Touring the haunts of chic old Shanghai
By Nie Xin |
May 30, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SHANGHAI'S Golden Era of the 1930s and its high society can be traced through iconic buildings with tasty tales of horse racing, tycoons, high-toned gangsters and naughty parties.
Plenty of old buildings now put to other uses reveal fun-loving days at the former Shanghai Race Club on Nanjing Road W., which brought British racehorse ownership to the Chinese mainland, and the splendid French Sports Club, now the Okura Garden Hotel on Maoming Road S.
The scandalous French Sports Club allowed women to freely join and hosted wild parties in its cruise ship-inspired ballroom. On the magnificent grounds, members played tennis and discussed upcoming horse races.
Those buildings are mostly still accessible and visitors can hear captivating stories about characters who built and frequented the venues.
A new weekly tour of old Shanghai will be kicked off this Sunday, taking in seven famous buildings.
The four- to six-hour Shanghai Race Club Tour is named after one of the key venues where 1930s movers and shakers met.
Stops include the French Sports Club, Moller Villa, the villa of gangster Du Yuesheng (now the Mansion Hotel), the Shanghai Club, HSBC Bank, the Cathay Hotel and Shanghai Race Club.
"Each building reveals one aspect of the life of a Bentley-chauffeured high society man in Shanghai during the 1930s - eccentricity, fear, decadence, power, riches, control and luxury," says Daniel Newman, managing director of Newman Tours.
The fairy tale, turreted Moller Villa near Nanjing Road W was the former estate commissioned by Swedish shipping tycoon Eric Moller, the city's most obsessive racehorse owner.
At the former Shanghai Club on the Bund, visitors can discover how hard it was to get a membership. They can see the "curvature of the earth" along what was once the world's longest bar and find out how the city's Japanese occupiers struggled to play British billiards.
At the former Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, guides explain how Chinese warlords helped the bank accumulate a vast amount of money in a very short period of time.
The former Cathay Hotel will reveal the world of property tycoon, Victor Sassoon (1881-1961), a businessman and hotelier from the Sassoon banking family. He famously said "The only race greater than the Jews is the Derby."
Visitors will learn where the Sassoon fortune came from and how the Jewish magnate encountered discrimination at the racecourse. They will also learn what went on at his naughty fancy dress parties.
At the villa belonging to gangster Du Yuesheng, visitors will see a splendid residence where the famous boss of the Green Gang held sophisticated gatherings and arranged traditional opera performances on a stage.
The former Shanghai Race Club building is the place where many of the characters encountered on the tour were brought together by their love of horses, racing and gaming.
The Shanghai Race Club was not only a race horse owners' club but also the defining institution for high society in Shanghai during the 1930s.
Shanghai Race Tour
Date: Every Sunday, 1:30-5:30pm
Fee: 390 yuan (adults); 350 yuan (students); 290 yuan (children under 14); tours must be booked in advance.
Tel: 1381-7770-229
E-mail: info@newmantours.com
More detailed information and schedules at www.newmantours.com
Plenty of old buildings now put to other uses reveal fun-loving days at the former Shanghai Race Club on Nanjing Road W., which brought British racehorse ownership to the Chinese mainland, and the splendid French Sports Club, now the Okura Garden Hotel on Maoming Road S.
The scandalous French Sports Club allowed women to freely join and hosted wild parties in its cruise ship-inspired ballroom. On the magnificent grounds, members played tennis and discussed upcoming horse races.
Those buildings are mostly still accessible and visitors can hear captivating stories about characters who built and frequented the venues.
A new weekly tour of old Shanghai will be kicked off this Sunday, taking in seven famous buildings.
The four- to six-hour Shanghai Race Club Tour is named after one of the key venues where 1930s movers and shakers met.
Stops include the French Sports Club, Moller Villa, the villa of gangster Du Yuesheng (now the Mansion Hotel), the Shanghai Club, HSBC Bank, the Cathay Hotel and Shanghai Race Club.
"Each building reveals one aspect of the life of a Bentley-chauffeured high society man in Shanghai during the 1930s - eccentricity, fear, decadence, power, riches, control and luxury," says Daniel Newman, managing director of Newman Tours.
The fairy tale, turreted Moller Villa near Nanjing Road W was the former estate commissioned by Swedish shipping tycoon Eric Moller, the city's most obsessive racehorse owner.
At the former Shanghai Club on the Bund, visitors can discover how hard it was to get a membership. They can see the "curvature of the earth" along what was once the world's longest bar and find out how the city's Japanese occupiers struggled to play British billiards.
At the former Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, guides explain how Chinese warlords helped the bank accumulate a vast amount of money in a very short period of time.
The former Cathay Hotel will reveal the world of property tycoon, Victor Sassoon (1881-1961), a businessman and hotelier from the Sassoon banking family. He famously said "The only race greater than the Jews is the Derby."
Visitors will learn where the Sassoon fortune came from and how the Jewish magnate encountered discrimination at the racecourse. They will also learn what went on at his naughty fancy dress parties.
At the villa belonging to gangster Du Yuesheng, visitors will see a splendid residence where the famous boss of the Green Gang held sophisticated gatherings and arranged traditional opera performances on a stage.
The former Shanghai Race Club building is the place where many of the characters encountered on the tour were brought together by their love of horses, racing and gaming.
The Shanghai Race Club was not only a race horse owners' club but also the defining institution for high society in Shanghai during the 1930s.
Shanghai Race Tour
Date: Every Sunday, 1:30-5:30pm
Fee: 390 yuan (adults); 350 yuan (students); 290 yuan (children under 14); tours must be booked in advance.
Tel: 1381-7770-229
E-mail: info@newmantours.com
More detailed information and schedules at www.newmantours.com
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