Sihang Warehouse

The Sihang Warehouse (四行仓库, Sìháng Cāngkù) is a concrete bank warehouse on the north bank of Suzhou Creek, and it was the site of a defence in late October 1937 during the Battle of Shanghai. Part of it is now a memorial hall.

The warehouse was built as a joint store for the Continental Bank and the northern “Four Banks” (Jincheng, Zhongnan, Continental and Yanye). Chinese Wikipedia gives 1931 as the founding date and 1935 for the finished structure. It is six storeys high, about 25 m, with a frontage of 64 m, according to the same article.

In late October 1937 the main Chinese force withdrew from the Zhabei area. The 1st Battalion of the 524th Regiment, 88th Division, stayed behind under Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan (谢晋元). They held the warehouse for four days and nights and covered the retreat, according to The Paper (澎湃新闻). Sources date the fighting from 26 or 27 October to 31 October or 1 November.

The press called the defenders the “800 heroes” (八百壮士). The garrison was in fact much smaller: The Paper says over 300, Chinese Wikipedia about 414 to 423, and English Wikipedia 410 to 420. The warehouse faced the International Settlement across the creek, which English Wikipedia says was about 60 yards wide.

At the end of October the defenders withdrew into the International Settlement, under foreign mediation. They were then held for about four years in a camp on Jiaozhou Road. Xie Jinyuan was killed on 24 April 1941, aged 37. Casualty figures differ widely between sources, so none are given here.

The warehouse was approved as an anti-Japanese memorial site in 1985, rated an excellent historic building in 1994, and listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit in 2019. The memorial opened on 13 August 2015, with free admission to the memorial hall, while other parts of the building are leased for commercial use. Hours and reservation rules differ between reports, so check before going.