Ρούνες
Contemplation Amidst the Urban Jungle
85 N. Sichuan Rd., Shanghai
The building is named Daqiao (which means Bridge) Building, originally known as Daqiao Apartments. Constructed between 1935 and 1936, it stands seven stories high and is built with a reinforced concrete structure. The overall style of the building is modernist, with some Art Deco decorative elements.
In August 1937, Japanese forces entered the northern area of the International Settlement and promptly converted this building into the headquarters of the Japanese Military Police in Shanghai. A detention center was added on the ground floor to hold political prisoners. In addition to Chinese detainees, the facility was used to incarcerate foreign nationals from countries such as Britain, the United States, and the USSR, as well as Japanese individuals deemed to have ‘dangerous thoughts’.
Following the Pacific War, the Japanese expanded the detention facilities, replacing the cell doors with barriers made from logs as thick as a bowl's diameter. By 1942, each cell held an average of thirty to forty prisoners. Notable figures detained here included Xu Guangping, the widow of Lu Xun (1881-1936, writer), and American journalist John Benjamin Powell.
After Japan’s surrender in 1945, the building was taken over by the Shanghai Garrison Command and used as an office for the Investigation Department.
Now, the building has fallen into a state of disrepair, and its residents come from various walks of life.
Contemplation Amidst the Urban Jungle
85 N. Sichuan Rd., Shanghai
The building is named Daqiao (which means Bridge) Building, originally known as Daqiao Apartments. Constructed between 1935 and 1936, it stands seven stories high and is built with a reinforced concrete structure. The overall style of the building is modernist, with some Art Deco decorative elements.
In August 1937, Japanese forces entered the northern area of the International Settlement and promptly converted this building into the headquarters of the Japanese Military Police in Shanghai. A detention center was added on the ground floor to hold political prisoners. In addition to Chinese detainees, the facility was used to incarcerate foreign nationals from countries such as Britain, the United States, and the USSR, as well as Japanese individuals deemed to have ‘dangerous thoughts’.
Following the Pacific War, the Japanese expanded the detention facilities, replacing the cell doors with barriers made from logs as thick as a bowl's diameter. By 1942, each cell held an average of thirty to forty prisoners. Notable figures detained here included Xu Guangping, the widow of Lu Xun (1881-1936, writer), and American journalist John Benjamin Powell.
After Japan’s surrender in 1945, the building was taken over by the Shanghai Garrison Command and used as an office for the Investigation Department.
Now, the building has fallen into a state of disrepair, and its residents come from various walks of life.