CHINA

China

Shanghai

The Peace Hotel was originally owned by the Sassoons. Noel Coward stayed here and wrote. An amazing number of major buildings on the waterfront Bund and elsewhere were built by the Sassoons or other wealthy Jewish philanthropists whose major hobby seems to have been horse-racing.

I walked around the Jewish Museum and then took a Jewish tour with an elderly Chinese guide, Mr Wang, who used to work with Jews in this area. I remember that the whole area was Jewish, and my charming Chinese guide devotedly stood in the middle of the traffic risking both our lives pointing to where the popular Jewish cinema once stood. He asked me if I knew John Rain. I eventually realised we were talking about John Wayne and made it safely back to the the pavement. To Americans the pavement is the tarmac on the road. I would be reaching the sidewalk.

Alternatively, take a tour with a Israeli artist Dvir who rescued Jewish gravestones. See his film about the headstones.

1 Peace Hotel on the Bund.

Beautiful Chinese building, not much to see of Jewish interest except the plaque; but it has wonderful art deco and is a landmark important in local history.

2 Jewish Museum. Exhibitions. And tours.

3 Israeli style food at Mediterranean cafe.

4 Old synagogue overgrown with branches is in the centre of a gated government compound with a Chinese guard who speaks no English and won't let you in and he gets agitated if you try to take a photo. We phoned a hotel concierge to ask him to translate. He said the guard had agreed to let us walk around the outside and take a photo. But I took two steps forward and I got shouted at. Not often I give up. (March 2006)

5 Hengshan-Moller Villa

In the midst of Shanghai's skyscrapers is a gabled building with arched windows, balconies and a tower. This gothic hotel was originally the home of Eric Moller, a British Jew.

Eric's daughter dreamed about going into a castle. Her loving father realised the dream, admittedly somewhat later. The first architectural plans were made in 1927 and the villa was finished in 1936. The whole place is designed with ship motifs because when Moller took over the land from his father he was in the shipping business.

Moller also made money and achieved fame from his horse and the back lawn has a bronze statue of the horse. Non-residents can have tea or dinner in the hotel.

See www.mollervilla.com