Our guide will pick you up from you hotel at about 9am. Drive to the Hongkou District, where Japanese army in the Second World War forced Jewish refugees to live in. your Shanghai tour begins with a visit to
Ohel Moishe Synagogue. Built in 1920 to accommodate the community of Baghdadi Jews (which at its peak numbered 700), it marked the culminating achievement of Shanghai’s
first wave of Jewish immigrants.
Continue your tour to Huoshan Park. Just inside the gate sits the only memorial to Shanghai’s European Jewish refugees. Then visit the
Russian Jewish Club, eventually became a club for the whole community. Since the Russians were the greatest Zionists in China, news of the establishment of the state of Israel, including Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion’s Speech, was read to the community at the Jewsih Club in 1948. The site is now used by the Shanghai Music Conservatory.
Lunch is served in a Chinese restaurant at about 12:30pm. You can do a-la-carte according to your eating habits.
In the afternoon, your Shanghai tour goes on with a visit to
Ohel Rachel Synagogue on Shaanxi North Road. It was the primary synagogue for the Sephardic (mainly Iraqi) community in Shanghai, used from 1920 to 1952, except for about 2 years during the war. Founded by Sir Jacob Sasson (from Hong Kong) in memory of his wife, and consecrated by Rabbi W. Hirsch, it is now occupied by Shanghai Education Bureau. The Shanghai Jewish School Building still stands on the left.
Then go to the Bund, now Peace Hotel or used to be called
Sassoon House, was founded also by Sir Jacob Sasson in 1929. It’s the first building that had more than 10 storey in the modern time, the inside decoration were so elegant and luxurious that became a big hit in China when opened.
