After the Metro museum, I still had time to fit in one museum or historic site. I chose the 'site of the first CPC National congress in Xintiandi district, which ironically was part of the former French concession.
To get there I took the metro to 'site of the first CPC National congress, xintiandi' station. What a great and informative station name! After walking past some fantastic restored art deco style buildings, I arrived at the site, had my bags searched, then stored it in a cloakroom that was a separate building no less.
On seeing the big queue waiting to enter the actual congress building, I went in the adjacent museum of the CPC first. The museum is about the history of the CPC and contains many spots for a big group photo. Unlike the other Shanghai museums I’ve been in, this one was packed, with a mixture of tourists(foreign and domestic), school groups and tour groups from foreign political organisations.
The display started off with the derisory domestic and international position of China from the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Xinhai revolution bringing down the Qing dynasty, the republic and the birth of the CPC and it’s growth. The civil war and the communist victory was covered in great detail.
Next it was time to visit the actual site of the first congress, the CPC first met in a non-descript Chinese style house opposite the museum. The interior and decoration was restored to what it would have been like when Mao and others met to discuss how to put the world to rights.
After a while, it was time to leave and I headed to Shanghai railway station for my train back home.
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| Room where congress took place |
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| I wonder what happened here |