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Looking for a place to swim last summer, I got into the idea of looking for old swimming pools in Shanghai as a habit from my time back in Paris. Actually there were a few swimming pools in Shanghai during the 30’s, most of them related to foreign clubs.    The longest in town The longest swimming pool could be found inside the Cercle Sportif Français on Rue du Cardinal Mercier (today Maoming Road). A 54 meters long swimming pool covered by white and blue tiles and overlooked by a bar (left photo). Indoor swimming... [Lire la suite]

Version Française As China is going to start the Year of the Horse, I want to appologize to post this less enthousiatic article about the city heritage. I hope the efforts untertaken by the city to preserve its culture and architecture legacy will go on in 2014. Happy New Year to everyone. 新年快乐！   The famous poet Aimé Césaire once said: "A people without memory is a people without future". Hearing this, what should we think when we see entire quarters of the Old Shanghai being torn down by bulldozers? Today almost 80% of... [Lire la suite]

English version Alors que la Chine s'apprete à célébrer l'Année du Cheval, je m'excuse par avance de poster un article moins optimiste qu'à l'habitude. Malgré le constat mitigé que je fais ici, j'espère que se poursuivra les efforts entrepris par la ville de préservation de la culture shanghaienne . Je vous souhaite à tous une excellente année du Cheval sous le signe de l'espoir! 新年快乐！ Aimé Césaire disait «Un peuple sans mémoire est un peuple sans avenir». Que penser alors quand on voit des pans entiers du Vieux Shanghai... [Lire la suite]

Version Française Although I have visited many times the Peace Hotel (read 25/10/2013 article and 6/2/2013 article), I still had no occasion to see the real heart of it, I mean the apartments of Sir Victor Sassoon. As it is now the case, I would like to share with you this unique experience. Who is Victor Sassoon? Heir of a rich Jewish Sefardim family from Bagdad, Victor Elice Sassoon is the second generation of Sassoon living in Shanghai. Quite of figure of a man, Sir Victor Sassoon was fond of parties, women... [Lire la suite]

English version Depuis que je visite le Peace Hotel (voir article du 24/10/2013 et article du 6 février 2013) je n’avais pas eu l’occasion d’accéder au saint des saints, je veux parler des appartements privés du fondateur de ce lieu unique, Sir Victor Sassoon. C’est désormais chose faite et je suis heureux de pouvoir partager avec vous ces moments d'exception. Qui est Victor Sassoon? Issu d’une richissime famille juive Séfarade originaire de Bagdad, Victor Elias Sassoon appartient à la deuxième génération des Sassoon... [Lire la suite]

 Article en Français I recently posted an article about Qingdao, well-known for its German architecture (and beer) heritage. However few people know that Shanghai also had its German time when German influence was competing with the French and the British. Following the second Opium War, in the 1860’s, many German traders settled in Shanghai. They soon became very successful and at the turn of the century, the German Empire economic power was even prevailing on the British. German businessmen were indeed considered very... [Lire la suite]

English version J’ai récemment écrit un article sur Qingdao, ville de Chine connue pour son héritage allemand. Mais peu de gens savent que Shanghai a aussi connu une période de forte influence allemande. En fait, il ėtait un temps où la skyline de Shanghai était tout aussi allemande que britannique ou française. Suivant la deuxième guerre de l’opium en 1860, de nombreux colons et hommes d’affaires allemands s’installent à Shanghai à tel point qu’au début du siècle, la présence commerciale allemande à Shanghai dépasse celle... [Lire la suite]

Version Française Among the must do in Shanghai are jazz concerts. Shanghai is indeed one of the best places in the world to listen to jazz music. Musicians come from all over the world and include a great deal of Chinese. I already pointed out the strong historical connexion between the city and jazz music (see my articles “Swinging Shanghai” and “Exceptional moments in Shanghai”). Today jazz is back again in town to make the heart of Shanghai beat again at its rhythm. An incredible energy I attended a most magical event at... [Lire la suite]

English version Parmi les choses qu’il faut absolument faire lorsque vous venez à Shanghai, figurent les concerts de jazz. En effet Shanghai est l’une des scènes les plus dynamiques dans le monde du jazz avec des artistes internationaux et chinois qui n’ont rien à envier aux Etats Unis ou à l’Europe, loin de là!  J’ai déjà commenté à plusieurs reprises l’étroit lien qui existe entre cette ville et l’histoire du jazz (Voir “Swinging Shanghai” et “Moment d'exception à Shanghai”) mais il me semble important de revenir... [Lire la suite]

Version Française  I got acquainted with China at the age of ten when my parents gave me my first Tintin comic strip: "The Blue Lotus". However, I had to wait 30 more years before I could come to China and another 10 years before I eventually met with the  character of Chang Chong-Chen, the Chinese friend of Tintin.This (virtual) encounter happened recently in the town of Qibao which literally means "seven treasures". It has a less known but still valuable eighth treasure: the Memorial of Zhang Chonren, the man who... [Lire la suite]