Currently called the Jewish Refugee Memorial Hall of Shanghai, the Ohel Moishe Synagogue served as the spiritual heart of Shanghai's Jewish ghetto in the 1930s and '40s. In this sanctuary-turned-museum, the lively 85-year-old narrator Wang Faliang provides colorful commentary for the black-and-white photo collection depicting daily life for the 30,000 Jews -- academics, writers, doctors, musicians -- who flooded into the Hongkou District from Europe.

An attic bedroom is frozen in time, with photos and a menorah left behind by residents who moved on after World War II. Around the corner, down a lane just as well preserved, Huoshan Park bears a memorial tablet in the immigrants' honor. The museum's art gallery best conveys the refugees' lasting gratitude to their Chinese hosts, a bond made most clear by a crystal Star of David, engraved with Chinese characters.

Address: 62 Changyang Lu, Hongkou, Shanghai

Phone: 021/6541-5008

Cost: Y50

Open: Mon.-Sat. 9 AM-4 PM

(Eastday.com April 14, 2010)