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SAIC now uses old villa for important meetings
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ITALIAN consul GEneral luigi neyrone’s residence
When I moved into a flat hidden down a lane on Wukang Road in 2009, a government project to renovate this historical road was just coming to an end. Stretching 1 kilometer, the road appeared neater and more beautiful, but at the same time still quiet and unknown.
Wukang Road has become much more famous during the past five years. Xuhui District government set up a visitor center, which has received over 220,000 visitors. Trendy restaurants and cafes have popped up on both sides of the street and are usually full on weekends.
In 2011, Wukang Road was named a national historical and cultural street by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
These changes are largely due to the rejuvenation project that kicked off in 2007 — regarded as the city’s first attempt to revive a historical street. As one of the 144 historical streets, Wukang Road was selected for the first revamp.
It proved so successful that the Xuhui government plans to apply “the Wukang Road model” to other historic streets.
Wukang Road was the brainchild of American John Calvin Ferguson. His goal was to make it convenient for faculty members to travel from their downtown homes to Nanyang Public School (Shanghai Jiao Tong University). Locals often referred to this nameless road as Route de Ferguson.
The road is in the former “new French concession,” a vast area that the French Municipal Council gained by expanding its concession west to Huashan Road in 1914. Experts called it “the only well-planned, high-quality residential area in old Shanghai,” where expatriates and Chinese merchants, politicians and celebrities lived.
Shanghai entered its “golden era” in the 1920s and early 1930s, a period that shaped the urban scene of a city once known as “Paris of the East.” Architectural scholars believe two regions best represent this period — the Bund, a symbol of the city’s economy, and the western area of the former French concession, an upscale residential community.
After completing two series about the Bund, I’m moving westward and haven chosen Wukang Road as the starting point to explore the old “new French concession.”
The Mediterranean style villa at 390 Wukang Road was once the home of Italian Consul General Luigi Neyrone during the 1930s. It was widely assumed that the house was built to his wishes, but that was not the case.
According to “Shanghai Directory,” Neyrone moved into the house in 1936, years after it was built in the late 1920s. It was originally owned by Lewis R. Andrews.
“Andrews was a partner with the foreign exchange brokerage Wentworth, Andrews & Giese, which was located on Jiujiang Road,” Tongji University professor Qian Zonghao says. “Records from 1936 show that Andrews and his wife had moved from the French Concession to 465 Hongqiao Road. Maybe they wanted to live in a cheaper place or perhaps they wanted a quieter home since Hongqiao was countryside at that time.”
Covering an area of 420 square meters, the Wukang Road house stands out with its snow-white walls, dark wooden beams and red-tiled roof. The brick-and-wood building is shaped like a huge fan and features seven arches in the front. An artful colonnade caresses the eastern, western and southern facades, offering nice views of the lush garden. The southern façade has a small, white balcony with a curved gable and dormer stretching out from the red-tiled roof.
The building is now used by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation to host international meetings. In the 1980s, SAIC used the villa as an office. Negotiations between SAIC and Germany-based Volkswagen were held in the villa, eventually leading to a deal that allowed Santana vehicles to be produced in China.
The villa’s interior was renovated in 2003 to make it look more like a commercial meeting center.
“The 1936 record noted Consul General Luigi Neyrone worked in the Italian Consulate on Bubbling Well Road, which was later torn down to make way for the elevated highway. The former site should be on the corner of Nanjing and Chengdu roads,” Qian adds.
Nico Howson, whose grandparents were friends with the Andrews, knows some stories about the people who mingled in the couple’s social circle.
“Mrs Andrews was my mother’s godmother. My grandfather Piero Gino Calcina was Italian,” Howson says. “He and my grandmother Marlys Calcina were friends of Count Ciano from Italy, who married Mussolini’s daughter Edda Mussolini (when Ciano was Minister to the Nanking government but lived in Shanghai) although my grandfather came out against the Fascists.”
In 1938, Mr and Mrs Raymond S. Kin moved into the house. The Andrews moved back into the villa in 1939, but they didn’t stay long. Ownership of the house changed to A. Sadoe in 1941, according to “Shanghai Directory.”
Howson says after World War II the Andrews moved to a historic house called Tulip Hill in Maryland, USA.
Mr and Mrs Francisco Bonachea Romero from the Cuban Legation and Cuban Consulate had lived at 378 Ferguson Lane, just across the street of the Italian Consul General’s residence. The Romeros lived in the former house of Chinese financier Pei Tsuyee, father of famous architect I.M. Pei.
Address: 390 Wukang Rd
Yesterday: Italian Consul General Luigi Neyrone's Residence
Today: Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation
Built: in the late 1920s
Architectural Style: Mediterranean
Tips: The villa is not open to the public, but its façade and garden can be seen from Wukang Road.
Four Canadian artists are currently holding an exhibition all around Wukang Road.
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