Chinese Bankers' Association - Shanghai - 1925
Hongkong Rd, Shanghai.
The business of banking in China was split between the western-owned banks (eg: Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, Chartered Bank, Banque de L'Indochine etc) and the modern Chinese banks (eg: Bank of China, Kincheng Banking, Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank etc). The owners and senior managers of these banks formed the elite of Shanghai's Chinese society. Just as the foreigners had their own clubs, so too did the Chinese bankers and the Chinese Bankers' Association was formed in 1918 with the goal of improving the exchange of financial information and banking management. It was to become an influential body which was unable to avoid becoming involved in the political and economic crises which befell both China and Shanghai in the turbulent years of the 1920s and '30s.
Paradoxically for a proudly Chinese association, the architecture of this handsome building is purely western with no allowance made for any Chinese architectural detail; it is dominated by the fluted Corinthian order columns. The architecture is somewhat grandiose though as the narrowness of the street does not allow the building to be admired from afar. The architect was Guo Yang Mo.
Walking around the interior was like stepping back in time; the original wooden parquet floor was intact (but damaged), the vibrant colours of the pressed ornamental ceiling can still be seen although it is falling apart is as is the skylight in the grand dining hall. Go to fellow flickrite lord shen's photo at www.flickr.com/photos/lordshen/10536914215 .
It now lies half-empty and expectant, as if waiting for a lifeline and a fast-track to its busy former life.
Chinese Bankers' Association - Shanghai - 1925
Hongkong Rd, Shanghai.
The business of banking in China was split between the western-owned banks (eg: Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, Chartered Bank, Banque de L'Indochine etc) and the modern Chinese banks (eg: Bank of China, Kincheng Banking, Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank etc). The owners and senior managers of these banks formed the elite of Shanghai's Chinese society. Just as the foreigners had their own clubs, so too did the Chinese bankers and the Chinese Bankers' Association was formed in 1918 with the goal of improving the exchange of financial information and banking management. It was to become an influential body which was unable to avoid becoming involved in the political and economic crises which befell both China and Shanghai in the turbulent years of the 1920s and '30s.
Paradoxically for a proudly Chinese association, the architecture of this handsome building is purely western with no allowance made for any Chinese architectural detail; it is dominated by the fluted Corinthian order columns. The architecture is somewhat grandiose though as the narrowness of the street does not allow the building to be admired from afar. The architect was Guo Yang Mo.
Walking around the interior was like stepping back in time; the original wooden parquet floor was intact (but damaged), the vibrant colours of the pressed ornamental ceiling can still be seen although it is falling apart is as is the skylight in the grand dining hall. Go to fellow flickrite lord shen's photo at www.flickr.com/photos/lordshen/10536914215 .
It now lies half-empty and expectant, as if waiting for a lifeline and a fast-track to its busy former life.