Today, NPR interviewed some of these survivors who fled to China about a neighborhood called Tilanqiao or "Little Vienna" in Shanghai. This quaint bit of Europe was transplanted to Shanghai, but is the lesser known Eurozone compared to the well ventured French Concession district I walked through during my stay last year.In the Hongkou district near the Northern Bund sits Ohel Moishe Synagogue which is recognized as the heart of this historic area. It's one of two synagogues, but there used to be six here at the height of the area's boom. Now, beside the place of worship all is not peaceful since the area has been under threat from the relentless cycle of development.
A fight to get Tilanqiao recognized goes back to April 27, 2006 when about 120 former Jewish refugees and their families returned to Shanghai from all over the world for a '2006 Shanghai Reunion.' The aim was to get the United Nations to list Tilanqiao as a world heritage site.I read that in 2003 Professor Ruan Yishan of Tongji University, an ardent preservationist and dean of the National Cultural and Historical City Research Institute, helped restrict the urban development plans for the North Bund by challenging the Shanghai Urban Planning Bureau. He and his supporters succeeded in geting the city to declare "12 Key Preserved Historical Zones," including Tilanqiao.
Today, however, the White Horse Cafe that was founded by Jewish immigrants in 1939 is finally succumbing to the push for modernization. A new road is being built and the cafe must go. Without the road the future traffic in central Shanghai will be unbearable said an official. It seems that urban historical areas aren't in vogue in China. Although sections of Tilanqiao will remain, we don't know for how long? I hope I get to return and walk those streets myself before it turns into Spaghetti Junction!
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