Event Archives - Shanghailander

1925-2025 One hundred years of Art Deco

1925 was the year of the “exposition internationale des arts décoratifs”, showcasing the style that was later named as “Art Deco”. The exhibition lasted from 28th April 1925 until end October 1925. The 100 years anniversary is the opportunities for many events and exhibition to Art Deco all over the World.

The center of the action is obviously Paris, where many exhibitions and events take place. In October, the World Congress on Art Deco in Paris was organized by my friends at Paris Art Deco society. The main official exhibition is at Museum of decorative art in Paris. Named “1925-2025 One hundred years of Art Deco”, it is located in the same location that hosted the “Spirit of Bauhaus” exhibition in 2016-2017, an artistic movement closed related to Art Deco.

The exhibition mostly focuses on Art Deco for interior decoration, starting with posters of the 1925 exhibition.

Many items are shown including furniture, tapestry and glassware from the collections of the Museum.

A large part of the exhibition is focused the “French Embassy” project, that was showcased at the 1925 exhibition.

Dressing tables and fans like in below picture are also often in Shanghai Art Deco.

It also included printed textiles and a copy of the bear statue of François Pompon, a famous sculptor from Dijon.

The exhibition also includes clothings, somehow echoing the Resonance Art Deco Paris Shanghai 2024 exhibition.

This is a great exhibition for all Art Deco lovers. Parallels with Shanghai Art Deco are very visible during the visit. This a great window into a style that would soon spread to the rest of the World, and strongly influence Shanghai.

The exhibition will be shown until 26th April 2026. The same location also hosts an exhibition about the Orient Express train from the same period and style.

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Hungarian Architects in Shanghai

Having lived a number of years in Budapest before moving to Shanghai, I have always felt a special connection with the city. One of my interest in Old Shanghai has thus been Hungarian architects in Old Shanghai, in particular Lazlo Hudec.

A number of exhibition about Laszlo Hudec have taken place in Shanghai since the 2008 Year of Hudec in China that really helped rediscovering his heritage in Shanghai and then in Hungary. Laszlo Hudec story and work was totally unkown in Hungary when I lived there, but I have noticed more and more people in know about him nowadays.

Thanks to the continuous work of Virag Csejdy, founder of the Hudec Cultural foundation in Budapest (https://www.hudecproject.com ) and thanks the Hungarian-Chinese friendship association, a major exhibition about Hungarian architects in Shanghai is now taking place in Budapest. This will surely help to raise the profile of those Hungarian architects that found fame in Shanghai.

“Timeless Modernity — The Shanghai Legacy of Hungarian Architects” opened on 1st December 2025 and will last until 22nd January 2026. It focuses on the work and legacy of Laszlo Hudec but also Károly Gonda, Béla Mátrai & Rudolf Sömjén.

The exhibition is taking place in the China Cultural Center in Budapest:
Bosnyák utca 1
H-1149 Budapest

Unfortunately, I could not fit a trip to Budapest in my schedule during that time, but there are talks of taking the exhibition to Shanghai in 2026. I hope I will be able to see it then. In any case, this is a great excuse for a short stay in Budapest for old Shanghai lovers.

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Wedding at Fitch Memorial Church

There are many churches in Shanghai, as both concessions were hosting many christians religious people. Catholics was mostly supported by the French, with the Jesuits area of Xu Jia Hui being next to the former French concession. The international settlement was supporting the Church of England, with a cathedral behind the Bund. Many protestant missionaries were using Shanghai as a base to convert people all over China, and they also built Churches in Shanghai. I recently attended a Christian wedding at Fitch Memorial Church in Hong Kou district.

Fitch Memorial Church is the only church in Shanghai to be designed in the Neo Confucian style, also called Republican style. This combines the exterior of the traditional Chinese building, although built in concrete not wood, with the inside of a modern building.

Fitch Memorial Chirch was completed in 1928. This is also the time when the whole Hongkou district was developing. The architect was Yang Xiulu / 楊錫鏐 which firm also built the Paramount Ball Room and the Nanjing Hotel on Guizhou lu. It also designed the YMCA building in Xizhang Road, that is of the same style than the Fitch Memorial Church.

The outside is rich with details.

Although there are many churches in Shanghai, it is still rare to have wedding in an actual church. The couple are both member of this church, creating a really special atmosphere. It felt a bit like in a movie.

The church has two full worship floors on the top of each other, which is rather rare. I guess this was planned to handle more ceremonies at the same time. The wedding was on the upper floor, but I could also get a view on the lower one.

The church has been through a lot over history, including as a shelter for refugees during the 1932 Japanese attack and being used as an hospital during cultural revolution. It was refurbished in the 1990s with a lot of original details having been preserved including stained glasses below.

Fitch Memorial Church was name after Reverend George Field Fitch (1845-1923). Arriving in China in 1870, he become an important leader of the Presbyterian Mission Press. His work is credited with revolutionizing China’s printing industry and establishing Shanghai as a key publishing hub in Asia.

The Fitch Memorial Church is located at 59 Duolun Lu in Hongkou district.

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Resonance Art Deco Paris – Shanghai

Art Deco has been on the rise in the last 10 years, when I wrote post Art Deco in France lamenting about the lack of attention to Art Deco in art historiy. This changed when Art Deco became 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 and the 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 is showcasing Art Deco in Paris and Shanghai. Located in Shanghai, it shows many rare pieces, and is definitely worth a visit.

Located in the former British Consulate on the Bund, it perfectly matches this fine 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. A large share of the exhibited items come from famous painter Ding Yi /丁㇠’s private collection.

Paris art deco wind screen, influenced by China

Art deco was a global style of art and craft, but it also had it own local variations. The exhibition also highlights the way art and craft in 1920s and 1930s influenced each other. Modern Shanghai 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.

Art Deco exhibitions have been numerous in 2025, celebrating 100 years of Art Deco. The main one was “1925-2025, 100 years of art Deco” in Paris.

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Normandy building VR exhibition

Laszlo Hudec first masterpiece in Shanghai, the Normandy building on Huaihai Xi Lu has become one of the icons of Shanghai. The original ISS building on Avenue Joffre from 1924 was remained Normandy building in the 1930s when the ISS extended its building empire in the French Concession, in collaboration with French architects Leonard & Veysseyre.

Normandy building, the spot for picture!

In the last 10 years, it has really become the icon of Old Shanghai architecture, with hundreds of people taking picture in front of it every day. It was quiet and ignored when I used to live around this area 10 years ago. In the same period, Laszlo Hudec has become the symbol of foreign architects in Old Shanghai and a popular figure in Shanghai. His profile has also risen, although much less so, in his native Hungary.

For the 100th anniversary of the 武康大楼 (the actual Chinese name of the building), a great exhibition has been organized at the nearby 上海老房子艺术中心, the Shanghai old building cultural center, on Wukang Lu 393. The main attraction is a VR 3D adventure around the Normandy building and its history. It is very immersive, including a virtual air balloon flight over the part of Shanghai in the 1930s. It really shows that the building and other 1930s skyscraper where really dominating the city at the time. It also makes clear that this part of Shanghai, that is now the heart of the city center, was the edge of the city at that time.

Visiting the Normandy building virtually

The exhibition only lasts until 31st July. Highly recommended!

Award for Shanghailander writer

I recently had the surprise of receiving an award at the 3rd Shanghai culture festival (第三届海派风尚节推行大使), for promoting Shanghai culture through Shanghailander blog.

I was invited as a guest to the 1st Shanghai culture festival (see post “Night out at the French Club“). This has developed to become a real event for Old Shanghai lovers. It is mostly attended by Chinese people an local interest in Old Shanghai has been steadily growing over the years. A great opportunity to use my Chinese!

I had alread received an award from the French Shanghai historic society in 2017 (See post: https://shanghailander.net/2017/04/french-award-for-shanghailander-net/). Since then, I have received another award from French online daily “Le petit journal”. Please see article: https://shanghailander.net/2025/12/award-from-le-petit-journal/

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Media appearance in Chinese

The last weeks have been very active, with me taking part of the Shanghai Style and fashion festival organized in the city. This was the second edition, I attended the first one last year (see post “Night out at the French Club” for more details). Only this time, I got really involved in it.

I was invited to give a short speech about Old Shanghai, and Art Deco at the opening ceremony. It was rather short but intense, I had to speak in Chinese. My speech was mentioned in daily Shanghai morning post.

The next step was really new to me, as I was part of a tour on Hunan lu that was broadcasted in an internet livestream. Once again, I was only a sidekick with a short speech but it was definitely a first for me, media appearance in Chinese.

French party at the Cathay

Old Shanghai high society life was a succession of parties and social occasions. With my second Old Shanghai party in less than two weeks, my social agenda recently looked a bit like old times.

Last Friday was the first general assembly of the “Société d’Histoire des Français de Chine”, the French association about Old Shanghai. Besides the formality of re-electing the association’s board, it was the opportunity for gala diner with an Old Shanghai dress code in one of the icons of Old Shanghai. The party took place in the Cathay Hotel magnificent Art Deco ballroom (today the Fairmont Peace Hotel).

Following French tradition, the party was a high level gala diner with Old Shanghai style cocktails, several courses with matching wine and Champagne at the end. The party was a real success thanks to the hotel team and corporate sponsorship, mostly drink companies, as well as my own company’s contribution, EXPATRIMO.

Shanghai star Jazz singer Anne Evenou and her band performed class jazz songs during much of the diner, perfectly matching the Old Shanghai atmosphere. This was another session of time travel in Shanghai after last week night out at the French Club.

The diner was also a great way to advertise numerous activities of the “Société d’Histoire des Français de Shanghai” including walking tours of Old Shanghai and well as conference and research in the topic.

Night out at the French Club

Old Shanghai has been back in fashion in the city for many years now, but so far it was mostly about architecture and famous people from the past. What was missing was a true popular event involving the Chinese public interested in the topic, just like the annual Napier Art Deco Festival in New Zealand that I attended in 2010. The Shanghai Style Fashion Festival that took place from 15th to 18th June is definitely along the same line and was great fun to attend.

Taking place in the former “Cercle Sportif Français“, today’s Okura garden hotel it merged an exhibition of Old Shanghai furniture and interiors, talks about the topic and evening events gala style events. Most of the participants followed the 1920-30’s dress code, adding to the atmosphere of the location.

The event combined several rooms exhibiting Old Shanghai furniture and interior, talks about the topic and daily evening parties including small scenes about Shanghai daily life, and Old Shanghai inspired fashion shows.

A unique feature was the presence of a live big band, a rare occasion in Shanghai, that also helped creating the right atmosphere. That is particularly true on 16th June, the Swing dance evening.

Dancing through the night, like in the 1930’s

With the enthusiasm of the real Swing dance club supporting the event, people dressed up and an original ballroom from the 1920’s, it really felt like a time travel to Old Shanghai. This is very much how a night out in the Canidrome Ballroom, or the Paramount must have felt like. Congrats to the organisers for the event and looking forward to the next edition.

Update: Shanghai fashion festival was also organised in 2022. I took part of the event with a speech in Chinese. See post “Media appearance in Chinese” for more details.