The Last Surviving Boone Road Houses – Dens of Collaboration?

Back in January I posted on some once lovely houses that were now the last survivors on Hongkou’s Tanggu Road (formerly Boone Road). The houses had fallen into a severe state of disrepair though were still occupied. They were surrounded by partial clearance and some hasty jerry built structures from the nearby clothing market and some decidedly unlovely and shoddy tower blocks. This area, sometimes known as the Japanese Colony, is almost now totally obliterated.

Anyway, it seems perhaps my rather useless photography inspired some rather better photographers to go and nose around this buildings (which was the idea, so good!). The excellent Shanghai photographer who has recorded enormous amounts of lost building Gropius has some great pictures of the houses and reports that residents there claimed that the house once belong to Liang Hongzi, who served in various warlord administrations in northern China before joining Wang Jingwei’s collaborationist puppet government during the Second World War. Certainly Liang died in Shanghai in 1946 – executed by firing squad. It also makes sense that a collaborator with the Japanese would retain his base in the former Japanese area of the city. And, finally, having had a predecessor who was a collaborator is not something many residents would invent!!

As I’ve said before (and will doubtless say again!) – if only houses could talk…

I’ll repost my camera phone picture here so as not to invade anyone’s copyright but do go to Gropius’s site to see his superb and professional photos of the structure (here), its interior and details. Additionally, the great Shanghai street photogapher (and good friend of this blog) Sue Anne Tay went down to Tanggu Road and shot both the house I’d mentioned and the nearby remaining longtang Long Spring Lane (here). As ever superb pictures from Sue Anne and some more details on the area and its residents.

The usual warning to the interested – if you want to see Liang Hongzi’s old house and Long Spring Lane don’t take your time about it – neither look long for this world.