The Emigrés of the Peninsula Hotel
Where my mother’s family found solace after fleeing Shanghai
From 1949 to 1950 my mother and her brothers and sister lived in a suite in the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. The hotel still operates today and is known as the Grand Dame of the Far East.
Their mother had brought them from Shanghai as the city fell to the communist army and my grandfather instructed my grandmother to enroll the children in school and wait until he could finalize things for himself to leave Shanghai for good.
As the general manager of the largest and most prestigious department store in Shanghai, my grandfather had hundreds of employees to look after while the incoming Communist government took over all private businesses. It would take him nearly a year to transition out of Shanghai, meaning his family had to wait for him in Hong Kong.
Staying behind was a risk, as he could not be sure he would be allowed to leave after all business was settled. However, he was determined to make sure his employees suffered as little as possible and that the department store was handed over to the Communists in good order. He also had the means at that time to ensconce his family in a prestigious hotel for an entire year. It would eventually take most of these means to get everyone safely to British Columbia.
The Peninsula Hotel was known as the jewel of Hong Kong even then, a place where presidents, royalty, and nobility stayed. For a family to take a suite for an entire year was unprecedented, but these were unprecedented times. China was undergoing massive changes and displacement was the order of the day. So much so that their legendary fleet of complementary green Rolls Royce limousines were traveling between the airport and hotel on an almost 24-hour basis bringing emigrés to the hotel.
My mother and her family settled into their life at the Peninsula. Her brothers quickly adapted to the posh surroundings and made friends, socialized, and turned the lobby into their personal clubhouse. My mother and her sister were more discreet, following their mother’s example by spending more time at their lessons, tea, and quiet social events.
In those days, Hong Kong was a common retreat point for many mainland refugees, rich and poor. My mother and her siblings connected with families they knew from Shanghai and my grandmother huddled for afternoon tea with many Shanghainese matrons in similar circumstances.
The staff became familiar with my mother and her family. Those were the days when faces and names were important to people. Daily life was vivid for all in those years. Big news, rumors, and sudden changes were everyday events. Would Mao attack Hong Kong? Would the British defend it? Would Chiang Kai-Shek try to mount a counter-offensive from Taiwan? Would America back him?
During the year my mother and her family lived at the Peninsula the charged atmosphere brought those who were seeking refuge at the hotel and the hotel staff together in a common story. Every day could bring disaster or relief. By the time my grandfather arrived and collected the family, my mother and her siblings were the darlings of the entire hotel staff. Friendships had been made and memories would be cherished.
My mother told me how hard she and her sister cried when they said farewell to some of the staff who were looking after them, and of how the staff bowed low to my grandmother in respect. She tried to get them to stop, saying those days were over, but they insisted.
None of them would ever see each other again, but they wanted their parting to be one of acknowledgment of their common experience after the revolution, and though the world had changed so much, some things would never be lost.
Though my mother at that time lived a life of privilege, that would not be for long. When her family finally emigrated to Vancouver, BC they would begin a new life as lower middle-class refugees. My grandfather was able to get out of China, but most of his fortune was seized by the Communists. His days as a scion of Shanghai were done.
He had his freedom, but little else. I remember asking my mother why the family spent so much to stay in a hotel like The Peninsula, not knowing what their financial situation would be once my grandfather took them to Canada. She admitted that the entire family, including my grandfather, were naive and trusting that the new Communist regime would allow them to leave with their family fortune. That was a mistake.
When I checked into the Peninsula hotel with my mother on one of our trips to Asia in the 1990s, the elderly elevator operator recognized my mother from 1949. He was a teenage refugee back then and had stayed working at the hotel through the years, eventually becoming an elevator operator.
My mother told him she was glad she could come back and that the hotel was still as beautifully kept as ever. The old elevator operator had a grand smile and tears in his eyes. I noticed that the elevator had new electric buttons and no inner cage door or hand lever, so I wondered why there was an operator. My mother explained that the hotel knew there was nowhere for old workers like him to go, so they let him stay on and push the buttons.
Next to his little stool, he had a jug of water and a newspaper. He was deeply invested in his job, even in his old age. He politely inquired as to our floor, pushed the little button, and up we went.
The ride up was quiet, except for an occasional remark from my mother and the elevator operator.
Mother: “It’s good to see you after so many years. I’m glad you’re still here. It reminds me of the old days.”
Operator: “Yes, I am lucky. There are many Shanghainese returning now to China. How times change! Seeing you with your children warms my heart, ma’am.”
As we arrived at our floor the elevator man held the now electric doors open for us with his white-gloved hand and bowed. My mother said: “Please, no need to bow to me.” He said: “Many things in the world have changed, but respect is still important. My mother nodded in return and we stepped out. The elevator operator said goodbye to us and added: “To see you again after so many years, this too is the will of Heaven.”
