The Royal Hotel up on Range Road – all mod-cons

Shanghai’s old Royal Hotel is not one of the best known of the city’s former establishments. But it’s interesting all the same. Off the beaten track a bit up on Range Road (Wujin Road) on the northern borders of Hongkou it was something of a resort hotel I believe – weekends maybe or somewhat secretive assignations perhaps, Shanghai’s own Brighton for couples wanting a little privacy not too far from home or family! Anyway, in the 1930s The Royal seems fairly decent with private bathrooms, hot water and central heating. Signor Velicogna, the manager, appears to have been Italian, hence the restaurant and the veranda sounds nice – the hotel would probably have had views of the Range Road rifle range, some open land and across Chinese Paoshan (now Baoshan) as well as the Pantheon Theatre round the corner. Not quite so charming had you been staying there in the summer of 1937 as the area was occupied by British troops defending the Settlement from Japanese incursion. Further along the road was also the Municipal Isolation Hospital for foreigners with contagious diseases and, one assumes, the rather noisy Anglo-Chinese School. Very close was the Japanese YMCA for Shanghai.

I’m out of Shanghai right now but if any exploring inclined Shanghailander would like to go along and try and find the old 209 Range Road and see if anything’s still there I’d appreciate it?