The Mighty Dollar Line President Hoover in Shanghai – August 1937

In August 1937 Japanese planes bombed the Dollar Line ship the President Hoover in Shanghai. But what interests me about this picture is two things. Firstly, just how massive the President Hoover appears when set against the Bund like that (I realise it might be a trick of the angle). We usually see ships photographed from the Bund side with less markers to measure them against. This shot shows the ship dwarfing even the Cathay Hotel and Bank of China buildings. Secondly it’s interesting to see just how far out into the river the pontoons on the Pootung (Pudong) waterfront side stretched out.