Robert Ripley and the Bubbling Well Road

Robert Ripley, the ‘Believe it or not’ guy, had a long, abiding and somewhat strange love affair with China. Ripley believed he was a Chinese reincarnated as an American (as did that other American whack job L Ron Hubbard – Americans of course have a problem with being reincarnated Americans given the number of them and only so many Big Chief Whatevers to go round). Ripley also adopted Chinese dress and customs, filled his homes with Chinese artworks, bought a Chinese sailing junk and for a time signed his cartoons “Rip Li.”  So much for him him being a bit bonkers.

However he also published a list some time in the 1930s of the Seven Most Interesting Thoroughfares of the World – and Shanghai came second. Ripley’s list was:

1) Ghat of the Ganges (Benares)

2) Bubbling Well Road (Shanghai – and now of course Nanjing West Road)

3) Broadway at Night (New York)

4) The Street of David (Jerusalem)

5) Calle Florida (Buenos Aires)

6) The Champs-Elysees (Paris)

7) Tala (Fez)