I came here as part of a group tour; we were shown around by a charming and knowledgable guide who was brought the history of this building and the plight of Shanghai's Jews to life for us. I plan to return with guests later this year.

The first Jews to travel to China emigrated from the Middle East. They were merchants of the Silk Road and settled in Kaifeng, Henan Province. In the late Nineteenth Century and early Twentieth Century, Jews emigrated from Russia to Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, and built a prosperous community that contributed to the general welfare of the city. The restored Harbin New... More

We had read about this synagogue and museum before we went to Shanghai, and were intrigued by the unlikeliness of it. We knew very little about the Jewish community in Shanghai. We walked there from our hotel on the Bund, (45 minutes) which gave us a good overview of what is happening in Shanghai at the moment, as we could... More

The first building of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum is the orthodox synagogue, the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue. From the moment we walked in, I could see in my husband’s face and voice that he was moved. The congregants face west toward Jerusalem (in the U.S. and Europe we face east toward Jerusalem). The text over the Torah says in... More

We accessed the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum through the tour service of Dvir Bar-Gal, http://www.shanghai-jews.com/3.htm. Contact him for reservations. You'll get far more than just the museum - every monument & marker ,much history, as well as (probably) minibus transportation from Peace Hotel. A reasonably-priced tour, & worth every penny. The museum itself is very small: a typical small-museum Holocaust... More

We visited this museum wanting to learn more about the Jewish community that existed in Shanghai during the years before WWII. An English-speaking college student who was a summer volunteer at the museum gave us a personal tour of the site (included in the price of admission). She was able to answer our questions and waited patiently as we looked... More