'Ark on the Sea' planned for Tilanqiao area
An artist's rendition of the expanded Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.
A historic region featuring the history of Jewish refugees in Shanghai will be developed in Hongkou District to become a new cultural landmark of the city, Wu Xinbao, Hongkou's Party secretary said on Wednesday.
The region to be named “Ark on the Sea” will be created around the Tilanqiao area and include the over century-old Tilanqiao Prison, formerly known as Ward Road Gaol, the Xiahai Temple dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and nearby neighborhoods that once accommodated Jewish people fleeing Nazi persecution during World War II.
Wu said many pleasant historical communities in Hongkou, such as the Tilanqiao area, should “resolutely be preserved.”
“The urban revamping projects should take responsibility for both the history and future of the city,” Wu said in a radio interview with some Hongkou citizens.
About 20,000 Jewish people from Europe fled to Shanghai and other Chinese cities between 1933 and 1941.
Within the region, the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum is being expanded with new exhibitions for its increasing number of visitors which has grown 10 times from the 10,000 in its first year of 2007.
The museum inside the historic Ohel Moishe Synagogue will be expanded to over 4,000 square meters from the existing 900 by 2020. It has received over 400,000 visitors, including many former refugees and their families, from over 100 countries. The museum has also exhibited overseas in Germany, Israel, the US, Hungary, Australia, Switzerland and Italy.
An artist's bird's eye view of the expanded Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.
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