Family treasures at lilong museum
Print Edition
FROM 1930s toys to beepers in the 1990s, family treasures and collections are on show at the city’s first lilong museum that opened in Jing’an District yesterday.
Xiwang Garden Lane Museum is tucked away in the century-old Xiwang residential compound at Lane 68 on Fengxian Road. Xiwang, built in 1911, is a typical Shanghai lane-style neighborhood, known by locals as lilong, that fuses Eastern and Western flavors. It houses 12 British Queen Anne-style buildings that are situated on interconnected lanes.
Its history is told on noticeboards and in old photos in the museum.
“Xiwang had been built to accommodate wealthy expats and upper-class people. Due to historical reasons, one unit was partitioned into smaller flats occupied by several families,” said social worker Huang Siqi, who has volunteered to be the museum’s guide.
Lai Zongren, 78, who has lived in Xiwang for more than 70 years, said: “My parents said our neighbors used to be foreigners, and there once were beautiful iron fences on the gate. The city’s old Sikh police, or hongtou as they were locally known, had been recruited as security guards to patrol around.”
American journalist Agnes Smedley, who was among the first to introduce Communist China to the Western world, lived in Xiwang in late 1920s and early 1930s. It is also home to several local celebrities, such as composer Tu Bahai, Chinese painting master Zheng Boping and bass singer Wen Kezheng, the exhibition boards showed.
“Xiwang has a rich history and culture. We hope to dig out what residents are proud of themselves and show it to the public,” said Teng Yi, deputy director of Shimen Road No. 2 Community office, which administers the neighborhood.
Residents brought some of their family treasures and collections to display in the museum. They include a small waist drum made in late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and several vintage tin toys, including a model of America’s Lincoln Tunnel made in the 1930s.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
