The Former French Concession - Explore Shanghai - page 126

Head north on Maoming Road to the shopping hub of Central Huaihai Road. Here, amid the
buzz of neon, block-long adverts and superscale shops, is a clutch of genteel old buildings,
including property mogul Victor Sassoon's 1932 Cathay Cinema (Guotai Dianyingyuan; 870
Central Huaihai Road), an Art Deco classic that, then and now, screens Hollywood block-
busters and Chinese films.
Continue north on Maoming Road and enter the Okura Garden Hotel 5 [map] (Huayuan
Fandian; 58 Maoming Road South) by the road entrance. This New Baroque beauty is the
former Cercle Sportif Français - the French Club. Explore the original lobby with its glittering
gold mosaics and polished marble columns, and head up the dramatic stairway. The original
Grecian nudes still top the columns, and the ballroom's stunning stained-glass skylight re-
mains intact. It is one of the earliest manifestations of Art Deco in Shanghai. The grounds are
a lovely spot for a stroll.
Cross Maoming Road to the historic Jin Jiang Hotel (Lao Jinjiang Fandian), built by Sir
Victor Sassoon in 1928 as Cathay Mansions. He soon added the Art Deco Grosvenor House
(luxury apartments today) and the low-rise Grosvenor Gardens, now offices. In 1972, US
President Richard Nixon and China's Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai signed the Shanghai Com-
muniqué at the Jin Jiang, the first step towards normalising US-China relations after dec-
ades of enmity.