Sihang Warehouse, Historic warehouse in Shanghai, China
Sihang Warehouse is a six-storey reinforced-concrete building at No. 1 Guangfu Road, in southern Jing'an District on the north bank of the Suzhou River. It measures 64 m wide, 54 m deep and 25 m high, with a pale grey facade of vertical concrete columns and rows of large multi-paned windows; bands of light brick alternate with the concrete on the right-hand section.
Built in 1931 as a joint warehouse for the Continental Bank and the North Four Banks, it was the tallest and largest building in Zhabei at the time. From 26 October 1937, over 400 Nationalist troops under Colonel Xie Jinyuan held it for four days and nights during the Battle of Shanghai, covering the main force's withdrawal west. In 2019 it was listed as a national key cultural relic under the name Sihang Warehouse Anti-Japanese War Site.
The name "Sihang" comes from the four banks that built it: Jincheng, Zhongnan, Continental and Yanye. On 28 October 1937 girl scout Yang Huimin slipped into the warehouse and presented the defenders with a Chinese national flag, which was raised over the building.
The memorial is at No. 1 Guangfu Road, at the northwest corner of the Xizang Road Bridge on the north bank of the Suzhou River. The memorial square on Jinyuan Road opened on 10 August 2015, and the memorial hall opened on 13 August 2015. Entry to the memorial hall is free, but reservations are required, and slots can fill up entirely, as happened in August 2020 after the film The Eight Hundred was released.
The building's upper floors were later altered: a seven-storey pavilion housing the history exhibition room was added on top, and for years it opened only on Friday afternoons. The warehouse's address is No. 1 Guangfu Road, and the genuine wartime structure is the section now called Guangyi Warehouse.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,819 contributors worldwide.