Shanghai comes to terms with British colonial 'century of humiliation'

Shanghai is to spend £20 million restoring its former British Consulate in a sign it may be coming to terms with its colonial past.

By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai

British Consulate, Shanghai: A woman peddles her bicycle in front of an artist illustration featuring the restoration of Old British Consulate in Shanghai Photo: KEVIN LEE

Since the Communist party came to power in 1949, it has worked hard to remove traces of the time when the city was carved up into concessions run by the British, French, Americans and Japanese.

History textbooks refer to the "century of humiliation" that China endured at the hands of foreigners after it lost the Opium War of 1840.

The elegant two-floor building at number 33 on the Bund, Shanghai's historic waterfront, was at the heart of British trade and interests in China.

Behind it lay the Bund Garden, an acre of green space landscaped by an imported Scottish gardener.

The consulate, and the consul's residence next door, were built in 1873 and are some of the oldest buildings still standing on the Bund.

After the British gave up the concession, the complex was used by Chinese bureaucrats but it fell into disrepair after being abandoned.

Now a project is under way to renovate the buildings and to use them to entertain visiting politicians and dignitaries.

Peter Hibbard, the head of the Royal Asiatic Society in Shanghai, said: "They are doing a very good job.

"Before now the goal was to obliterate history or cover it up. But there is now a belief that the best thing to do is not to disguise the history but to restore it with integrity. These buildings will still have a British identity."

The cost of the restoration is being underwritten by the city government, which has hired one of the city's foremost contractors to undertake the job. The 300 Chinese workers on the site have experience renovating other Shanghai landmarks, such as the former racing club and No. 3 on the Bund, which used to be the Shanghai Club.

Tang Weimin, the project manager, said: "We are not adding or removing anything. We are keeping the original features intact, even though it makes it a much more difficult job. The internal structure was all rotten, especially the wood.

"Also there are many ancient trees, which would have been damaged by the alkali from the cement. We have had to install a special irrigation system."

Outside, workers were busy cleaning the original brickwork with high-pressure water guns and chiselling back the details into the Corinthian capitals of the columns.

Zhao Guowen, an architecture professor at Jiaotong University, said: "This was the first western architecture on the Bund, so it has significant historical value.

"It was designed with no Chinese features to appeal to the Qing government or the locals. The doors were small and faced towards the settlement, showing the defensive attitude of the British towards China."

He added: "I'm sure there will be Chinese nationalists criticising the restoration as a sign of humiliation and invasion, but it is important to preserve the connections between the past and present."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/6468221/Shanghai-comes-to-terms-with-British-colonial-century-of-humiliation.html