Old Shanghai

 Version Française Among the outstanding characters who lived in Shanghai in the 1930’s was undoubtedly William Ewart Fairbairn. Being a member of the Shanghai Municipal Police, for 30 years, Fairbairn got himself involved into hundreds of street fights, most of them implying use of knifes. At the end of his carreer, Fairbairn’s body was covered with all kind of scars, even on hand palms. Knick-named “Fearless Dan” or the “Shanghai Buster”, W.E. Fairbairn arrived in Shanghai in 1907 to join the Police force. When on duty, he... [Lire la suite]

Version Française Among my preferate books about Shanghai, Albert Londres "War in Shanghai" ranks top of the list. a series of articles written during the 1932 shanghai incident. Albert Londres came to shanghai between November 1931 and April 1932 to comment the events of the invasion of Manchuria by Japan. When he arrived, he was eventually caught in the first battle of Shanghai between Japanese Marine Corp and Chinese Republican Army. His report of these dramatic episode is a unique insight on Shanghai communities of the time at a... [Lire la suite]

Beginning of article In the heart of the action "The Asian madness has just struck Shanghai", he wirites on 31st January 1932. "War is in the streets!". Following the boycott of Japanese goods, the Empire of Japan Marine Corps suddenly launched its troops on Shanghai. This conflct will last one month and result in some 30000 dead among them two thirds are civilians. Albert Londres was staying in the Palace Hotel, opposite today's Peace Hotel, which made it easy to walk to war scene on  Broadway Avenue or the nearby French... [Lire la suite]

English version Parmi les livres qui m’ont le plus inspiré dans ma quête du Shanghai d’hier et d’aujourd’hui, “La guerre à Shanghai”, recueil d’articles d’Albert Londres figure en bonne place. Le célèbre reporter est en effet venu a Shanghai entre Novembre 1931 et Avril 1932 afin de commenter les "événements" liés à l'invasion de la Manchourie par le Japon. A travers une série d’articles quotidiens particulierement vivants et bien documentés, on decouvre par le détail le Shanghai des années 30 avec un oeil neuf captant... [Lire la suite]

Début de l'article Au coeur de l'action "La folie asiatique vient de toucher Shanghai, écrit-il le 31 Janvier 1932. La guerre est dans les rues". Suite au boycott des biens Japonais par la population locale, la Marine Japonaise vient en effet de lancer une offensive dans la ville. C'est le début d'un mois de conflit sanglant qui fera plus de 30000 morts dont les deux-tiers sont des civils. Descendu au Palace sur le Bund (en face du Peace Hotel actuel), notre journaliste peut se rendre facilement à pied à la fois sur... [Lire la suite]

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]

English version Parmi les personnages extraordinaires qui ont peuplé le Shanghai des années 30, William Ewart Fairbairn figure en bonne place. En tant que membre de la Police Municipale de Shanghai (SMP) pendant 30 ans, il a pris part à des centaines de combats de rue, dont une grande part au couteau. A la fin de sa carrière, son corps entier était couvert de cicatrices, paumes des deux mains comprises! Surnommé "Dany Sans-Peur" ou encore le "Traqueur de Shanghai", W.E. Fairbairn est arrivé à Sahnghai en 1907 où il a rejoint la... [Lire la suite]

Version française   You are probably already familiar with the crowd of street vendors, food stalls and all kinds of repair activities in Shanghai. This definitely contrasts with the most modern quarters like Pudong or brand new shopping malls then again gives this city its unique appalling charm. A millenary tradition              Autochrome plate by Albert Kahn In China, these street businesses can be traced up to Song dynasty in Chinese paintings such as Qing Ming He Shang... [Lire la suite]