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36-625: Canidrome may mean or refer to: Canidrome (Shanghai) - a former grand-scale greyhound racing stadium in Shanghai , now the Shanghai Cultural Plaza. Canidrome (Macau) - a greyhound racing stadium in Macau . Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Canidrome . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

72-558: A Shanghai past. The Shanghai Municipal Police used police ranks based along British lines, and owed much to the Victorian rank-structure of the Metropolitan Police Force . From lowest to highest, the ranks were: Between 1854 and the police's effective end in 1943, some 14 police stations were in use at various times. The 1930s Longchang apartments building, a former dormitory complex for Chinese constables and their families,

108-423: A committee of 24 communist-appointed "civic leaders". The Xinhua News Agency reported that Shanghai high-school students marched beside the prisoners on their way to execution beating gongs and drums, and chanting: "Kill nice! Kill them well! Kill all of them!". At the time 10,000 people gathered and demanded the death of the accused in a unanimous roar. After banning greyhound racing and other forms of gambling,

144-462: A multi-purpose entertainment venue, but became a place for political rallies after the founding of the People's Republic of China and a mass execution facility. Later it became a theatre and exhibition space before it was demolished in 2006. The original Canidrome grandstand was demolished as part of the reconstruction of the precinct to become a park incorporating various cultural venues. The Canidrome

180-677: A result of the catastrophic policing failure of 30 May 1925, when Sikh and Chinese members of the SMP were ordered to open fire on Chinese demonstrators and thereby precipitated the nationwide anti-imperialist May Thirtieth Movement (五卅运动), the SMP developed myriad riot control measures. These techniques led to the introduction of Shanghai's "Reserve Unit" by Assistant Commissioner Fairbairn—the first modern SWAT team. The skills developed in Shanghai have been adopted and adapted by both international police forces and clandestine warfare units. William Fairbairn

216-711: A volunteer part-time special police (from 1918). In 1941, it acquired a Russian Auxiliary Detachment (formerly the Russian Regiment of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps ). The first detachment of 31 Europeans, effectively borrowed from the Hong Kong Police and led by Samuel Clifton, was recruited almost immediately after the formation of the Shanghai Municipal Council (SMC). These men were on patrol by September 1854. Further men were recruited from

252-404: Is now a government-protected building. For most of their existence, the SMP wore uniforms that were British or British colonial in style. These included custodian helmets for European police until the early 1900s. Uniforms were dark blue serge in winter with khaki drill (including shorts or slacks) in summer. Sikh personnel wore red turbans while Chinese members of the force were distinguished by

288-762: The North China Daily News . In the 1920s and '30s, the Canidrome was mostly a facility limited to Westerners. The Canidrome ballroom was where the American Buck Clayton and his band performed. The Chinese discrimination mostly came about from the effects of the Treaty of the Bogue . The Canidrome also served as a sporting venue. On March 15, 1941, a soccer game between the Shanghai Municipal Police and

324-795: The Japanese occupation of China in August 1937 and the attack on Pearl Harbor on 8 December 1941, the International Settlement along with the French Concession became the only neutral areas in east China. In this crowded and officially neutral enclave, the SMP struggled to maintain order in the face of a wave of increasingly violent terrorist bombings and reprisals between the Chinese and the Imperial Japanese Army and their collaborators. With

360-628: The Royal Irish Constabulary , London's Metropolitan Police and from the military presence in Shanghai itself, while a structure for recruitment of Britons in the United Kingdom eventually came about through the Shanghai Municipal Council's London agents, John Pook & Co. Once formalised, a steady stream of young men was recruited to serve in Shanghai. Promotion from the lower ranks of the force was, however, limited. Most of

396-483: The police force of the Shanghai Municipal Council which governed the Shanghai International Settlement between 1854 and 1943, when the settlement was retroceded to Chinese control. Initially composed of Europeans, most of them Britons, the force included Chinese after 1864, and was expanded over the next 90 years to include a Sikh Branch (established 1884), a Japanese contingent (from 1916) and

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432-542: The 1926–27 Nationalist Revolution , the force also struggled to contain a wave of armed robberies and politically motivated kidnappings. Throughout the 1930s, it faced challenges from the Nationalist Government and the police force of the (Nationalist Chinese) City Government of Shanghai, particularly over rights to operate outside the historical bounds of the Concession and in cases of extraterritoriality . Between

468-595: The 1980s, the Shanghai Municipal Government began discussing the redevelopment of the Cultural Plaza precinct. Decades of neglect had left the buildings in the precinct in need of repair. Construction in the precinct since 1949 had lacked overall planning. Its former role as a space for political meetings had diminished in significance, while its role as a performance space had been superseded by newer or better facilities. The large, covered space built over

504-557: The Chinese team turned into a riot in the Canidrome, and cause 20,000 Chinese spectators to flood the field. As many as 30 people were injured in the game riot. The outbreak of the Pacific War and the occupation of the French Concession by the Japanese in December 1941 led to the Canidrome ceasing operation. The grounds were used to stable horses by the Imperial Japanese Army . At the end of

540-667: The Communist government purchased the grounds in 1952 and re-constructed the Canidrome. Additional buildings gradually turned the entire race-course into an indoor venue. The existing grandstand, including its auditorium, was retained. Part of the precinct became the Shanghai Chinese Opera School. During the Cultural Revolution , the Cultural Plaza became a venue for public meetings, where Red Guards and other agitators denounced "class enemies" and figures of authority. In

576-542: The Japanese Branch. Though the force was mostly occupied in the routine business of crime prevention, detection, and traffic control, it was also seen as the Settlement's first line of defense against Chinese nationalist activity. After the failure of the 1913 Second Revolution against the autocratic presidency of Yuan Shikai , the settlement was increasingly troubled by armed crime. In the build-up to, and aftermath of,

612-567: The Relinquishment of Extra-Territorial Rights in China confirmed the abolition of the International Settlement. The post-war city police bureau continued the employment of a steadily declining number of the former SMP's Russian cadre, although all Chinese staff remained in post. Foreign members of the SMP were dispersed, some to take up police, civilian or military employment elsewhere. Records in Shanghai indicate that some surviving Chinese personnel of

648-486: The Rendezvous for Shanghai's Elite. Greyhound racing ceased after the outbreak of World War II , and was not permitted to resume after the war. After 1949, greyhound racing remained banned by the Communist party which was now in power. After the new government purchased the race track in 1952 and converted it into an arts and entertainment facility, the precinct's name was changed to the Shanghai Cultural Plaza. The stadium

684-658: The SMP were investigated as "counter-revolutionary" elements following the communist revolution in 1949 . The SMP retains the legacy as a pioneer in the field of police work, and many of its past members remain internationally renowned due to their contributions in the fields of policing and self-defence. Particularly well documented is the SMP's response to a staggering rise in armed crime, whereby serving officers such as William E. Fairbairn and Dermot 'Pat' O'Neil, working with volunteer "Special" personnel such as Eric A. Sykes , developed innovative combat pistol shooting , hand-to-hand combat skills and knife fight training. As

720-513: The chaos of the early Cultural Revolution, a fire broke out in 1969 and destroyed many of the buildings at the Cultural Plaza, and much of it was reconstructed in 1970. For the 20 years after the end of the Cultural Revolution, the Cultural Plaza served a number of purposes. Its auditorium was used as performance space for films and theatre. It was also used as a conference venue, often housing political conferences and meetings. Beginning from

756-404: The conical Asian hat shown in the 1908 group photo above, until about 1919. After this date, Chinese and European police wore the same dark blue peaked cap with the coat of arms of the International Settlement as a badge. Pith helmets were often worn in hot weather. Sam Browne belts were worn by officers carrying sidearms. Members of the SMP were made eligible for several medals for service by

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792-588: The force's commanders were recruited from British domestic or colonial police forces, although a cadre of young British men was recruited as cadets, and held senior ranks in the force in the 1910s-'30s. In 1936, the last year of near-normal peacetime policing, the force totaled 4,739, men with 3,466 in the Chinese Branch, 457 serving in the Foreign Branch (predominantly British), 558 in the Sikh Branch and 258 in

828-466: The former Canidrome also served as a versatile exhibition space. In 1997, this area became the location of the Shanghai Flower Market. In 2003, a series of international design competitions were held. A plan was adopted to rebuild the precinct as a park. Certain elements of the original structures will be retained, including the long-span space frame structure over the auditorium, which was, at

864-405: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canidrome&oldid=432221098 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Canidrome (Shanghai) The clubhouse and racetrack became

900-469: The occupation of the Settlement in December 1941 the police came under Japanese control. Although a number of British officers were arrested as political prisoners and interned in Shanghai's Haiphong Road camp, most British staff in the SMP's Foreign Branch had no choice but to stay in their posts until their eventual dismissal and internment in February/March 1943. The SMP continued after this date, and

936-541: The stadium. Among those arrested was Green Gang leader Huang Jinrong . On May 1 for example, 500 executions were announced. The city police, helped by communist political police, in a single night arrested an estimated 24,000 Chinese, and dragged them off to Laogai camps in Shanghai's outskirts. Among the arrested were former Kuomintang officials, school-teachers, Christian churchmen, non-communist union leaders, property owners, newspaper workers, factory managers, and students. Those to be executed were selected by

972-450: The time of its construction, the longest such span in the Far East . The original grandstand, along with most of the other structures in the precinct, was demolished in 2005. 31°12′50″N 121°27′29″E  /  31.214°N 121.458°E  / 31.214; 121.458 Shanghai Municipal Police The Shanghai Municipal Police ( SMP ; Chinese : 上海公共租界工部局警務處 ) was

1008-550: The war, in 1945, the nationalist government that resumed control of Shanghai did not permit greyhound racing to resume, but the Canidrome was used for sporting and entertainment purposes. On December 1, 1945, football teams drawn from the United States Army and Navy played a game at the Canidrome, billed as the China Bowl. Players included All-American fullback Bill Daley and Purdue guard Frank Ruggieri. The Navy side

1044-587: Was again the central figure, not only leading the Reserve Unit but teaching his new methods to law enforcement agencies in the United States , Cyprus , and Singapore . A political policing unit had existed within the SMP from 1898, the so-called Intelligence Office, but this was renamed Special Branch in 1925 aligning with the form used throughout the British Commonwealth . The office's greatest coup

1080-562: Was built in 1928 and could seat 50,000 spectators. The Canidrome was one of three dog racing tracks to be built in Shanghai in 1927–1928. The first was Luna Park (" Ming Garden" in Chinese), opened in May 1928. In 1932, the Municipal Council of the Shanghai International Settlement closed Luna Park down because of concerns about gambling, and thereafter it became a general amusement park. The second

1116-425: Was incorporated into the police force of the amalgamated Municipality of Shanghai in mid-1943. White Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian (many of the latter being dismissed in 1944-45) staff continued to serve, as did some European personnel from Axis or neutral states. Interned officers of the SMP had expected to return to their duties at the end of the war but the conclusion of the 1943 British-Chinese Treaty for

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1152-454: Was located on the rue Lafayette, which is today known as Central Fuxing Road. It occupies a large portion of the street block formed by what are today Jianguo Road, Shaanxi Road, Fuxing Road, and Maoming Road. The English name "Canidrome" is a composition of cani- , dog, and drome , race course. The Chinese name, Yiyuan Paogouchang , means "Yi Garden dog racing track", where " Yi " literally means leisure. The Canidrome has also been labeled

1188-602: Was resident in the city from 1930 to 1933. After 1928, Special Branch worked closely with Kuomintang intelligence services, helping to destroy and disperse much of the urban base of the Chinese Communist Party by 1932. The Special Branch's archive was acquired by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1949 and was eventually opened to researchers in the 1980s, although the files had clearly been weeded to remove material that might compromise some figures with

1224-619: Was the Stadium (" Shen Garden" in Chinese), owned by the Shanghai Greyhound Racing Club, which was also closed down by the Municipal Council in 1932, and thereafter became a sports stadium, and is now the Jing'an Workers Stadium. The Canidrome, being under French jurisdiction in the French Concession, was the sole survivor after 1932. It was also the largest of the three stadiums. It was largely financed by Henry E. Morris, Jr., proprietor of

1260-629: Was the arrest of Jakob Rudnik (a.k.a. Hilaire Noulens) and his wife Tatiana Moissenko on 15 June 1931. The arrest, the result of close co-ordination with the Special Branches in Singapore, MI6 and French colonial intelligence, broke up the Comintern's secret International Liaison Department in the city. The SMP also correctly identified Richard Sorge as a member of the Third International; he

1296-519: Was victorious. The People's Liberation Army marched into Shanghai in May 1949. Public trial meetings held in the Canidrome was referred to as "The Shanghai Enlarged Joint Meeting of People's Representatives' Conference". The Canidrome and the separate Shanghai Race Course were places where mass executions took place in the hands of the Communist Party , killing hundreds each day. In April 1951, more than 3,000 people were arrested and herded to

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