Former Site of Nanjing Dahua Grand Theatre

Former Site of Nanjing Dahua Grand Theatre

The Former Site of Nanjing Dahua Grand Theatre is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The Nanjing Dahua Grand Theatre, located at No. 67 Zhongshan South Road, Qinhuai District, Nanjing, sits at the southern end of Xinjiekou. It is one of the earliest theatres built in Nanjing, and in terms of scale and facilities, it ranked first among theatres in Nanjing during the Republican era. The Dahua Grand Theatre, together with the World Grand Theatre (later renamed Yan’an Theatre), the Capital Grand Theatre (later renamed Liberation Cinema), and the New Capital Grand Theatre (later renamed Victory Cinema), was known as one of the Four Great Cinemas of Nanjing during the Republican era.

The Dahua Grand Theatre was first built in 1935. It was funded by Situ Yingquan, a Chinese-American and chairman of Dahua Grand Theatre Co., Ltd., designed by Yang Tingbao of the Kwan, Chu and Yang Engineering Company, and constructed by Shanghai Jianhua Construction Engineering Company. It officially opened on May 29, 1936, featuring 1,768 soft-seated seats and equipped with heating and cooling systems, making it the highest-standard and largest theatre in Nanjing at the time.

After the fall of Nanjing, it was operated by the China Film Company, a joint venture between the Japanese and puppet regimes. After 1945, it was taken over by the Nationalist government. In the late 1950s, with the approval of General Xu Shiyou, then commander of the Nanjing Military Region, the theatre was handed over to local government. The Dahua Grand Theatre was successively renamed as the Soldiers’ Cinema, the Dongfanghong Cinema, and the Dahua Cinema. After renovation in 2013, it resumed its original name — Dahua Grand Theatre.

It was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province in 2002.

Fifth Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province, October 2002: Former Site of Nanjing Dahua Grand Theatre, built in 1935, located in Bai Xia District, Nanjing.

Xinjiekou Commercial Street Community: Established in April 2000, the Xinjiekou Commercial Street Community is situated in the most bustling central area of Nanjing. It stretches from Yanling Lane in the east to Mochou Road in the west, and from Huaihai Road and Shigu Road in the south to Zhongshan East Road and Hanzhong Road in the north, covering an area of 0.52 square kilometers. There are currently 3,960 registered residential households with a population of 11,776. The community hosts over 2,000 resident organizations, including 10 large shopping malls such as the Central Mall, Xinbai Mall, Dayang Department Store, Golden Eagle, Oriental Plaza, Friendship Store, Hualian Commercial Building, and Walmart Shopping Plaza. There are also 22 large office buildings in the area, and the jurisdiction… More details about Xinjiekou Commercial Street Community++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province