Queen Elizabeth II in Shanghai
September 9, 2022 – As the world bids a sad farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s much beloved and longest-serving monarch, we take a look back on her historic trip to Shanghai, in October 1986.
The Queen visited Shanghai on October 15, 1986 — the first and only British monarch to set foot on the Chinese mainland. It was a visit a long time in coming: Her ancestor, Queen Elizabeth I, had tried to get the ball rolling in 1602 with a letter to Ming Emperor Shen Zong 神宗 with the idea that their two great nations establish trade. She was met with deafening silence from Cathay – apparently the ship carrying the missive had gone down – and she turned to other pursuits.
Things went better this time around: at a banquet at the Great Hall of the People, the Queen noted that communication had improved considerably in the intervening centuries and she was pleased to receive the invitation to visit. She was greeted at Hongqiao Airport by then-Shanghai Party Secretary Jiang Zemin, and feted by a sea of schoolchildren (news reports claimed 1,500-2,000 children were in attendance).
Mr. Jiang hosted lunch at the Xijiao State Guesthouse before the Queen visited the British Consulate, then on Yongfu Lu. (Today, the former Consulate is Yongfoo Elite, 200 Yongfu Road). Jiang showed Her Majesty around Yu Yuan, and took her across the nine-turnings bridge to have tea at the Huxinting teahouse.
That evening, The Queen and Prince Phillip hosted dinner aboard the royal yacht Britannia, which was moored in the Huangpu River. The guest of honor was Chinese President Li Xiannian (1909-1992), one of the so-called “Eight Immortals” (elder statesmen) of the Chinese Communist Party.
The next morning, the Queen flew to Xi’an, and the Britannia set sail for the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, where her historic China trip would conclude.
For more royals in Shanghai, read our blog post, British Royals in Shanghai.
