Historic Shanghai: House of horrors on Jinjiafang

The entrance to the infamous no. 99 Jinjiafang in Shanghai's Old Town.

Jinjiafang is a typical Old Town lane -- narrow, squalid and marked for demolition. But it is home to one property that marks this dank alleyway apart from all the others. Named after a wealthy clan that lived there during the Qing Dynasty, the Jin family residence is not officially recognized as a historic relic. But while there's no heritage plaque marking the venue's historic value, the courtyard retains its 19th century architectural grace and harbors a scandalous history. 

Get lost in historic Shanghai

From the street level, the gateway to No. 99, Jinjiafang resembles any modest shikumen in the neighborhood. But inside, a long brick corridor leads to a lofty patio with passageways and staircases running in all directions. Whimsical carvings covering the lintels and balconies suggest the somewhat feverish imagination of the original owners. Although decades of haphazard modifications and cramped living have divided the residence into innumerable private dwellings, it still gives an impression of airy gentility.

It’s not known when the Jin family disappeared from their property, but according to Edward Denison and Guang Yu Ren's "Building Shanghai: The Story of China's Gateway," they were gone by 1937 when Japanese troops landed in Shanghai and took over the concessions. 

Father Jacquinot (right) in the Chinese City.

The labyrinthine Chinese City (Old Town) was the last district to fall to the invaders. Thanks to the passionate lobbying by a French missionary Jacquinot, the northeastern corner of the Old Town was declared a safe haven for Chinese civilians. Other quarters were less fortunate. 

Scandal at Jinjiafang

In 1941, the mansion on Jinjiafang attracted the interest of the ex-Manchurian bandit and current agent of the Japanese secret police, Hakuro Kohinata (known as ‘Little White Dragon’). Kohinata requisitioned the Jin house for the Japanese intelligence bureau. 

The residence became a site of interrogation and torture. Night after night, according to one Sina.com post, neighbors heard screams coming from the mansion. Japanese documents of the time referred to No. 99 as ‘The Dragon’s Abode.’ 

Although covered by layers of paint, the details that make this house stand out still shine through.

Apparently Kohinata interrogated more Communists than Nationalists. He even sold information about Communist troops positions to the Kuomintang while still working for the Japanese. 

After Shanghai was freed from occupation, a tribunal under the Kuomintang acquitted the ruthless Japanese war criminal. Shanghai locals were furious, but nobody was surprised. ‘Little White Dragon’ fled China after the trial. He died comfortably in Japan in 1982.

The eldest residents of No. 99 at Jinjiafang today were children during the occupation. The old men remember playing in the courtyard beneath the scraggly fig tree that was old even then.

They watch the neighborhoods in the Old Town bulldozed one by one and know their lane will be next. Balconies, backyard gardens and vaulted wooden ceilings will be rendered into splinters.

Perhaps the ghosts of murdered Chinese patriots will have to relocate to the suburbs.

Katya Knyazeva is a journalist and fine artist born in Siberia.

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