A cultural venue in Jing’an, part of the district’s “micro-renovation” campaign to improve its environment and foster community ties, reopened last Friday after a year of renovation. 

The two-story exhibition and information center on 600 Shaanxi Road N. now serves to showcase the history and culture in the neighborhood, which is home to 46 historic buildings and 19 former residences of celebrities.

Among the old buildings are the Pacific Garden, red-brick townhouses which sheltered the Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution during World War II. The Ohel Rachel Synagogue is another legacy of the old times. The ivy-covered, Greek revival-style synagogue was built by tycoon Jacob Sassoon in 1920.