Bookshelf: Bernardine’s Shanghai Salon: The Story of the Doyenne of Old China
When we first meet Bernardine Szold, it’s 1929, and she’s on a train heading for Dairen (Dalian) to marry her fourth husband, suffering dreadful pre-wedding jitters (or perhaps it’s simply a premonition?). Chester Fritz, that fourth husband, did turn out be a mistake, but he had one thing going ...
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László Hudec: Shanghai’s Master Builder
This Saturday October 12, our "The Hudec, Inside Out" walk explores some of architect László Hudec's iconic buildings. finishing up at a new exhibition of never-before-seen material from the Hudec archives. It's one not to miss! To book, click here. You know Hudec’s buildings: The I.S.S. ...
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Presents from the Past: Christmas Shopping in Old Shanghai
"Watch the crowds on Nanking Road these days. Happy faces everywhere, and nearly everyone carrying huge bundles wrapped in colored paper. Yes, Christmas is just around the corner…” –China Press, December 1936 Need a little inspiration for your Christmas shopping? Take a look at what was on ...
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St. Theresa’s Church: A Shanghai Story
The story of St. Theresa’s Church is the story of Shanghai. From the 1927 White Terror to French Jesuit missionaries, a 19th century saint, 20th century radios, and a 21st century reimagining. St Theresa’s was completed in 1931, and from the beginning was truly a church of this cosmopolitan ...
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Thanksgiving in Old Shanghai
A service of Thanksgiving. A big turkey dinner, with all the trimmings. A hotly contested football classic. It all sounds very traditional, very American, and so it was: except that this was how Thanksgiving was celebrated by Shanghai’s American community in the 1930s. Thanksgiving Service at ...
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Shanghai’s Sun Yat-sen Birthday Statue
On November 12 1933, grand birthday celebrations for Sun Yat-sen were underway in Shanghai. The birthday of the "father of the nation", whose 1911 revolution ended more than 2,000 years of imperial rule, had been celebrated since his death in 1925, and on this autumn day at the Greater Shanghai City ...
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The Kidnapping of Wei Tingrong
By Dan Stein // On July 24, 1929, Wei Tingrong’s chauffeur picked him up at the prestigious Sino-French Bank, where he was the boss. The sophisticated, dapper French-speaking Wei was near the apex of Shanghai Chinese society, with wealth and influence unimaginable for most of his countrymen. Wei ...
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