Grand Cinema, Art Deco movie theater in Huangpu District, Shanghai, China
Grand Cinema is an Art Deco movie theater on West Nanjing Road in Huangpu District, Shanghai, China, with six screening rooms. The interior is lined with Italian marble and features wrought iron railings along the staircases and balconies.
The Grand Cinema opened in 1928 in a converted dance hall on Jing'an Temple Road, with Mei Lanfang cutting the ribbon. It closed in 1930 after protests against the American film "No Fear of Death". In 1933 it was rebuilt to a design by Ladislav Hudec and became known as the finest cinema in the Far East.
For decades, going to this cinema was a way for Shanghai residents to experience stories from around the world on a grand screen, something rare in 1930s China. Today visitors still come as much to see the hall itself as to watch a film.
The main screening room spans two levels and seats around 1,500 people, giving it an open and roomy feel. The ground floor has a small gallery with photographs and objects from the theater's past, worth a look even without a film ticket.
The cinema's gallery displays old photographs and memorabilia from its past. In 2013, Time Out Shanghai noted that each seat once had a translation system with individual earpieces so Chinese audiences could follow foreign-language films.
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