Former Site of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce

　　The former site of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce is located at No. 470 North Suzhou Road. This site was originally the location of the Qing government’s envoy office. In modern times, Shanghai had already become a hub of river and maritime traffic. Most Chinese envoys sent abroad set sail from the Port of Shanghai. To pray for maritime safety, following the custom of fishermen in southern Fujian who built “Mazu Temples” or “Tianhou Palaces” to worship deities for protection, in the tenth year of the Guangxu reign (1884), 8,000 square meters of land were acquired here to construct both the Tianhou Palace and the envoy office.

　　In the 28th year of the Guangxu reign (1902), the Shanghai Commercial Conference Hall was located at Wuchangli on Dama Road (now Nanjing Road). In February of the 30th year of the Guangxu reign (1904), the hall was relocated to Erjin Road (now Anqing Road) and continued to be used by the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce. It was later renamed successively as the Commercial Port Hall and the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce. From October (November 1911) to December 19 of the third year of the Xuantong reign, the Shanghai Military Government designated the Tianhou Palace (formerly the Qing government’s envoy office) on Tiema Road (now North Henan Road) as the office address for the Shanghai Commercial Hall. In February of the first year of the Republic of China (1912), after the Shanghai Commercial Hall and the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce merged to form the “Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce,” a council chamber and office building were constructed on the original site of the Tianhou Palace. The new address was set at No. 470 North Suzhou Road.

　　After the Shanghai Uprising in 1911, business communities from both the north and south districts of the city held meetings to establish a separate chamber of commerce. A reorganized merger included 100 representatives from guilds, associations, and other trades—known collectively as guild members—representing various banks, money shops, and companies; and 89 non-guild members. Zhu Baosan, a prominent businessman from Huangyan, Zhejiang, was elected as the vice manager of the Chamber of Commerce.

　　Starting in 1914, the Chamber of Commerce successively established a commodity exhibition hall, a domestic goods market, a commercial school, and launched the “Commercial Monthly.” In 1915, it moved into the new site of the former Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, built on the original site of the envoy office, covering an area of 3,300 square meters. The entrance gate along Suzhou River was adorned with Western-style columns and floral decorations, with the plaque inscribed with the five large characters “Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.” Upon entering, there is a passageway, and at the northern end of the passageway to the west lies a small garden containing a memorial monument for the Four Boy Scout Martyrs (Boy Scouts Luo Yunxiang, Mao Zhengxiang, Ying Wenduo, and Zou Zhengwu, who were killed by Japanese troops while rescuing wounded soldiers on the front lines during the January 28 Incident). The main buildings are the South Building and the North Building, both three-story reinforced concrete structures in the classical architectural style. The buildings were designed by Thomson & Co. and the final construction cost totaled over 120,000 taels of silver. The South Building has a floor area of 4,100 square meters, with the ground floor serving as a meeting hall and the second and third floors as offices. The North Building covers 3,016 square meters and houses the commodity exhibition hall, domestic goods market, and commercial night school. Both buildings feature exposed red brick walls, with Baroque-style decorations on pilasters, windows, and doors. The sides of the meeting hall include colonnades and box seats, showcasing an elegant style and exquisite carvings. The ceremonial gate of the Chamber of Commerce headquarters is modeled after a Roman triumphal arch, featuring paired composite columns that convey a majestic and solemn aura. The new Chamber of Commerce site became a gathering place for prominent industrial and commercial figures of the time, where they strategized for prosperity and established it as a hub for private economic associations.

　　In 1929, the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce was renamed the Shanghai Special City General Chamber of Commerce, and the following year it reverted to the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, with branches established in Nanshi, Jiangwan, Pudong, and Wusong. After the liberation, it was restructured into the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce. In 1979, it moved to No. 51 Hong Kong Road, and the buildings on North Suzhou Road were rented out to entities such as the Electronic Components Research Institute. The original buildings are now dilapidated, with significant internal alterations, though the aged Western-style gate still evokes memories of that glorious era.

　　Address: No. 470 North Suzhou Road, Zhabei District, Shanghai (north end of Henan Road Bridge)

　　Transportation Guide: Accessible via buses No. 14, 19, 66, and others.

　　Nearby attractions include the Riverside Building and Henan Road Bridge.