Ancient City Park Hu'nan Money Guild Hall

Ancient City Park Hu'nan Money Guild Hall

Walking along the densely planted bamboo groves lining Fuyou Road and Anren Street on the west side of the newly built "Ancient City Park" near the extension of the Bund from Shiliupu to Nanpu Bridge, beside Anren Street, you will suddenly come upon a high-walled compound with green-tiled walls and blue bricks. On the main gate wall are two unusual bas-reliefs: within a large circular frame, a smiling God of Wealth stands in a small square frame. This is the once-renowned Hu'nan Money Guild Hall of old Shanghai.

This "ancient" building, located within the "Ancient City Park" at the intersection of Renmin Road and Anren Street, was originally constructed in the ninth year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1883). It served as a meeting and worship venue for Shanghai’s financial industry, with its original site at No. 133 Beishijia Lane, outside the East Gate of the old walled city. It is the earliest "bankers' club" in Shanghai and a physical relic of the early development of finance, as well as evidence of the growth of China's indigenous financial system before the introduction of modern banking institutions.

Location

No. 333, Renmin Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai