Radiograms in Old Shanghai

Radiograms were a very useful means of communication in old Shanghai. A radiogram was basically a written message transmitted by radio. They became extremely useful after the telephone service got a bit rickety after the Japanese invasion. Using the Chinese post office network you could also move messages around the country (and world) quite quickly – they tended to be brief, to the point and with no wasted words (sort of like texts I suppose) – there’s an example of one below. The service was operated by the Chinese Government Radio Administration (and they lasted a long time – I knew people in the early 1990s who were still trained by the Shanghai post office to send these messages).

the Chinese Government Radio Administration was HQed at Sassoon House (it started up services in 1931), adjacent to the Cathay Hotel. The branch on Avenue Edward VII would have been particularly useful for the cluster of journalists and newspapers along that part of the street (obviously heavy users of radiograms). It seems they also had a motorcycle messenger to pick up the message!