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Finishing off my fourth stay in Shanghai. It’s a big enough city that a return visit always provides for plenty new to discover and, with the city constantly changing, to rediscover.
One place I tried to visit last year, but was closed for a rework, was the Jewish Refugee Museum. Reopened now, the museum is housed in a synagogue originally constructed during one of the first waves of Jewish immigration during the Russian Revolution in the early 20
th Century. It sits in an area of Shanghai that was the center of a population that grew by about 18,000 as Jews left Europe. China was one of the only countries in the world to accept Jewish refugees.
The neighborhood became the center of Jewish life in Shanghai prior to and during the early years of WWII. According to oral history from former residents who have since immigrated to the US and elsewhere, the Chinese people were welcoming despite the fact that life in Shanghai was becoming difficult for them as well as the war began. Things changed with the Japanese invasion, when the neighborhood became a ghetto. That ghetto sat in the midst of a place where Japanese occupiers made
life even worse for the Chinese than they did for the Jews. While the German government tried to influence Japan to adopt their policies toward Jews, the Japanese governor of China declined. From stories, it appears they were more interested in persecuting the Chinese.
Artist Peter Max, artist and Michael Blumenthal, Treasury Secretary during the Carter Administration, are among the better known refugees who were children during the 40’s in Shanghai. Around the corner from the Museum sits a row of apartments which once housed refugees dormitory-style, including Blumenthal. Over the past few years, Shanghai has revitalized the area, including rebuilding what used to be a popular Jewish-owned café during the 30’s and 40’s which now sits across the street from the Museum.
What’s always fun about walking through Shanghai is looking down the still-surviving small alleys and walkways of old neighborhoods not yet torn down and replaced by high-rises in an effort to make more efficient use of scarce space. These places give a sense of what life in Shanghai might have been like during the late 19
th and early 20
th Century.
One neighborhood has been almost entirely preserved --- the French Concession. This is an
Former Shanghai Slaughterhouse
Built in 1933. Now an arts and entertainment center. area of Shanghai that the French controlled when the city was split among foreign occupiers. Over the years, it became THE neighborhood for foreigners and government officials. While much of Shanghai has been taken over by modern buildings, this area retains a neighborhood feeling with mature trees, small-scale buildings, a European feel and even some large single-family homes. It is bordered on the East by Fuxing Park, a very European-looking park where you come across Chinese practicing their singing, dancing, flute, saxophone and more.
Also in the French Concession are the former homes of Sun Yet Sen and Zhou Enlai. A visit to these former homes and now museums underscores how confusing the history of China is during the early 20
th Century and the government’s frequently shifting view of that history.
I ventured beyond the historic districts of Shanghai to go to the newly-opened Disneyland Shanghai, which is majority owned by the Chinese government in partnership with Disney. It’s the largest Disneyland in the world. There’s one ride unique to this Disneyland: Tron. Tron is the big roller coaster of the park.
Half the fun of being at Disneyland Shanghai was watching the Chinese take the place
in. While it’s cheaper than in the US, this Disneyland is still expensive at about $75 for adults for the day. The park was full of Chinese families in attendance this second week of the Grand Opening.
My last morning in Shanghai I woke to clear, blue skies. The first such day in all my visits to the city. I rushed to Pudong, the relatively new area across the river from the heart of Shanghai to go up the Orient Pearl Tower. The tower was built as the first addition to the redeveloped Pudong. I can remember my first visit to Shanghai about 15 years ago, when it was the only thing there. Now it’s surrounded by far taller skyscrapers, but still delivers killer views, especially on an unusually clear day. It was a great way to finish off my likely last visit to Shanghai for awhile.
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