Historical review of the Peace Hotel: A story that belongs to Shanghai Beach, the legendary life of a troubled man.

Victor Sassoon, this is the real owner of the Peace Hotel, a troubled man , and the Peace Hotel, the most magnificent hotel on the Bund, has become his most important in Shanghai. heritage.

A gunshot sounded, and the boss Aping fell outside the revolving door of the hotel. This is the end of the movie "Boss's Story". Chow Yun-fat ended his career in Hong Kong with this film and moved to Hollywood. This hotel is the Peace Hotel. The owner he plays is naturally the owner of the Peace Hotel. When the movie was released in Hong Kong, the title was "Peace Hotel."

On the Bund in Shanghai, there is a flood of tourists. Waves of tourists flock to the most famous decorative style building with the iconic huge green copper triangular roof, constantly asking the doorman : On which revolving door of the Peace Hotel did the boss, Aping, die? Someone confuses "The Boss' Story" and "Shanghai Beach" and asks where Xu Wenqiang died. The doorman is speechless. The story is just a story, but the hotel does have four revolving doors. Entering from any one, guests immediately feel the style of old Shanghai in the heyday of the 1930s. The magnificent octagonal stained glass ceiling allows natural light to fall, and the mezzanine that has been dusted by gypsum board for decades is reproduced. It is very decorative. An antique elevator on the ground floor is inlaid with walnut wood panels, amber inlaid glass ceiling and mosaics. The floor and the wrought iron pattern, although this elevator has already stopped working, is a famous antique of the Peace Hotel. The complex patterns in the hotel remind people of the legendary past here.

No matter what age it is here, whether it is a Chinachem Hotel or a Peace Hotel It is the most famous hotel on the Bund. It has received guests including movie star Chaplin, Marshal Montgomery, former US President Clinton, boxing champion Ali, but it seems that only the fate of Appin played by Chow Yun-fat can arouse ordinary tourists. So curious.

The story is really just a story. The real hotel owner Sir Victor Sassoon has a more exciting destiny than Appin.

Sir Sassoon was born in a Jewish aristocratic family in England. His middle school was in Harrow and the university was Trinity College, Cambridge. He was crippled with his left foot in the Royal Air Force during World War I. He came to the Eastern colonies, first in Mumbai and then in Shanghai, and took over the Sassoon family business. In 1924, he inherited and became the helm of the family company. Finally, he officially moved to Shanghai in 1931 and established the foundation of the business.

In the 1920s and 1930s, The Sassoon family is the most well-known and richest Jewish family in Shanghai , all kinds of high-risk, high-profit, legal and illegal businesses are engaged in Real estate is also the main business. At that time, the tallest buildings in Shanghai were owned by Sassoon Company, such as Sassoon Building, Riverside Building, Chinachem Apartments, Greenvena Apartments, Metropolitan Building, Hanmi such as Dunton Building, in addition to commercial projects, it also supports urban construction. It can be said that Sir Sassoon changed the city of Shanghai to a considerable extent, and in particular accelerated the development of the Bund. Shanghai at that time was really a paradise for adventurers.

Peace Hotel was originally named "Chinachem Hotel" when it opened in 1929 "Chinachem Hotel" should be said to be his life’s greatest achievement . During that period, almost the most important guests visited Shanghai Beach or held important events. They would choose this place. Jiang Song engagement wedding,The visit by Chaplin, the writing of the "Private Life" script by Carroll, and Sun Yat-sen's call for "the revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades still need to work hard" at the KMT retiring meeting are all related to this hotel.

The Chinachem Hotel at the time fully embodied Victor's passion for luxury and elegant lifestyle. Sir Victor set up a private apartment overlooking the city on the top floor of Chinachem Hotel. It is inlaid with dark oak boards, on which is the green copper pyramid roof, which has become the most distinctive landmark on the Bund skyline. Today, this penthouse suite becomes the Sassoon Presidential Suite, overlooking the entire Bund. The rest of the nine-nation suites named after Germany, France, Japan, India, etc. are extremely luxurious and exotic.

Victor Sassoon is passionate about racing and hunting The original bar was named "Horse and Hound". Soon, the resident jazz band attracted tourists from all over the world, and the bar was renamed "Jazz Bar". The old musicians of the year have long since passed away. Now the band was reorganized in 1980 and consists of six old musicians who have been engaged in performing for more than half a century. Their story was filmed into the documentary "As　Time　Goes　By In" Shanghai", participated in the Toronto International Documentary Film Festival last year. Western audiences are amazed at how such a group of musicians have played for half a century in the "Far East" where there is no jazz tradition. Even Clinton, who was visiting, played the saxophone on the same stage with the old people.

He also likes parties and dances, and he has introduced the European afternoon tea tradition to Shanghai. Except Sundays, he is accompanied by wonderful music throughout the week. Chinachem Music Band, under the leadership of Jay Federov, played classical music and classic operas in the bar. Henry Nathan’s National Chinachem Dance Company performed on time every night at 8pm. To this day, every afternoon tea in the Jasmine lobby bar, guests are dancing in long skirts under the accompaniment of the band, and the dance teacher will tutor the fans.

As a theater lover, Victor has recorded many movies and plays , especially in Shanghai Lanxin Theater. He also recorded all the gatherings held and kept photos of him and many guests. As an avid photographer, he used the first Rolleiflex camera in Shanghai to take pictures of the city and the things he was interested in, such as sailing boats, lovers and horse racing.

Because of his efforts to relocate many European exiles, Victor is under more and more pressure from Japan, so he decided to leave Shanghai . The new post-war political landscape forced him to move to the Bahamas. After Sassoon withdrew from China, his industry in Shanghai was gradually nationalized. In 1956, Chinachem Hotel was renamed Heping Hotel. Two years later, all his businesses in Shanghai were confiscated by the government in the name of tax arrears. After that, he had no heirs and had no contact with China. He married Evelyn Barnes, the nurse who took care of him, in 1959. At that time, he had converted to Buddhism until . He died of heart failure in 1961 at the age of 79 . After his death, his wife hoped to donate to the local heart disease foundation, but found that no such organization existed at that time, so 沙森心心童基金 was born .

Victor SassoonThis is the true owner of the Peace Hotel, a man of troubled times, and the Peace Hotel, the most magnificent hotel on the Bund, has become his most important legacy in Shanghai.