The Shanghai Municipal Engineering Administration Bureau confirmed this yesterday after workers accidentally found some 30 wooden bricks at the foundation of a building being dismantled for the Xizang Road Bridge renovation plan.

"They are the first evidence that Shanghai was one of the most luxurious cities a century ago," said Wang Jian, an official of the bureau, who is working to set up an engineering museum.

The wooden bricks belong to a species called intsia bijuga - a dense and reddish wood which resists termite, water, and heat. An expensive material, it is used for interior woodwork such as flooring and window frames, said Wang.

According to history books, Nanjing Road was paved with wooden bricks by the then city government in 1907 to enable the running of trams. The wood was imported from India and processed through special treatment to fit the street conditions.

In 1966, after the tram railings were dismantled, some of the bricks were used to construct a storage building in Huangpu District beside the bridge, where workers found them now. "Before this, we did not have evidence to prove this part of the city's history," Wang said.

According to another version provided by Wang, the wood was imported by Silas Aaron Hardoon - one of the most wealthy Jews in early Shanghai - to pave some 100 meters on Nanjing Road, between today's Jiangxi Road and the Bund.

"It is said that Hardoon used most of the bricks to build his private garden (today's Shanghai Exhibition Center), and donated the rest to the city," said Wang.

The idea of building an engineering museum is part of the city government's plan to have 100 museums by 2005.

So far, Wang's team has collected some one-thirds of the expected 200 or so exhibits, including boundary boards of concessions, and road pressing machines.

(eastday.com December 5, 2002)