The western suburbs was once Shanghai's classiest address where people of wealth and power congregated. A 1940s joke said that "if a bomb destroyed the Hongqiao Club, China's financial and economic system would collapse." Xu Wei reports on a documentary about the area.

Shanghai's western suburbs along Hongqiao Road have been compared to the city's leafy and tranquil backyard garden, filled with fascinating stories and legends.

Local TV makers are lifting the veil of a century over the suburbs - site of luxurious "country" villas of the Sassoon family, the Soong family, Mao Zedong and other historic figures.

"The Legend of West End," a 45-minute documentary is now being filmed in the area and is expected to be released in July on the Documentary Channel.

The film explores Shanghai's culture and history, its ups and downs, from the perspective of the Western suburbs and the people who lived there.

Last year the channel presented the film and documentary series "The Bund," an in-depth chronicle of the Bund, from its beginning as a muddy mercantile foreshore to its cosmopolitan reinvention. It was recently shown on the National Geographic Channel and received good reviews.

"For most local people, the western suburbs is like a 'familiar stranger'," says Yuan Weihui, director of "The Legend of West End."

"The place is full of legends. Every building tells a story of those who lived and what happened there. It is a witness to the city's prosperity, trauma and renaissance," Yuan adds.

The Bund is famous for its various styles of architecture, notably neoclassical and is sometimes called the "World Expo of Architecture." The western suburbs can lay claim to a similar title, since it contains the diverse and often elegant architecture of England, France, Japan, Spain and other countries, many buildings with stately gardens.

While Shanghai was growing, many people of means wanted to get away from the hectic city life and constant noise and construction, so they built retreats, some resort-like estates, in the suburbs.

That's when there were meadows, woods and fresh air.

"Since the 1930s, the western suburbs (of Shanghai) has symbolized status, wealth and a high quality of life," says Professor Wu Jiang, vice president of Shanghai Tongji University. "So many celebrities from home and abroad owned luxury villas in this area, away from the downtown hustle and bustle."

One of the famous buildings in the western suburbs is the Sassoon family estate, known as Eden Garden, which symbolized the fruits of the family's banking, business and hotel business.

The villa at 2409 Hongqiao Road was built in 1932 by Victor Sassoon, who dominated Shanghai business and real estate in the early 20th century. Set in wooded land and meadows, it's reminiscent of an English countryside home. The summer home is make of wood and brick, the roof covered with red tiles and the outer walls painted pale yellow.

After the War in the Pacific broke out in 1941, the villa was occupied by the Japanese army and used as a hotel. When Japan surrendered in 1945, the villa was bought by Ningbo textile tycoon Li Shuxiong, who turned it into the Hongqiao Club - an elite gathering spot for politicians, bankers and tycoons throughout Shanghai.

Flying Tiger's former residence

At the time there was a joke describing the political and economic importance of the villa's patrons: "If one day a bomb falls on the roof of the club, China's economy and financial system would be in a total mess the next day." Since the 1980s, the villa has been Building No. 1 of the Cypress Hotel.

The building at 1400 Hongqiao Road is the former residence of Claire Chennault, US aviation hero of the legendary Flying Tigers during World War II, voluntary fighter and bomber pilots who "flew the Hump" (the Himalyas) and kept China supplied.

In December 1947, the wedding ceremony of Chennault and Chen Xiangmei (Anna Chennault) was held there and it was a major social event for Shanghai's upper classes.

The couple spent around two years in the villa, where they invited friends to play cards and listen to music. The villa is now Building No. 8 of the Shenkang Hotel.

The Hongqiao Gallery at 1430 Hongqiao Road used to be the Soong Tse-ven (T.V. Soong) Mansion, of the powerful Soong family that played major economic and political roles in modern Chinese history.

The German-style, 1930s building at 1518 Hongqiao Road is a military hotel today, but it used to be the residence of Pai Chung-hsi, a famous Kuomintang general and military strategist. His son, famous writer/dramatist Pai Hsien-yung, lived in the building for two years while he was recovering from illness.

To many local people, the Xijiao State Guest Hotel is another mysterious retreat. It is the largest five-star villa-style guesthouse in the city. Villa 414 was built to receive Chairman Mao Zedong. Trees were planted throughout the park. To ensure security of senior leaders, the height of all buildings within three kilometers of the hotel was limited to 15 meters.

The hotel used to receive only top Chinese leaders, but at the suggestion of former leader Deng Xiaoping, it opened to the public in 1984. Since then the hotel has received many leaders from around the world, including Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, former US President George H. Bush and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

In addition to the stories of the people who lived there, Shanghai's western suburbs contains many cultural attractions that draw visitors today.

The area was an important setting in the love tragedy novella "Half Life Fate" by Chinese author Eileen Chang.

The No. 1 Building of the Shenkang Hotel at 1440 Hongqiao Road is a restaurant run by Zhao Jing, son of acclaimed actor Zhao Dan. It features vintage, nostalgia-inspiring decor, old film posters and photos of the city's film stars in the 1930 and 40s and authentic Shanghai cuisine.

"Both Shanghai and Paris are cities of legend," says Chun Zi, a female writer in Shanghai. "The western suburbs is one of the places where legends take shape. Every building in this area is unique and has a story connected with Chinese culture, economy, politics and people's life."

Inspired by the stories of the buildings, Chun is working on a film script about a romance between an American woman journalist and a Chinese man in 1930s Shanghai.

In recent years the area has been turned into the Hongqiao Economic Development Zone; it was already one of the city's earliest and most mature commercial and business areas. It attracts foreign businesses and is a preferred neighborhood of wealthy Chinese and foreigners.

In 2009 Shanghai Municipal Government called for development of an 86-square-kilometer Hongqiao Central Business District as a major component of its 12th Five-Year Plan.

The first phase of the business hub is under construction near Hongqiao International Airport and a high-speed train and transit terminal. When completed, the hub is expected to be an upscale commercial center and boost the city's economic influence in the Yangtze River Delta region.

"In every era, the western suburbs reflects the city's spirit - cultural diversity and a big platform for talents from home and abroad," says documentary director Yuan. "That's what we truly want to convey in the film."


Other little-known addresses on Hongqiao Road

Building No. 2 of Cypress Hotel (2419 Hongqiao Rd)

This half-timbered British countryside style villa was known as the The Times Villa, referring to the London newspaper and built as a residence office by the British newspaper in 1894. It was later owned by Chinese entrepreneur Rong Desheng. As early as 1894, The Times, one of the most influential European newspapers, established its resident office in Shanghai.

Xijiao Park (2381 Hongqiao Rd)

The Shanghai Zoo was built around the horse stables that became The Hongqiao Golf Club offered not only golfing, but also horseback-riding ball games, picnics and gambling for employes of Jardine Matheson & Co, the famous British Far East trading house with offices on the Bund. In 1953, the golf club was nationalized and was named Xijiao Park the next year. It later became the Shanghai Zoo.

Yao Park (1921 Hongqiao Rd)

This is now the Building No. 4 of the Xijiao State Guest Hotel. It was built in 1948 as the residence of Chinese architect and entrepreneur Yao Xizhou. The Yao family donated the building to the Chinese government in 1958, and since then it has been a an exclusive resort receiving Chinese leaders and important foreign guests.


The Shanghai School For the Blind (1850 Hongqiao Rd)

The school was founded in 1912 by a British missionary and is one of the earliest schools for visually impaired children in China.