The Shanghai Paper Hunt
Our April 4 walk takes us to Historic Hongqiao, where Shanghailanders partook in all kinds of outdoor activities, none stranger or more quintessentially Old Shanghai than the Paper Hunt.
“In the beginning, as we can well understand, means of recreation were somewhat limited. Indeed, an old resident has described wheelbarrow races up and down the Bund as an after dinner amusement on summer evenings!”
F.L. Hawkes Pott, A Short History of Shanghai, 1928
When foreigners arrived in Old Shanghai, they found themselves with rather an excess of free time. Eventually, they moved on from wheelbarrow races on the Bund and organized a multitude of recreational activities – so many, in fact, that the “Clubs and Associations” listing in the 1936 Shanghai Hong List (directory) runs to nearly 10 pages!
Paper Hunt, near Shanghai, c.1920: Ruxton Collection. Source: Visualising China
Possibly the most unique of these organizations was the Shanghai Paper Hunt Club, founded in December 1863. The British, who feel the need to go hunting wherever they find themselves, were disappointed to find that Shanghai did not have the relevant animals for a proper hunt. At first, they tried to hunt members (!) wearing red cowls on their heads, but when–perhaps predictably–this did not end well, they created the paper hunt – the next best thing to a good old fashioned fox hunt.
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