Educational Institutions

French School for Chinese Boys

The French Municipality established the Ecole Franco-Chinoise for Chinese boys in 1910, to introduce them to the French language and culture.

It is still a school, its grounds now mostly given over to shops, and its medium of instruction now Chinese.

St. John's University
Established by the American Episcopal Mission in 1878, St.John's was and ermains Shanghai's most prestigious university-the Harvard of China. Its graduates occupy the highest positions in government and business, both in China and in Chinese communities abroad. The campus resembles that of a western university, with red brick buildings and wide expanses of lawn and trees- with the slight difference that many of the buildings are in the quasi-Chinese style pictured here. It is now the East China Institute of Politics and Law.

McTyeire High School for Chinese Girls

Founded by the Methodist Episcopal Mission, the McTyeire School attracted the daughters of Shanghai's wealthiest Chinese. Three of its more famous graduates were the beautiful Soong Sisters: Qingling (Mrs. Sun Yat-Sun), Ailing (Mrs. H.H.Kung) and Meiling (Mrs. Chiang Kai-Shek) . It is now the No. three Girls’ School, one of Shanghai's top schools. The Shanghai American School, newly reconstituted in 1981, now leases a classroom building on the grounds.

Shanghai American School

The Shanghai American School (SAS) first opened in different premises in1912, established primarily to serve the children of missionaries. It quickly expanded to accommodate the children of expatriate businessmen and of those who wanted their children to have an American-centered education.

In 1923 the school moved to 10 Avenue Petain, its newly-completed complex designed by Henry K. Murphy, an American architect, to resemble Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It consisted of five permanent buildings, including the one pictured here. By 1934 enrollment had topped six hundred, with nearly fifty teachers; later more dormitories were added. The school functioned successfully until World War II, when both teachers and pupils were interned.

When the War ended the school reopened and continued until 1949, when the communist take-over again closed it down. Shortly thereafter it was used by Russian advisors to the new Chinese government. Today it houses a naval research facility and is closed to visitors.