The city's first fire hydrant, which was made in 1883, two bottles of drinking water and an inscription board, both 80 years old, have been added to the collection of Shanghai History Museum.
They are the latest additions to the museum, which began a public drive to collect more of the city's artifacts late last year. Museum officials said they have so far received 200 items as a result of the drive.
The wooden board, 3.66 meters long, is inscribed with the motto of the Shanghai Xiandai Vocational and Technical School: "Zi qiang bu xi," meaning "Persist toward your goal despite difficulties."
"It is the largest item our museum has ever received from a local educational institution," said museum Curator Pan Junxiang.
The board, which once hang over the school's entrance, was a gift from the school's alumni association in 1921. It was written by Zhou Xiang (1870-1933), a well-known Chinese artist who established the nation's first fine arts association.
During the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976), one of the school's longtime teachers, Zhou Youhua, risked his life hiding the board from the Red Guards, who saw the motto as a symbol of bourgeois education.
The bronze hydrant was removed on Friday from Shitan Lane off Nanjing Road E.
The fire hydrant was installed by a British firm in the then-British concession around 1883, museum officials said.
Long Xuefang, 69, said his home was next to the hydrant for 50 years. "I used to do morning exercises on the hydrant every day. It became my good friend. I felt sorry, bidding farewell to it," Long said.
The curator said, "We owe special thanks to the donor, Shanghai Tap Water & Fire-fighting Equipment Co. With its help more people can gain a view of the city's past."
The two bottles of drinking water were made by Aquarius, a British company that was later merged with Shanghai Maling to form Shanghai Maling Aquarius, which is still in business. The defunct British firm was one of the earliest bottled-water companies in the city.
The label on one bottle declares it is "the ideal Saline Table Water." Saline water was popular in Shanghai eight decades ago, historians said.
The other bottle contained distilled water.
The museum also received a copy of the official documents related to Japan's surrender to the Allies, ending World War II.
It has also acquired a "firewood rationing coupon" used by Chinese soldiers during the Korean War and buttons from police uniforms from the concession era during the early 1900s.
(Eastday.com.cn 02/19/2001)
