The Forgotten Bride in the Shanghai Lane

We found her in a lane called Chusan Liegh (Zhoushan Li 舟山弄), in the old Jewish ghetto. Who was she, this elegant bride wearing heart-shaped earrings and a fairytale wedding gown? Why was she left here? Who would leave a wedding portrait behind?

The lane, on Zhoushan Lu in Hongkou, stands in the shadow of the Ohel Moshe synagogue. The 1927 synagogue is now the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, and the lane is being cleared out so that its buildings can serve as additional exhibition space for the museum. As families here move out, their discarded items are rescued by scavengers; it seems there’s always a ready buyer for almost anything in Shanghai.