The leading ladies of old Shanghai

Hu Die (1907-1989)

Sometimes called "Butterfly Hu" (the English translation of her Chinese name), this actress started her career around the same time as Ruan and was known for being a diligent worker who would travel all the way to Beijing from Shanghai to improve her Mandarin and learn Peking opera from the legendary Mei Lanfang.

Hu had starred in some of China's most famous shows, including the 1928 silent flick The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple which is known as the movie that first started the martial arts craze in the film industry. Hu had starred in 18 of its 19 episodes. She also had a role in Sing-Song Girl Red Peony, China's first movie with sound that was released in 1933. In the same year, Hu became known as China's "first movie queen", courtesy of a public poll conducted by Star Daily.

Toward the end of her career, Hu was known for her elderly women roles in Hong Kong. Her astute performances won her the Best Actress Award at the seventh Asian Film Festival in Tokyo in 1960. She retired in Hong Kong in 1966.

On the personal front, Hu married Pan Yousheng, a young businessman from Shanghai, in 1935. Their wedding was dubbed as the most important social event of the year and was attended by a galaxy of film stars and celebrities. It was with the support of her husband that Hu managed to continue with her film career in the mainland and in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation.

Hu was later approached by the Japanese to star in several productions and this resulted in her moving to the war-time capital of Chongqing. During her time there, Hu was captured and forced to become the mistress to powerful spy master Dai Li. However, Dai died in a plane crash in 1946 and Hu was finally reunited with her husband, who died in 1958. Following his death, Hu moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1975 to join her son. In 1989, Hu died in Vancouver after suffering from a stroke.

The actress had resided in several locations across Shanghai and the one which she spent the most amount of time in is the house on 52, Lane 1906 Sichuan Road North. This was also the home she lived in when she first rose to stardom.