Horose literary circle

French polish author Horose (aka Stéphanie Rosen-Hoa or 羅琛華) lived in Beijing with her Chinese husband Hua Nangui / 华南圭 from 1910 to 1937. The couple had a rich cultural life, both of them publishing books that became highly influential in China. While Hua Nangui published books helping develop and implement technology in China, Horose wrote numerous novel focused on observation of changes in the Chinese society at the time. (see post “The story of Horose or S. Rosen-Hoa” for more details about her story).

As a writer couple in Beijing, they had a large circle of literary friends. They were definitely supportive and involved in the nationalist and literary movement that became known as the May 4th movement and had links with some of its prime members.

Students demonstrating in Beijing on May 4th 1919

Horose main book was “Love and duty“, also known as “恋爱与义务”. The novel was written in French, and translated into Chinese by Zhao Zun Xin / 赵祖欣. Later welknown as Zhao Shaohou / 赵少侯, he graduated from the French department of Beijing University in 1919. He was a teacher and director of the Literature and Art Department of Sino-French University, a lecturer of the French Department of Peking University, and an editor of the People’s Literature Publishing House. He began to publish his works in 1932. His translation of Moli`ere’s “The Hypocrite” (Tartuffe), “The Misanthrope” (Le misanthrope) and “The Miser” (L’avare) are still authoritative today. He also was a major translator of Maupassant’s “Boule de Suif”, and “The Necklace” (La parure). As “Love and duty” was published in 1921, it was probably one of his first French book translation.

Foreword for the book version of “Love and Duty” was written by Chinese philosopher and politician Cai YuanPei / 蔡元培. Having studied in Leipzig University until 1907, he became minister of Education in 1912 then President of Beijing University in 1917. Supporter of usage of common language or “Baihua” in litterature, he was an inspiration for the May 4th movement.

Finally, the proof reader of the book was none else than famous Shanghainese writer Hu Shih / 胡适 who was also Chinese ambassador to the US. He also advocated the usage of “Baihua” in litterature and was an inspirer for the May 4th movement.

Although difficult to prove, it can be assumed that Horose organized a cultural and literary salon at her home in Beijing. This kind of salon was very common in Jewish communities in Central Europe and Horose being originally from Poland surely had heard or seen some. This is somewhat similar to Hungarian Jewish Bernardine Szold Fritz , whose salon that took place in Shanghai in the 1930s (see post Bernardine’s Shanghai Salon).

Bernardine Szold Fritz also had connection with Chinese cultural and literary people, in particular with writer 胡适 / Hu Shih who did proofreading for Horose’s “Love and duty” . Maybe they met through him, maybe Horose even took part to Bernardine’s salon during one of her many trips to Shanghai (see post “Horose in Shanghai” for more details). In any case, both women were central to cultural life, one in Shanghai, the other one in Beijing.

Shanghai Auto museum

Shanghai district of Jiading, located miles away from Old Shanghai in what used to be faraway farm land, is an unlikely visit for an Old Shanghai lover. However, it is worth the trip, showing interesting pieces of old automotive and documents about Shanghai history and its relationship with cars.

Old Shanghai was a super modern city, new inventions like electric lighting, tramways and skyscrapers were introduced soon after they became available. This was the case for cars, with the first automobiles introduced in Shanghai in 1901. By the 1920s cars were everywhere in Shanghai. They were a status symbol as well as used by various institutions and administrations. Cars in Shanghai were imported from abroad, mostly US, UK, France and Japan. Cars from the period are long gone in Shanghai, but the museum displays a number of collection car imported from abroad that are a match for the time.

This reminded me that a few years ago, a classic car show was taking place in Shanghai. Unfortunately, none of those cars are allowed to ride on Shanghai streets. That would be a great sight to have some of them driving the streets of the former French Concession. The only substitute for a while was driving a sidecar, although this is also not allowed anymore either.

The museum also displays a number of documents and old ads about cars from the 1920s and 1930s. This is only a small part of the museum, but I spent quite a while there, finding out that I have some pieces that could very well fit into this section.

What was probably missing was more pictures of those cars in Old Shanghai, just to show that those cars were in Shanghai, and not only in America and Europe. A good example is above picture of super star actress Hudie. Another small section could have been devoted to car dealership and petrol statinos in Old Shanghai. That would also have shown a stronger links between those beauties and Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s. In any case, it was definitely worth the trip.

The Shanghai Auto Museum is located a 7565 Boyuan Rd, Jiading District, Shanghai, China, 215332. It is located in the same area as the Shanghai Formula 1 race track.