Shanghai’s Russian community meets in St Nicholas church for Victory Day service
On May 9, Shanghai’s Russian community gathered in the St Nicholas Church on 16 Gaolan Road, for a special Victory Day service. Built in 1934, the Orthodox church was once used as a washing machine factory and later hosted a French restaurant, Ashanti Dome, on the upper floor, and a Spanish tapas bar on the ground floor called Boca. During the Cultural Revolution which sought to destroy the ‘four olds’ (old customs, old habits, old culture and old thinking), public worship was prohibited but quick-thinking believers of various religions posted images of Mao over their places of worship to prevent overzealous Red Guards from bursting in to destroy the buildings. The St Nicholas Church was one of such buildings — and the image of Mao kept watch over the building until it was taken down in the early 2000s. According to zinka who shared these pictures with us, the Russian community rented the church for this special event (note the worshippers standing under the disco ball), and it still remains unclear if and when the building will be converted back into a church.
