Chongqing Anti-Japanese War Financial Institutions Historic Site Cluster

Chongqing Anti-Japanese War Financial Institutions Historic Site Cluster

The Chongqing Anti-Japanese War Financial Institutions Historic Site Cluster is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Era: 1938–1946

Type: Important Modern Historical Sites and Representative Buildings

Region: Yuzhong District, Chongqing

Batch: Seventh Batch

1. Former Site of the Central Bank: This site faces west to east and is a five-story reinforced concrete structure, covering an area of approximately 500 square meters with a construction area of about 2,500 square meters. The Central Bank building was designed in 1938 by the Kwan, Chu and Yang Engineering Company and constructed by the Jianye Construction Company. Its two basement levels served as a vault. To prevent theft and explosions, the walls of this vault were built with 90-centimeter-thick concrete. Because it was during the wartime period, both interior and exterior decorations were kept simple. The Central Bank was established in Shanghai on November 1, 1928. After the beginning of the war, the Central Bank moved to Nanjing and later to Hankou. Before Hankou fell in August 1938, the bank’s head office relocated to Chongqing along with the Nationalist Government. Initially, when the Central Bank arrived in Chongqing, as its new headquarters building at Dao Menkou was not yet completed, it temporarily operated from the fifth floor of the Mei Feng Bank. On January 1, 1940, the Central Bank’s Business Department officially opened for business, and all operations of the Chongqing branch were integrated into the Business Department. The main functions of the Central Bank included issuing currency, managing government treasury revenues and expenditures, handling public debt, administering foreign exchange, and overseeing the operations of financial institutions nationwide. On April 1, 1946, the Central Bank returned to Shanghai, and the Chongqing branch resumed operations that same day. When Chongqing was liberated, the bank was taken over by the People’s Bank of China Chongqing Branch and is now used as a guesthouse by the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce. As one of the most important financial institutions of the Nationalist Government during the war, the former site of the Central Bank is a significant historical resource for studying wartime finance under the Nationalist Government and the financial history of Chongqing.

2. Former Site of the Bank of China: This site faces east to west and is a five-story reinforced concrete building, covering an area of about 4,930 square meters with a construction area of approximately 18,000 square meters. Built in 1936, it was one of the high-end buildings of the wartime capital period. The overall architectural style resembles that of the nearby Sichuan Salt Bank, featuring unique decorative brackets (dougong)—a classical Chinese architectural element—under the eaves, giving it distinctive architectural art value. The Bank of China was established in Beijing in 1912 as a national bank. In 1928, after the Nationalist Government set up the Central Bank in Nanjing, the Bank of China was restructured into a specialized bank for international exchange and moved its headquarters to Shanghai. In 1935, the Bank underwent reorganization, increasing its total capital to 40 million yuan, equally shared between government and private investors, with T.V. Soong as chairman and H.H. Kung as general manager. Chongqing already had a branch of the Bank of China. In October 1939, when the Bank moved inland to Chongqing, it operated from the original branch site. In 1944, the Bank’s chairmanship was taken over by Kung Hsiang-hsi. During the war, the Bank’s main tasks were: managing foreign payments on behalf of the Central Bank, handling import-export foreign exchange and remittances from overseas Chinese, promoting and supporting international trade, providing loans and investments for related businesses, handling domestic commercial remittances, as well as savings and trust services. After the victory of the war in August 1945, the Bank returned to Shanghai in October. After the liberation, the Bank of China was taken over by the people’s government. During the Southwest Administrative Region era, the People’s Bank of China established the Southwest Regional Branch on the original Bank of China site. In 1954, when Chongqing became a provincial-level municipality, the branch was dissolved. The building is currently unused. As one of the most important financial institutions of the Nationalist Government during the war, the former site of the Bank of China is a significant historical resource for studying wartime finance under the Nationalist Government and the financial history of Chongqing.

3. Former Site of the Bank of Communications: This building faces north to south and is a mixed structure of reinforced concrete, brick, stone, and wood. It has five floors above ground and parts of six, measuring 22.1 meters in width and 24.5 meters in depth, with 57 rooms and a construction area of 2,925 square meters, covering a land area of 625 square meters. Designed in a Baroque Revival style, the interior and exterior decorations are relatively elaborate and ornate. The building features four corridor pillars extending through six floors, while the side wings have symmetrical pillar-less structures. The pillars are cone-shaped, with intricately decorated bases and capitals, combining concave and round surfaces—a typical imitation of ancient Greek Ionic columns. The former site was originally the location of the Sichuan Commercial Bank. Designed by Canadian architect Baker between 1934 and 1935 and constructed by the Hongfa Li Construction Company (which moved from Hankou to Chongqing), the building was completed by the end of 1935. On December 7, 1937, the Bank of Communications purchased the property from the Chuan-Kang Civilian Commercial Bank for 450,000 yuan and officially opened its new Chongqing branch on January 10, 1938. In June 1938, the bank’s head office also relocated to Chongqing. During the war, the Bank of Communications primarily engaged in: providing loans and investments for industrial, mining, transportation, and production sectors; handling domestic and international commercial remittances; managing corporate and government bonds as well as company stocks; offering warehousing and transport services; and operating savings, trusts, and other services. After the war, the bank returned to Shanghai. This building continued to be used by the Chongqing branch until the 1950s, when the bank ceased operations. The site was later used as offices for the Chongqing Metallurgical Industry Bureau, and is now used as operational offices by the Chongqing Branch of the Construction Bank at Da Tong Street. As one of the official “Big Four Banks,” its headquarters building stood prominently on the “Banking Street” of the time, reflecting the financial history and architectural style of the wartime period, and holds high historical, cultural, and architectural value. On March 19, 1992, it was designated as a municipal cultural relics protection unit by the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government. On September 7, 2000, it was listed among the first batch of municipal cultural relics protection units after Chongqing became a municipality directly under the central government.

4. Former Site of the Mei Feng Bank: This site faces west to east-northeast at 7 degrees and is a seven-story reinforced concrete frame structure, measuring 37.8 meters in width and 8.7 meters in depth, with a construction area of 3,352.5 square meters, covering a land area of 407.5 square meters and a protected area of 3,120 square meters. The Mei Feng Bank building was designed by architect Yang Tingbao of the Shanghai Kwan, Chu and Yang Engineering Company and constructed by the Fu Ji Construction Company, a renowned builder of the time. Construction began in 1934, was completed in June 1935, and officially inaugurated in August 1935, making it one of the premier buildings in Chongqing at the time. The total investment for purchasing the land and constructing the building exceeded 490,000 yuan, mostly funded by the “Sichuan Mei Feng Bank New Building Commemorative Savings Fund.” The exterior decoration of the first and second floors features polished black granite from Qingdao, while the upper floors are clad in beige glazed thin tiles, giving the building a dignified and simple appearance. The entrance lobby on the ground floor has triple security doors: steel rolling shutter, wooden panel, and glass doors. Other doors and windows are made of steel and hardwood. The banking hall has a ceiling height of two stories, with a skylight glass roof adding to the sense of spaciousness. The service counters are faced with marble, and the third to sixth floors are office spaces accessible via elevators from the side lobby. The basement serves as the bank vault. The building’s exterior resembles an ancient Chinese currency known as the “bu” coin, representing one of Chongqing’s early modern bank buildings with a modernist architectural style. It reflects the designer’s serious approach and skilled craftsmanship, holding high architectural art and landscape value. The Mei Feng Bank officially opened in Chongqing on April 2, 1922, initially as a Sino-American joint venture before becoming wholly Chinese-owned. To demonstrate the bank’s solid financial standing, General Manager Kang Xinru decided to construct the bank building as a lasting symbol. During the war, the Central Bank and the Farmers Bank of China, which had relocated inland, rented office space here before their new premises were completed. The Mei Feng Building was built to high construction standards and withstood the Japanese air raids in the early stages of the war. During the massive “September 2” fire in Chaotianmen in 1949, the building effectively blocked the spread of the flames. The bank ceased operations in April 1950, and since 1954, the building has been used as offices and operational space by the People’s Bank of China Chongqing Branch. It holds significant importance for the study of Chongqing’s financial history. In 2003, it was listed as a district-level cultural relics protection unit by the Yuzhong District People’s Government. In December 2009, it was designated as a municipal cultural relics protection unit by the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government.

5. Former Site of the Ju Xing Cheng Bank: This site faces west to east-northeast at 15 degrees and is a three-story-with-basement building combining Chinese and Western styles with a brick-and-wood structure. It measures 29.3 meters in width and 52.8 meters in depth, with a total height of 22.78 meters, a construction area of 6,498 square meters, and a land area of 2,082 square meters. Designed by engineer Yu Zijie—who returned from studying in Japan—for Yang Xizhong, imitating the style of the Mitsui Bank in Japan, the building was completed in 1917. The layout is in the shape of an “I,” with a four-story brick-and-wood office building above ground and two basement levels for storage and the vault. The foundation is stone, with stone steps and treads, and the flooring is mosaic pebble. Elements such as arched wooden doors and windows are finely crafted, giving the building a majestic presence. It is a typical example of the eclectic architectural style popular in modern China, reflecting high architectural art value. The Ju Xing Cheng Bank was established on March 16, 1915, as Chongqing’s first privately owned commercial bank. It was part of the Yang family enterprise in Chongqing, managed by Yang Can San (1887–1962), who was from Jiangbei, Sichuan. His father, Yang Wenguang, was a wealthy tycoon in Chongqing, and the Yang family was a prominent local clan. Yang Can San started as an apprentice, learning business practices. In 1908, he took over as manager of the Ju Xing Cheng Trading Firm. One of his first actions was to rename the firm from “Ju Xing Cheng” to “Ju Xing Cheng” (诚 meaning “integrity”), signaling a commitment to credibility. After the founding of the Republic of China, the firm undertook profitable operations involving the Chongqing Copper Coin Bureau and salt tax collection in northern Sichuan. During the war, with the Nationalist Government relocating to Chongqing and the city becoming the wartime capital, the influx of people, goods, and economic activity led to a boom in the southwest economy, with Chongqing emerging as the national center of politics, economy, and culture. The war period marked the golden age for the Ju Xing Cheng Bank, which expanded significantly and formed a large Sichuan-based banking group, extending into industrial, mining, transportation, and public utility sectors. During the war, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nationalist Government also used part of the building for offices. As an important private commercial bank during the wartime capital period, the bank holds significance for the study of Chongqing’s financial history. After the liberation, parts of the building were used for housing retired Ju Xing Cheng employees and as a medicinal herb warehouse, later taken over by insurance companies and the Industrial and Commercial Bank. In 1984, it was used by the Chongqing Agricultural Trade Center. In 2003, it was listed as a district-level cultural relics protection unit by the Yuzhong District People’s Government.

6. Former Site of the Chuan Kang Commercial Bank: This site faces north to south-east at 15 degrees and is a four-story brick-and-wood structure in a Baroque Revival style, with reinforced concrete construction. It is 26.7 meters deep, 16.57 meters wide, covering a land area of 525.43 square meters and a construction area of 2,101.72 square meters. There is a height difference in the terrain inside and outside, with the vault located in the basement. The Chuan Kang Civilian Commercial Bank was established in September 1937 through the merger of three banks: the Chuan Kang Real Estate Bank (founded in 1929), the Chongqing Civilian Bank (founded in 1928), and the Sichuan Commercial Bank (founded in 1932), commonly referred to as the Chuan Kang Bank. The Chuan Kang Real Estate Bank was founded in 1929 by Liu Hangchen, He Beiheng, and others. The Chongqing Civilian Bank was established in 1928 with Zhang Zili as general manager. The Sichuan Commercial Bank was founded in 1932 by over 20 individuals including Tang Dizhi, Gan Diankui, Liu Hangchen, Fan Shaozeng, and Tang Zijing, with Tang Dizhi as chairman and Tang Zijing as general manager. After the merger, Liu Hangchen became chairman and Ning Zhicun general manager. With several capital increases, the bank’s capital reached 200 million yuan. It implemented a management strategy of “centralizing human and financial resources, reorganizing internally, and seeking external expansion,” establishing a head office management department and relocating it to Shanghai. Later, it divided into Shanghai and Chongqing management regions, forming the Shen District and Yu District branches. Numerous branches were set up in major cities and economically prosperous areas, with staff increasing from 102 at the time of the merger to 638. During the war, a large portion of the three major transfers of故宫 artifacts—approximately 9,000 crates—was stored in Chongqing, with some placed in the exceptionally sturdy second-floor warehouse of the Chuan Kang Civilian Commercial Bank. After the war, the bank engaged in speculative trading of gold, U.S. dollars, and cotton yarn. The Nationalist Government later cracked down on these speculative activities, freezing its stockpiles. In 1947, the head office moved from Chongqing to Shanghai, and in November 1949, the bank suspended operations due to heavy external liabilities. In December 1949, it was taken over by the Chongqing Military Control Commission for liquidation. The building is now used by the Da Tong Street Branch of the Chongqing Postal Bureau. Constructed in 1934, the main structure remains intact with minor damage. Though renovated multiple times for operational needs, the changes have been minimal. This site stands as key evidence of the financial street on Lin Sen Road during the wartime capital period and holds high architectural and historical value. In 2009, the building was recognized as an outstanding modern architectural structure by the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government.

In May 2013, the Chongqing Anti-Japanese War Financial Institutions Historic Site Cluster was designated as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units