Swiss
in Shanghai - a photographic testimony
An
exhibition of photos taken by Swiss residents of Shanghai
retraces three stages of the Swiss presence in this
city and its region. The first part of the exhibition
presents unique photographs taken in the 1860's. A
second collection dates from the 1920's and 1930's.
Swiss citizens living in Shanghai today present the
city as it is seen today by some of its residents
Shanghai was opened to the foreigners following the
Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. In 1865 some twenty Swiss
citizens were already living in the city. One of them,
the silk merchant Adolf Krayer lived here between
1860 and 1865 and traveled extensively thorough the
region of Shanghai. His pictures, which are one of
the parts of this photo exhibition, give an interesting
testimony of Shanghai over 150 years ago. Some of
the photos of its buildings have a unique character
as then photography was not the popular hobby it is
in the Shanghai of today.
The
importance of the Swiss presence in Shanghai started
to grow with the arrival of the 20th century. Switzerland
opened a commercial office in the city in 1912. The
signing of a friendship Treaty between Switzerland
and the Republic of China in 1918 as well as the opening
of the first Swiss Consulate in Shanghai in 1921 gave
it a further boost. In 1943, a remarkable number of
273 Swiss citizens lived in Shanghai. Many Swiss multinational
companies now active here find the roots of their
Shanghai presence in those years. The second part
of this photo exhibition dates from this troubled
period.
Most
Swiss people left Shanghai after the Second World
War and the birth of the People's Republic of China
in 1949. The Consulate followed the Chinese Government
to Nanjing during the Japanese invasion. Having lost
most of its community, the Swiss Consulate was closed
in 1962 but reopened again in 1995.
The
Swiss community is again very dynamic and growing
rapidly. Most of the more than 300 Swiss citizens
living in Shanghai today are businessmen and their
families. Children account for one third of the community.
The active Swiss Club Shanghai (www.swissclubshanghai.com),
a social Club regrouping a large part of the Swiss
community here, has organized a photo competition
of which the best works are shown in the third part
of the exhibition. The photos show this city as it
is seen by the Swiss residents today.
The
three collections, covering 150 years of Shanghai's
history, are shown
from
November 20 - November 29, 2003, 08.00 AM to 07.00
PM
at
the
The
Bund Center Shanghai
Lobby floor
222 Yan An Road East
Shanghai
The entrance is free
|
![](photos/shanghai_old.01.jpg) |
![](photos/shanghai_old.02.jpg) |
|