Merchant Ship Guild Hall

Merchant Ship Guild Hall

The Merchant Ship Guild Hall is a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai Municipality.

The Merchant Ship Guild Hall is located at No. 28 Huiguan Street in Majiachang, Nanshi District. Established in the 54th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1715), it was jointly funded by ship merchants from various Shanghai-based sand-junk trade groups and stands as the city’s earliest guild hall building. It features structures such as a main hall and a stage. It was renovated in the 29th year of the Qianlong reign (1764), during which north and south halls were added. In the 19th year of the Jiaqing reign (1814), an observation pavilion was built; in the 24th year of the Daoguang reign (1844), an offering hall, bell and drum towers, and a rear hall were constructed. In the first year of the Tongzhi reign (1862), British and French troops entered the city to help defend against the Taiping Rebellion and were stationed in the Merchant Ship Guild Hall. After their withdrawal, the site was used by the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, resulting in significant damage to many of its buildings. In the seventh year of the Tongzhi reign, the site was renovated again. From the 16th to the 18th year of the Guangxu reign (1890–1892), the stage was repaired following damage caused by a typhoon, along with other structural maintenance work.

In the 33rd year of the Guangxu reign, the directors of the Merchant Ship Guild Hall raised funds to establish an elementary school within the hall, and in the second year of the Xuantong reign (1910), a higher elementary school was added. The entrance façade of the Merchant Ship Guild Hall is rather tall, with square bricks covering its walls. The stage is relatively simple and traditional, featuring stone pillars and an octagonal caisson ceiling composed of eight wooden panels painted with colored designs in the style of the Song Dynasty—referred to as a "fighting-eight caisson." The main hall is grand and spacious, featuring a front porch with five bays, a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, towering roof ridges, and the Chinese characters “国泰民安” (Nation Prosperous, People Peaceful) inscribed on the main ridge. The vertical ridges are adorned with many statues of civil and military officials. At the center of the main hall’s altar is a statue of the Goddess of the Sea (Mazu). On the left and right sides in front of the hall are buildings that served as offices and meeting rooms. The northeastern section originally housed the Merchant Ship Public Bureau, which managed shipping levies and oversaw mudflats on both sides of the Huangpu River, as well as the Chengshan Hall annex, which handled compensation for injured or deceased sailors.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Merchant Ship Guild Hall was once occupied by military forces. The main hall was used as a neighborhood-run nursery and kindergarten, and part of it served as dormitories for employees of the Maritime Bureau. During the Cultural Revolution, this architectural complex underwent major changes, although the main hall, stage, and other structures retained their original layouts.

In 1959, it was designated as a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai Municipality.