Unique passion for myriad collections
Lu Huangao is a diehard and eclectic collector. So much so that the 64-year-old self-made billionaire has opened 170 private museums in China — 28 of them on a site he owns near the airport in Pudong.
The Shanghai Oriental Dragon Museum Cluster in Pudong has collections that include dinosaur fossils, ancient bronze mirrors, Korean War history and the foreign footprint in Shanghai. There are traditional Chinese beds from the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and early period of the Republic of China (1912-1949).
Lu’s collections also include old tools that were used in more than 300 traditional industries, among them knives used by bodyguards, buckets used to wash pigs before
slaughtering them and mobile stalls to sell wontons, a local delicacy.
Nearly 220,000 visitors a year visit the Cluster, including many from overseas.
The museums sometimes share a single building.
The most recent to open is the Museum of Foreigners in Shanghai, which chronicles the lives of foreigners in Shanghai from 1843 to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
“My father opened museums based on his personal interests,” said Lu’s daughter Lu Zhenxin, who is now curator of the family-run museums. “For example, he opened a geology museum because geology was an interest of his since childhood. In more recent years, he has become dedicated to local history and culture.”
The newest museum traces the cultural footprint of foreigners in Shanghai’s development.
The story starts in 1843, when Shanghai first opened its port to the world. Foreign concessions were built, and large numbers of people from abroad came to live here. The foreign population grew from about 26 in 1843 to 150,931 in 1942, according to local historian Xiong Yuezhi, who co-edited the book “Foreigners in Shanghai (1842-1949)” and was an advisor to the Lu family in the creation of the museum.
The foreigners came from 58 countries — mostly Japan, Russia, the US, Britain and France — and they engaged in a variety of occupations, including trade, banking, journalism and medicine.
Over time, foreign culture, products and ideas infused with local life, creating a cosmopolitan environment that earned Shanghai the title “Paris of the East.”
“Foreigners who visit Shanghai are interested to learn how their ancestors influenced the city,” said Xiong. “This museum is where they can make the connection.”
The collection inside contains old English publications, including the renowned weekly “Millard’s Review of the Far East,” which was later renamed “China Weekly Review.” The weekly reported on China through the lens of foreign eyes and was popular among the Chinese elite and overseas readers.