Alumni's club brings a taste of Britain to downtown Shanghai

It is called Chevening House, and some of its interior designs look as if they could be inside the official residence of the British foreign secretary in Kent, southeastern England.

The 300 square metre house has high ceilings, and its architecture and styling suggest the French Renaissance. In the main dining room sit dark brown tables, large brown sofas and armchairs. Lamps provide a dim golden light.

In the main room is a modern fireplace, a bar and a bookshelf. Off one corridor, a VIP room features a wall map of Britain, with dots pinpointing higher-education institutes and an index below giving the full name of each one.

But this Chevening House, in a quiet street in Shanghai's city centre, is a restaurant and bar, though its owners prefer the word 'club'.

Opened in January, it is owned by 52 Chinese professionals who received postgraduate education in Britain through Chevening Scholarships - a programme for foreign students funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and run by the British Council.

The owners are in professions ranging from law to financial services to telecommunications. Many hold important positions in their companies. Some are civil servants.

They said the club was set up mainly to give the scholars a place to meet, recall their memories of Britain and promote British culture.