Stepping into the Zone 3 is like travelling back in time to learn about Skills Development and China. As you do, take a moment to think about the building which houses these incredible artifacts – the Wing On Warehouse – with its own rich history and links to China’s industrial past. Within these walls, it is not hard to imagine the sound of Shanghai humming with the repetitive, rhythmic sound of looms and spindles at work all along the banks of the Huangpo River in the Yangpu District.
Textiles have been highly valued in China for over five thousand years and, in the late 19th century, Yangpu was a key manufacturing hub. By the 1920s, there were over 300 factories in the district and nearly half of them made textiles. Most of the factories were located along the river to take advantage of the convenient mode of transport and the Wing On warehouse was one of them. Built in 1921, the warehouse consisted of two four-storey buildings, opposite each other and facing the Huangpu waterfront. Clean, simple lines in an eclectic modern style reflected the building’s future as an international textile powerhouse.
The warehouse was owned by entrepreneurial brothers Dong Guo and Shun Guo who came from a prominent cotton family in Xiangshan county, Guangdong. Their company, Wing On Textile Co., Ltd, owned warehouses, factories, and mills that produced and stored thousands of cotton goods each day. The brothers went on to open Shanghai’s famous Wing On department store on Nanjing Road. As prosperous as they were, their business transformed beyond recognition when, in the late 20th century, former Communist leader Deng Xiaoping’s “reform and opening up” policies enabled China to start trading with the world for the very first time. Their international success, and the success of others like them, accelerated China’s economy and meant hundreds of millions of citizens were lifted out of rural poverty.
As time passed, the Wing On Warehouse went through its own transformation. Frequent takeovers and two consecutive wars resulted in damage to the structure of the building, leaving it in a state of disrepair. Today, a century later, the restored warehouse has secured heritage status thanks to its connection to Yangpu’s rich industrial history. Now, it welcomes people from around the globe since it reopened as the WorldSkills Museum in November 2023.
Visitors have the chance to see the original architecture which has been sensitively incorporated into the Museum. Take the concrete pillars that provide essential support inside the warehouse. Now carefully restored, these pillars were deliberately octagonal so that workers carrying heavy loads would not be injured if they bumped into them. Its high windows were purposefully chosen to allow plenty of natural light into the relatively dim interiors. Elsewhere, new additions ensure the space is contemporary and more sustainable, like the pipe that sits snug inside a traditional-looking pillar acting as a modern, environmentally friendly way to collect rainwater for the rooftop garden.
The Wing On Warehouse is the perfect fusion of past, present, and future and the most fitting home for this unique homage to skills and skilled people.