Historical

Off Shanghai’s beaten path – Dongjiadu Catholic Church

Shanghai has historic buildings aplenty, but it is very rare to have the opportunity to peek inside them. Churches however can be a different story and Shanghai has many fabulous examples. Recently Spy Shanghai visited Dongjiadu Lu Catholic Church. Beautiful, historic, AND open to the public (services are regularly held here in Chinese, or you may visit outside these times if you ring in advance) it is well worth a visit for a look inside this grand old treasure.

Located in the southern part of the old Chinese city, Dongjiadu Tianzhutang was the first large cathedral and the first foreign built catholic church in Shanghai. Built in 1853, it is in the early Spanish baroque style. Apparently it is a copy of a European Jesuit Church, and has fabulous arched roofs, thick pillars, and lotus-designed bas-reliefs inside. Chinese text features prominently on both the inside and outside walls, and four of the bells are supposedly still original.

Across the road a beautiful old French mansion is worth a look too, although sadly you can’t go inside.

Where: 185 Dongjiadu Lu, Nanshi (west of Zhongshan Nan Lu), Shanghai

What to do with Shanghai’s historic, culturally significant but neglected buildings that lie on the land parcels alongside the Huangpu River?

This is a question that has been under discussion in Shanghai over the last few years. With the upcoming World Expo in 2010, Shanghai has been looking at ways to revitalize its old and forgotten central areas. In 2002, the Shanghai Municipal Government formally announced ambitious plans to redevelop both banks of the Huangpu River. The redevelopment involves an 85-kilometer stretch and a total site area covering 73 square kilometers from Xupu Bridge in the south all the way north to Wusong Port.

National Industry Bank of China Building, 14 Huqiu

One of the areas designated for redevelopment is Waitanyuan, the area heading north from the Peace Hotel to Suzhou Creek. It comprises an unbelievable wealth of historic architecture, mostly dating from the end of the 19th century to the 1930’s. This area, at the mouth of the Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek, was once the premier financial and trading center for East Asia. Today however it is badly maintained with large pockets of empty floor space, testimony to the decline in importance of the rivers for business and trade, and also to this city’s great love for glass skyscrapers, as seen in the collection of shiny new towers directly across the river.

One of the best thing after work in Shanghai is a walk down the small streets behind the main avenues where our
office towers stand.

If you happen to work near Huai Hai Middle Road, then you should visit Nanchang Road, formerly known as Rue Vallon.  There you will find a lovely old building sitting quietly, usually haunted except a few elderly who look after it during the day; the old Shanghai Science Hall.

There are only very few sources about this beautiful old facade, and it really took me some time to trace its origins.  The whole story dates back in 1904, when the number of French population grew rapidly. The Municipal Council in the former French Concession commissioned a Sports Club for the French community in town.  It is a 2-storey building of brick and concrete composite with a large tennis court with a total area of 500sqm.  When the club was moved to a new venue, the present Okura Garden Hotel on Maoming Road in 1925, this building was converted into a school known as College Francais, or College Municipal Francais according to some sources.  After liberation in 1949, it was assigned for a new mission, and became the headquarters of the Shanghai Science Hall.

I arrived at this haunted hall on a late afternoon and the old guard who was on duty told me I should come another day; he'll turn on all the lights of the hall and show me its original grandeur......Hope he'll keep his promise.