Editor's note: html In June, the city's movie-going craze was a moving sight in the city of Shanghai. During the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival, Majestic Theater served as a screening theater for the film festival. It embraced movie fans from all over the country with first-class hardware and high-quality services, and also provided luggage storage services for movie fans. Its predecessor was once one of the most luxurious hotels in Shanghai: Dahua Hotel.
"The cinema is located in the garden, where you can sip tea and watch dramas in the middle of summer." More than 100 years ago, the Majestic Hotel welcomed guests from all over the world with its majestic architecture and complete equipment.
Text | Xue Liyong
Dahua Hotel on Gordon Road
▲ Panoramic view of Dahua Hotel
In 1900, a north-south road starting from Suzhou River and connecting Jing'an Temple Road was opened to traffic. This road was named "Gordon Road" after the British officer Charles George Gordon (1833-1885), the leader of the "Foreign Guns" in the 1860s. It was renamed Jiangning Road in 1943.
▲Map of Shanghai in 1923 (detail). The Majestic Hotel has been built.
Nanjing West Road starts from Tibet Middle Road in the east and ends at Yan'an West Road in the west, with a total length of about 3,900 meters. It is the main road for east-west transportation in Shanghai and the bustling "Ten Mile Long Street" in Shanghai. At one-half of Nanjing West Road, Jiangning Road intersects with the "D" character of Nanjing West Road, forming a corner. This area was once the most distinctive residential and commercial area of Nanjing West Road, with various high-end residences, cinemas and dance halls. , clothing stores, Western-style food stores, cafes, restaurants, specialty stores, etc., are concentrated here. At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the famous Westgate Plaza, CITIC Plaza, and Plaza 66 rose up here, forming a dominant force, collectively known as "Mei Taiheng". As a top business district, it is also known as "Mei Taiheng". "Golden Triangle" has become one of the landmarks of Shanghai.
Soon after Gordon Road was opened to traffic, the Shanghai Highway Department built the "Daotai Garden" on the east side of Gordon Road, which was actually used as a platform to summon and meet with foreign businessmen and officials. After the fall of the Qing government, Daotai Garden was taken over by the new government. The new government was eager to raise funds and sold the garden to a British businessman named Mai Bian, so the garden was also called "Maibian Garden".
▲Map of Shanghai in 1918 (detail). Maibian Garden is Daotai Garden. After 1920, the Majestic Hotel was built on its original site. About the early 1920s, the American Shanghai Business Company bought this land, part of which was owned by the "Hong Kong·Shanghai Grand Hotel". The hotel company" (Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels, Ltd.) leased and built it as the Majestic Hotel (Majestic Hall). The Dahua Hotel was one of the most luxurious hotels in Shanghai at the time. According to newspaper reports at the time, the hotel "in addition to the hotel, there is a vast ballroom and gorgeous dining rooms. The majestic architecture and complete equipment are among the best in the Shanghai West Hotel. It can be said to be second to none. The cinema is located in the garden. It is the best place in the world to sip tea and watch a drama in the middle of summer. The heat has subsided, and it is relaxing and refreshing."
▲The entrance and exit of Dahua Hotel
▲The restaurant of Dahua Hotel
On December 1, 1927, the secular wedding of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling was held at the Dahua Hotel.
▲The lobby of the Dahua Hotel
▲The Shanghai Flower Festival holds an autumn flower exhibition in the Italian courtyard of the Dahua Hotel
After the Maibian Garden was divided, several more roads appeared, one of which was named "McBain Road" (McBain Road). Today's Fengxian Road), the other is called "Majestic Road" (now Nanhui Road), and their names are related to Maibian Garden and Majestic Hotel.
▲Part of Shanghai map in 1947. Part of the original Dahua Hotel was built as city housing, and part became the Majestic Theater and the Metropolitan Garden Ballroom.
In the early 1930s, the Dahua Hotel suddenly closed down, and parts of the old site were later built into the famous Majestic Theater and the Metropolitan Garden Ballroom. Metropolitan Garden.
▲Exterior view of Majestic Theater.It was invested and built by Shanghai Asia Cinema Company in 1941. It followed the English name of Majestic Theater and the Chinese name was homophonic to "Majestic Theatre". It was Shanghai's first-class theater at the time
▲Fan Wenzhao, the designer of Majestic Theater (1893-1979), a native of Shunde, Guangdong. He graduated from St. John's University in 1917 and went to the United States for further study. While studying in the United States, I came into contact with a large number of classical buildings. His early works were completely retro, and later he advocated modernism. He was a famous architect in modern times.
▲Metropolitan Garden Outdoor Activity Area
Metropolitan Garden (metropole garden) is a nightclub and dance hall entertainment venue, 1934 Opened in year. In the early 1930s, Shanghai had become a highly internationalized metropolis, and Shanghainese were proud of it. Therefore, the word "metropole" became a buzzword, and many large-scale hotels and entertainment venues used it as their corporate name. Name, Metropolitan Gardens too.
▲ Metropolitan Ballroom Band
At the same time, in 1929, the Nationalist Government planned to build a brand new Shanghai city - New Shanghai - in Jiangwan in the northeast corner of Shanghai, and planned to transfer the city center of Shanghai to "New Shanghai". The main buildings of "New Shanghai", such as the Shanghai Municipal Government Building, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Library, etc., follow the "retro-ism" route and adopt traditional Chinese architectural styles. Therefore, "retro-ism" once became the fashion pursued by Shanghai architecture. The style and decoration of the Metropolitan Garden have obvious shadows of traditional Chinese architecture.
▲The entrance and interior of the Metropolitan Ballroom
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the dance hall industry basically ended, and the Metropolitan Garden was once converted into a bookstore. Today, it is the famous Westgate Square.
Xue Liyong
Xue Liyong is a famous expert on Shanghai history. He is the editor-in-chief of "Dictionary of Shanghai Cultural Origins" and "Dictionary of Shanghai Anecdotes". He has published books such as "History and Architecture of the Bund", "History of Shanghai Concession", "Shanghai Ocean Park", "Xue Liyong on Old Shanghai Series", etc. About 60 copies. His current social positions include member of the Advisory Committee of the Shanghai Planning Commission, member of the Shanghai Old District Renovation Expert Committee, member of the Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee, and vice chairman of the Shanghai Geographical Names Society.
▲ Shaanxi North Road Historical Architecture Art Bronze Medal
Editor's note:
This column comes from the supplement "Parlem" of "Jing'an News" founded on February 8, 1994. On the WeChat platform, "Paramount" will be presented to readers in a new form. Receive regular updates every week and read Jing'an from a different perspective. Submissions can be sent to [email protected]
Source: Shanghai Jing’an
