The French Concession — Shadows of 1927

Your quest into the shadows of 1927 Shanghai first leads you to the Shanghai Customs House, located at 13 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu on the Bund. This neoclassical building, completed in 1927, houses a 40-ton clock inspired by Big Ben, with its belfry soaring 88 meters high. Still functioning as the Shanghai customs office, it was a silent witness to the tumultuous events of that year, overseeing the ships that docked, laden with hopes and goods. In 1927, tensions were already rising in the city of Shanghai, and this historic monument was at the heart of the international exchanges that punctuated port life.

A short walk away, the Peace Hotel, formerly known as the Cathay Hotel, stands proudly. Opened in 1929 as Sassoon House, this 77-meter, 31-story building was the first modernist edifice on the Bund, designed by Palmer & Turner. It was owned by Victor Sassoon, an Iraqi Jewish magnate who resided on the 7th floor, and represented the splendor and economic power of the International Concession. This meeting place for the foreign and Chinese elite sharply contrasted with the poverty of the workers, whose demands would soon erupt into the open in Shanghai.

The route then takes you away from the Bund to plunge into the heart of the former French Concession. At 76 Xingye Lu, you discover the Site of the First National Congress of the CPC, a shikumen-style house built around 1920. It was here that the founding meeting of the Chinese Communist Party took place, from June 23 to July 3, 1921, with 13 delegates present. Restored as a museum in 1952, this residence is a UNESCO Memory of the World site, a starting point for understanding the political forces that would reshape China and culminated partly with the events of 1927 in Shanghai.

Your exploration continues at Fuxing Park, formerly Guilian Garden, or Cochinchina Garden, opened in 1909 in the French Concession. This 8-hectare park, with its central lake and French-style pavilion, was a site of political gatherings in 1927, including worker demonstrations. It offers a glimpse into the contrast between the tranquility of green spaces and the social unrest of the era, an emblematic site of Shanghai's historical heritage where leisure and protest intertwined.

Finally, your investigation leads you to the Shanghai General Labour Union Site, a building constructed in 1925 at 568 Yuyuan Lu. This was the headquarters of the Shanghai General Labour Union in 1927, the nerve center of strikes and worker uprisings led by Liu Huaizhi, notably during the armed uprising of March 1, 1927. This site encapsulates the spirit of resistance of Shanghai's working class. Through this thematic circuit, you have traversed the history of Shanghai, from the Bund to the French Concession, and felt the echoes of the year 1927. This interactive visit reveals the multiple facets of a city in full transformation, a living testimony to its revolutionary past.