Memories of another era

Chen Huizhen, 86, Housewife

The 2014 White Collar Boxing in Beijing

Club plans annual party in vintage style

"The chicest places in town from the late 1930s to the late 1940s were probably the four big dance halls in the public concessions, so we Chinese who could afford it used to love going there (They were suspended from business in 1954 by the government).

"I went to the Paramount the most because it was near where I lived, and it was also the most fancy of the four. We usually went after dinner. The meals were expensive, so only the super-rich would go there to eat. Dining out was not a very common thing back then.

"To be honest, I never could dance much. I mainly copied my neighbors, then I got married and my husband opened my eyes to what life could be like by taking me to the Paramount (which was called Bai Le Men, or The Gate of 100 Joys back then).

"I also heard that the dance floor had springs under its surface so it would bounce up and down when we danced, which made people excited and reluctant to stop dancing.

"Dance teachers would give free lessons there, but I was too shy to bother them so I never properly learned the steps."

"One of the tests of whether a dance hall was worth its salt was to see which bands played there. Filipino bands were among the most in-demand at the time, so the best venues were fi lled with them. Only the poorest would hire Chinese performers, and the music they played was usually dreadful.

"I remember that the rich people I met back then were much more polite and well-mannered than they are today. I think it's because people were rich for different reasons back then, with a lot of money inherited or passed through family businesses.

"We barely had any contact with foreigners back then. We hardly went to the French or British concessions, because they were intimidating, and as I recall, foreigners would mostly stay in their gated communities. When they did leave, they were always in their cars.

"And generally speaking, the streets of the city were far less crowded than they are today. The only foreigners we met on the  streets were Japanese, and we had to bow and greet them in a humble manner."

"The worst aspect of that period was defi nitely the Japanese. The best part was that the things we made back then seemed to be of a better quality, and more durable and long-lasting.

"Today's Shanghai is better because it is safer and more stable. Back in the 1930s and 1940s, life would seesaw between days when everything was great, and days when everything was a total nightmare, because of things like war raids and blackouts. But the bad days outnumbered the good."