A Story of Old Architecture Reflecting Half a Century of Shanghai’s History｜Jinmen Grand Hotel

As a history architecture enthusiast who spends rest days wandering through countless old buildings in the Magic City, today I want to talk about the Jinmen Grand Hotel located at 108 West Nanjing Road — the story of this 96-year-old "old timer" building.

Emerging from the People’s Square subway exit, you immediately see the 9-meter-high gilded dome clock tower, like an Italian crown resting on West Nanjing Road. This is the Hua An Building (now Jinmen Grand Hotel), completed in 1926 — Shanghai’s first tallest building, topping out 8 years before the International Hotel. Don’t be fooled by its “mere” 38-meter height; back then, it overlooked the entire racecourse!

Up close, the building’s exterior walls on the 1st and 2nd floors are entirely made of granite, with rugged stone columns and figure-eight-shaped large stone steps. The designer Hasard also played with a mix of styles: the granite blocks form Roman-style arches like suit pant legs, topped by Corinthian columns supporting the 9-meter-high gilded clock tower resembling a gentleman’s top hat.

Push open the original 1926 brass handle revolving door and enter the lobby. Look up to see the intricately carved three-dimensional lily dome, lavish and ornate. The 18 cloud-patterned stone columns in the lobby are said to be whole blocks of Italian marble shipped by sea. The historic old elevator doors still retain cast iron vine patterns, cool and heavy to the touch.

Turn right to the mezzanine. Behind an inconspicuous wooden door is a 15㎡ hotel history room. The space is small but holds many small details of the hotel’s history:
✅ 1945 wedding invitation of Zhang Lingfu
✅ Silverware donated by overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia in the 1950s
✅ Hundreds of old photos: inscriptions by Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Ching-ling holding press conferences here, Premier Zhou meeting foreign guests
✅ Registration book of overseas Chinese during the Overseas Chinese Hotel period

📜 The stories here are even more dramatic than the novel "Blossoms," witnessing the ups and downs of the Shanghai Bund
➡️ 1926: Headquarters of China’s first Chinese-funded insurance company “Hua An Hequn,” the tallest building in Shanghai at the time (8 years before the International Hotel)
➡️ 1940: Transformed into Jinmen Grand Hotel — Zhang Lingfu once got married here
➡️ 1958: Renamed Overseas Chinese Hotel, hosting returning overseas Chinese
➡️ 1992: Returned to Jinmen Grand Hotel to this day

📍 Address: 108 West Nanjing Road, Huangpu District (Opposite Exit 8 of People’s Square Station, Metro Lines 1/2/8)
⏰ History Room: 🆓 10:00-16:00