Concrete legacy of tireless empire builders

The opening of the Peninsula Hotel in 2009 marks the return to Shanghai of the Kadoories, one of the city's most famous pre-war Jewish families. 'It's very symbolic for us and the Kadoorie family,' said Uri Gutman, consul-general of Israel in Shanghai. 'They came in the mid-19th century and were very well established here.'

The Kadoories were one of a dozen Jewish dynasties who came to Shanghai in the 1800s, stayed until 1949 and left their mark in hotels, office blocks, schools and apartment buildings, many of which remain today.

While the government didn't compensate them for seizing their assets, it recognises their contribution to the city and welcomes them back.

Sir Elly Kadoorie was born in Baghdad in 1867 and arrived in Shanghai from Bombay in 1880 as an employee of the Sephardic Jewish firm of David Sassoon & Sons. He then set up his own business and made a fortune from banking, real estate and utilities in Shanghai and Hong Kong. His properties in Shanghai included the Astor House Hotel, now the Pujiang Hotel, and the Palace Hotel, now the southern part of the Peace Hotel.

In 1924, he built the Marble Hall, a large house with an extensive garden on Nanjing Road, which was the family home until 1949. It owed its name to the large quantities of Italian marble Sir Elly imported for its construction, and was the first home in Shanghai to have air-conditioning.

It was one of the most magnificent pre-war homes in Shanghai - the grand ballroom had 3,600 electric bulbs in different colours that could turn the room from pink to blue to red. It's now a school for gifted students.