Shanghailander

The Concubine of Shanghai

We continue travelling through Old Shanghai based contemporary literature with one of the airport bookstores favorite, Hong Ying, The Concubine of Shanghai. To be honest, Hong Ying “K: The Art of Love” is probably more famous, but the title of this one was the attraction point. Although the book have been acclaimed and makes an excellent read, I have mixed feelings about it.

The original Chinese title was “上海王”, translating as “Shanghai Lord” that is probably more accurate, though surely less alluring from a marketing point of view. The main character is Cassia, a sixteen years old girl from Pudong sold to Madame Emerald, the owner of a Puxi high-class brothel located in the Chinese city, on the hedge of the French Concession. Too tall, with too big feet and curves for the fashion of the time, the girl is destined to remain a servant, when others become popular sing song girls. Her fate changes when she become the favorite girl of the leader of one of the main Shanghai secret societies. After his tragic death, Cassia falls back into poverty. She only comes back to Shanghai a few years later, leading a local opera band and rise to stardom in Shanghai. She is still involved with the underworld and manage through these connections to be one of its informal leaders.

The story of Cassia is the one of a lady struggling through life to rise to the top through her intelligence, hard work and persistence. Asia’s women are too often seen as submissive, but Cassia is a true Shanghai lady impersonating the legendary spirit and reputation of the city’s women. Although Cassia’s life in set in the 1930’s, her story and attitude reminds me of several women friend who have managed to reach excellent business positions through hard work business sense. The book is not only about business and social achievement, but also about love and sexuality. Although modest by western standard, erotic scenes are numerous in the book and Cassia’s enjoyment of sex is very clear. In a country where sex was a taboo for many centuries, it must have been quite shocking for many readers. The book is really good literature, unfortunately research on real Shanghai history is seriously lacking.

Border Chinese City with French Concession

First of all, the main location of book first part is a brothel located on the border line between the Chinese city and the French Concession. There is even a scene where characters entering from the Chinese city are able to escape through the back door to the French concession. Unfortunately, at that time the real Shanghai Chinese city was surrounded by the City Wall and moated (see picture left). This was all replaced later by a large Boulevard (today Ren Min lu and Zhong Hua lu). In a similar way, a large part takes place in a hotel located next to the Garden Bridge (or WaiBaiDu Chao) that could be the Astor House hotel. The name of the hotel is surely not the right one, and at the contrary to the book state this hotel was surely not owned or run by Chinese at that time.
Some of the events in the book are also clearly picked from real people life. For example, Cassia’s poverty is caused by a parent’s death and when she has become a star she cause back to her Pudong’s origin, creating a monument for her long deceased parents and giving out charity to build a children’s school. This is strongly inspired by part of Du Yue Sheng’s life, who actually became the real Lord of Shanghai’s underworld. In another chapter, 1926 is described as the 5th year of the Republic… when it was clearly the 15th (this may be a translation mistake).

Finally, there is very little about real Old Shanghai feeling in the book. Western Old Shanghai novels like “The Master of Rain” or “Last seen in Shanghai” tend to focus on historical details while missing filling and real people’s life. At the contrary “The Concubine of Shanghai” is high on feelings and emotion, but historical research seems to have been done in 10 minutes, reading a two page leaflet for a local tour company. It is really a pity that attention to actual details (including in the translation) has been lacking so much, as it destroys most of its credit as a historical novel.

China Pearl

Finding about China Pearl was purely random but the story behind it is definitely worth a post. Looking for pictures about Old Shanghai on the internet, I found the picture left of Shanghai Wai Bai Du Qao (or Garden Bridge) with an old motorbike crossing it. I have long been convinced that sidecars were used in Old Shanghai, long before the Chang Jiang motorbikes appeared thus discovering this picture seemed to be the missing link. Unfortunately, the picture turned out to be a fake after examination. Traffic in Old Shanghai was driving on the left side of the road and this sidecar is definitely designed for the right-side driving of today’s Shanghai. Still, the artwork was interesting enough for me to search more information about this picture. This is how I ran into Paul Draken story.

Paul Draken dancing in the Cercle Sportif Francais

Paul Draken was a mixed child, half British and half Chinese born in Beijing in 1907. His father was Sir James Draken who led the British troop coming into Beijing to free the foreign diplomats after the 55 days of siege in the legations during the Boxer war. Growing up in early 20th century China, he managed to cross the path of Empress Dowager CiXi, then encountering revolutionary leader and first president of China Sun Zhong Shan. He even met with Russian Imperial family before the Russian Revolution. Paul Draken was living in Beijing, just at the time of the Mukden incident, while becoming an airplane pilot. Later on, he started an airline in Shanghai, flying one of the China clippers, those enormous hydroplanes of the time, called the China Pearl. His time in Shanghai was also marked by love affair with White Russian countess Anastasia as well as pursuit with Japanese spies. As he managed to flee the Japanese invasion just in time, he took part of the Flying Tigers fighting China enemy in the air. Escaping the Concession invasions in December 1941, he managed to rally North Africa to joined allied forces fighting general Rommel in the North African desert war. Paul Draken was also a hero of D-Day landing in Normandy. Paul Draken’s incredible story was behind most historical events in the first half of the 20th century.

As you probably already realized, Paul Draken never actually existed. He is the central character of e-novel China Pearl by Taiwanese author Crayon Yao. China Pearl is available at: http://www.yaox.com/draken/cover.html. Unfortunately it is only available in Chinese, so most reader will have difficulties with it. The author used lots of research, good narrative and a number of photoshoped pictures like the ones above. The pictures really make the story believable and can be viewed at: http://www.yaox.com/draken/photos1.html. China Pearl is like an Asian Indiana Jones novel with a touch of Forest Gump, taking place mostly in China. It must have attracted quite a hype as numerous blog articles have been written about it, like yblog.org/archive/index.php/5742 . I was surely not the only one to be confused by the e-novel and the pictures, as many readers in Taiwan got fiction and reality mixed up as shown in this article: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2011/02/28/292761/Fictional-novel.htm. Clearly an inspiration for my own Old China novel that has been brewing for years.

Shanghai Aerotropolis

It has been a few weeks since I wrote the last Shanghailander.net post, a delay very much caused by the number of Air Miles I flew in the last weeks. Taking me away from my favorite city and its history, I found myself confronted with its future. This post about New Shanghai if not future Shanghai.

“Aerotropolis, the way we’ll live next” is a book I picked in Bangkok airport a few weeks ago and reading it has been fascinating since. My interest in it surely resonates with my background in transport studies (many years ago now) as well as my recent peak in airmiles flown. The basic theory of John D. Kasarda (the wisdom behind the book) is that cities are drawn around airports because of the need of speed and connectivity. Greg Lindsay (who actually wrote the book) uses many examples of such cities that have been built (mostly in the USA) or are being built (mostly in Asia) around airports.

The aerotropolis seems to be the answer to every problem from global climate change (even demonstrating that flying food around the World is more eco-friendly than growing it locally), to over population (as everybody will be so happy to live in these new mecca of speed and efficiency). Similarly, air transport will fuel the economy of the instant age, as internet purchase rapidly inflate the need for small parcels delivered worldwide as fast as possible. In a same way, facebook and social network will push people to connect face-to-face, using airplanes to bring the gap between continents. The pair finds direct application of their theory in Asia, for example in Singapore that is labelled as the typical aerotropolis. They also find in Bangkok success for passenger traffic, i.e. tourists. At the same time, its failure to create the surrounding aerotropolis environment is also an example of how not to create an aerotropolis from Kasarda’s point of view.

The nearest example to us is surely the new Hong Qiao area. Creating the Hong Qiao 2 terminal, combined with highspeed railway links and the land clearing miles around was definitely inspired by Kasarda’s theories. Just seeing the change in what used to be Puxi’s back waters transformed into the new hot development area is fascinating. Logistics companies, manufacturing and office complexes are all moving Westwards, attracted by this new magnet of competitiveness. Hotels, serviced apartments and residential areas are sure to follow, as all these people will need accommodation short or long term. In that sense, the aerotropolis is just working the way Kasarda predicted it. People are attracted by the airport and its economic opportunities… but whether it is really where people want to live is a different story. This probably the limit to the theory (see The Guardian review of the same book) as living in the aerotropolis seems more like living in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis than in new found paradise.

This is all good for Old Shanghai anyway. As the pressure to create new offices and residential real estate moves form the city center to the peripheral areas, it is likely that the destruction of our beloved city will slow down. Once money made, the winners of this new game will surely move to nicer areas like the Bund or the old French Concession. By contributing to their gentrification, they will hopefully want to protect their new found little paradise and help keeping part of Old Shanghai intact.

Shanghai car show

1935 Renault Cabriolet — 1935 Renault Viva Grand Sport Convertible

The 2011 Shanghai car show that recently closed its doors has become one of the most important car event in the world. Car brands bring their new flagship models to show them to China and the world with a deluge of modernity, design and high tech under the roof of Pudong’s Shanghai Exhibition Center. The show could seem as distant from Old Shanghai as possible, but some links can still be found. Some of the car makers, willing to bring history with them brought vintage cars, just like some of the ones that drove the streets of Old Shanghai.

One of the most beautiful old car on show was the 1935 Renault Viva Grand Sport convertible. Launched in 1934 at the Paris auto show, the car won the “Grand Prix de la Baule” in the same year. The car really has an art deco and streamline style, typical of the period. I am not sure that any of those actually made it to Old Shanghai but it would have been a stylish drive on Avenue Joffre, along with the Buicks, Chryslers, British and American cars that were imported in high numbers. Delage, a now extinct luxury car brand made it to Old Shanghai with a few car being actually imported.

Further on in the car show, another French car brand was exhibiting a classic old French car, the Citroen Traction Avant. The car was a massive technological and commercial success. As the name in French suggests it was the first car with front wheel drive, a technological breakthrough at the time. Some were probably imported in Shanghai as they were used as the French official car in the late 1930’s. This also appears in most films about WWII in France, as it really became a symbol of this period. I actually rode in one of those vintage cars in Dalat, Vietnam where the local Sofitel keeps one running for tourist (I think there is the same service available in Hanoi as well). Driving this 60 years old lady was around colonial villas was like a time travel. It would be fantastic to have the same in Shanghai, but as far as I know there is no way such a old car can be registered here. The nearest thing is probably riding a Changjiang sidecar, copied from 1930’s BMW R71 as used for tours from Shanghai Sideways.

Both brands used old cars to show there history, but one of them seem to tried and make a link to Shanghai. This could have been really interesting in term of local branding as the 1930’s is becoming really popular with Shanghainese (see post “Somebody finally got it” and “Brands of Old Shanghai” for more information). The only brand that used the local marketing was Citroen with a full display and a vintage 1931 vehicle from the “Croisiere Jaune” (the yellow journey). Citroen cars drove from Beyrouth to Beijing going over the himalayan mountains and Tashkurgan pass going to XinJiang. I think using the trip as a link between Citroen and China was very smart and a great marketing tool. Not as flashy as the concept cars, but Chinese visitors who looked at the display were really interested.

Reading “The Shanghailander”

The word “Shanghailander” was used to for the foreigners living in Old Shanghai. As written in the “Why is this blog called Shanghailander.net” page, the Shanghailanders were the foreigners that had already spent more than a year (and a bit) in the city. I had heard these stories and read them in books about Old Shanghai but I had never seen the actual word written during that time… until I bought the June 1937 of “The Shanghailander”.

Just like many of the English magazines in today’s Shanghai, “The Shanghailander” was a monthly guide to Shanghai, “A monthly magazine devoted to interpreting Shanghai and China to vistors – and residents”. This issue of June 1937 is Volume V, No 6 thus I guess publication started in January 1932. This must have been one of the last issues as the attack on Shanghai by the Japanese army from August 1937 and the fierce battle of Shanghai that followed saw many foreign residents start fleeing away and surely drastically reduced tourism to the city.

There is practically no information about this magazine on the internet, this copy must be one of the few survivors. It was published by Carl Crow’s company, who introduced advertising in China and whose biography was written by Paul French. The magazine was surely a good support for selling Carl Crow’s books as the recommended reading list includes 2 (out of 12) of his books (“Handbook for China” and “Chekiang Highways”) as well as the full back cover as an advertising for 400 million customers, his most famous book.

The magazine content is very similar to today’s equivalents including a feature article, business directory, facts about Shanghai and a map of the city center. The last page is devoted to “Places to see in China”, listing Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Beijing. The only unusual part is the almanac, listing events related to Shanghai that happened on the same day years before as the genre is gone out of fashion long ago

Just like today about half the magazine is advertising, for the international and famous local brands including famous hotels of the time, Astor House and Palace Hotel (now Swatch Peace hotel) from the HongKong & Shanghai hotel company (today’s owner of Peninsula), Broadway Mansions Hotel and Park Hotel. Entertainment places like the Canidrome (the gone flower market between Maoming Lu and Shaanxi lu) and the Hai-Alai at the auditorium on corner of Avenue Joffre (today Huai Hai Lu) and Avenue du Roi Albert (today Shaanxi Nan Lu). Drinks were also advertised such as Ewo beer and White Horse whisky, both brands of Jardine, Matheson and Co, as well as Martell Brandy and Sandeman’s Port, distributed by Gande, Prince Ltd.

Items necessary for the travelers of the time were also advertised including “Grays Yellow Lantern Shops, Specialists in the finest linen, lingerie, pyjamas, novelty with shops in the Astor House hotel and the Cathay hotel Lobby. Finally, another provider of travelling accessories was Macbeth Gray and Co, 142 Nanking Road (today PENGJIE CLOTHING CO. BRANCH N2 on 142 Nanjing Dong Lu), supplying “panama hats, English straw boaters, American Washing ties, Tropical helmets and English sport sweaters”… though I don’t think they supply these article anymore.

Views of She Shan

Visiting So ZeBasilica (She Shan today) is now a short trip to the Shanghai outskirts. As mentioned in a previous post, it used to be quite a long trip in Old Shanghai (see post “Climbing So Ze” for more information). I recently found the following old picture of the area.

I have lost the exact reference from the actual document, but it has to be after 1935 when the Basilica was opened. Since the short article mentions the war in Shanghai, I guess the pictures dates from 1938, right after the Japanese Invasion of Shanghai.

In any case, this picture is strikingly different from the current view of the countryside around She Shan. Massive villa compounds and hotels have been built in the recent years, replacing the rice fields. She Shan is now linked to the city by a metroline and urban development around this area is far from over. Just as a comparison, the picture below was taken from the Basilica in 2008. The area is the one on the bottom of the old picture. Quite a change really.

Update 2020

Thanks to drone technology, aerial photos have become

Amateur drama in Shanghai

The yearly French amateur play has become part of the social life in for Shanghai French people. Their latest performance happened a few days ago at the drama art center on Hua Shan Lu. The French community does not seem to be the only one producing amateur plays, as I have heard before about performance in English, made by British or other communities. Amateur theater is often a feature of life remote from home countries. Little of home cultural live ever makes it to far away cities like Shanghai, thus people create it locally. It may not always be as good as the original, but there is little to compare it with. Besides the cultural experience, it has also become one of the yearly ritual of the community, a social event where people can catch up with the latest news of each other. Amateur French or English theater are not new to Shanghai, as foreigners in Old Shanghai also created plays. At least three foreign drama societies can be found in the excellent “Old Shanghai Clubs & Associations” book from Nenad Djordjevic.

Amateur theater plays started in the late XIX century in a theater on Yuan Ming Yuan Lu. It was rebuilt in 1874 as the Lyceum theater and the premier was a play from the English speaking Amateur Dramatic Club, with the orchestra playing compositions by Mendelssohn and Strauss. I read that about 600 people attended, that must have been a large share of the foreigners living in Shanghai at that time. The ADC was the merger of Footpads and Rangers, the two (!) amateur art troops of Shanghai in 1866. The Lyceum theatre must have been the place to be then, as the first screening of cinematograph took place there in 1897, just tow years after the first commercial presentation in France by the Lumiere brothers in 1895. The theater was located next to the Lyceum building on the Rock Bund project, but does not exist anymore. ADC was not the only amateur art troop as the French community also created its “Association Dramatique Française”, a tradition restarted in 1998.

The Lyceum Theater was rebuilt in the French Concession, at the corner of Rue Cardinal Mercier and Rue Bourgeat (today’s Maoming Lu and Changle Lu) in 1931. Located next the then new Cercle Sportif Français or French Club (now Okura Garden Hotel) and the Cathay apartment (now old Jing Jiang hotel) where Hugh Martin lived for some years. It was also closeby to the Cathay Theater, Tian Shan apartments and Brooklyn court, helping making this part of the French Concession the hot place for culture and lifestyle. The theater saw the early career of Margaret Hookham who was born in England but followed her parents to Tianjin and then Shanghai for a few years, before going back to England in 1933 and become know as dance star Margot Fonteyn.

The Lyceum theater has been renovated in 2023, see post “Renovation of Lyceum Theater” for more details.

Catching up with the Mermaid

We met last year at the Shanghai Expo, having a short encounter at the Danish Pavillon. She had traveled all this way to honor our city, so I was looking forward to meet her again in her normal home, Copenhagen. The meeting was arranged with a the help of a Danish friend in Shanghai who designed me a tour of the city to occupy my half day there. The little Mermaid from Andersen’s tale was there, like waiting for me, admired and photographed by every single tourist coming to the Danish capital. Her only ever travel was to the Shanghai Expo, since then she has been put back in place. Copenhagen is one of these European cities I always wanted to visit, but never really had the opportunity until this trip.

Feeling the air of Copenhagen spring and walking the streets of the Danish Capital, it feels really far far away from Shanghai bustling crowds. The mix of old city with brand new Scandinavian design really creates something unique. Like most European cities, most buildings are only a few storeys high, a nice change from sometimes oppressing Shanghai’s forest of high rises. Public transport is very well organised and highly effective, including underground, buses and boats travelling up the canals. The city center is not so large and can be walked around in half a day. Copenhagen is also famous for its parks, which are large and numerous creating a the feeling of nature right next to the city center. Just out of the plane from Shanghai, the difference was striking and painfully reminding how far from nature Shanghai inhabitants are.

Just like Shanghai, Copenhagen had a development phase in the 1930’s adding Art Deco buildings to the landscape. Copenhagen Art Deco, like Scandinavian design today, is more on the plain side than Shanghai (or New York) flamboyance. It is much more linked to the German Bauhaus style, but similar geometrical shapes as well as direction lines can found. The most seen buildings are surely the 1930’s Langebro brige and customs house on the harbor. However, the district developed in the 1930’s and built in Art Deco style is more about Christianhavn with a number a housing developments behind Langebro Bridge.

This short stay in Copenhagen was a stopover on the way to Greenland, the most opposite place to Shanghai on Earth I guess. Pictures from this fabulous trip are available at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24266052@N00/sets/

More Brands of Old Shanghai

This post is a short follow-up on post “Brands of Old Shanghai”

The March 2011 issue of That’s Shanghai contains an interesting article on one of my favorite brand of Old Shanghai, Wahson (or HuaSheng) the main Chinese manufacturers of old electric fans that are now one of the symbols of 1930’s Shanghai (along with old phones and bankers lamps).

The brand of cosmetics Shanghai Vive, that is supposed to be the oldest brand of cosmetics in Shanghai (with a short interuption between 1949 and 2009) has produced a new promotion video that can be found at: http://www.hercity.com/show/201007/11563.html

Clearly, I am not the only one to see a comeback in Old Shanghai brands.

Return to the Sassoon House

With its tower dominating the river, the Sassoon House has been the focal point of the Bund since its opening in 1929. Owned by the famous Shanghai real estate mogul Sir Victor Sassoon, it was of very advanced design for its time. The Art Deco tower was to become the place to stay in Shanghai hosting the Cathay Hotel (today’s Peace Hotel) and the most famous building of the city, being only challenged after decades of domination by the skyscrapers in opposite Lu Jia Zui. The building originally hosted a shopping arcade, offices of the Sassoon company, the Cathay hotel and the private apartments of Sir Victor Sasoon.

The building had seen many renovation of dubious quality over the years and the current owner JingJiang hotel has been known for ruinovating great buildings of old Shanghai. I went to the last jazz bar concert in 2007 wondering what would come out of the grande dame of the Bund. Numerous rumors went around during the renovation as very few people actually could see how the work developed. The shopping gallery and the hotel reopened partly in 2010, with the last suites being about to be finished in March 2011.

The famous glass dome is back to full view

Being quite fearful of the result, I kind of postponed my return to the Cathay Hotel until I took a guided tour and was strike by the result. The most surprising part is surely the rotunda. I never quite realized how much of the building had been hidden before. The document below is a floor plan of the Sassoon House ground floor and the hotel’s restoration has brought it back. The West Arcade is full of shops again although the new shops may not all be of the class that used to be there Old Shanghai time. Interestingly, this is where the rejuvenated Shanghai Cosmetics Brand Shanghai Vive (mentioned in post “Brands of Old Shanghai”) has established its flagship store… just in the same spot as the Peach & Co shop seen on the map.

The Central Arcade has also been reopened and the main attraction is surely the magnificent Art Deco glass dome that has been restored to its former glory. The rose marble walls of the lobby have also been exposed again, but the luxury shops in that part of the arcade have not reopened but covered by mediocre silver sculptures. Part of the Central Arcade is now the hotel reception. The Cathay Hotel Lounge also found back its place, being transformed again back from the old hotel lobby into a stylish cafe. No orchestra is playing for afternoon “The Dancant” anymore , and the furniture used is surely not antiques but the place still has an atmosphere. The jazz bar has come back to its place before the renovation, the Cathay Bar.

The long corridor leading to the waterfront has also been restored. Although the decors described by Peter Hibbard in his book “The Bund” cannot be replaced, the former entrance of the Cathay hotel has found back a lot of the original majesty. Originally, this was the main entrance of the hotel, with guest disembarking from ships and crossing the street to find comfort and civilization again, away from the noise and crowds of the city. This entrance has virtually not been used for decades as it is particularly bad from a feng shui point of view. Having a river in front of your business’ main door can only lead your money to flow away… something that neither the original architect nor Sir Victor Sassoon took into consideration when creating the building.

Peter Hibbard wrote a book dedicated to the former Cathay Hotel (today’s peace hotel), Peace at the Cathay. Since renovation, the Cathay hotel has been the location for numerous parties including the closing diner of the 2015 World Congress on Art Deco in Shanghai, as well as the first gala diner of the French history in China society.