It is a fact. Shanghai is among the world's top four most powerful metros following New York, Tokyo, and Los Angeles. It is a premier city in the "concert of nations" in 2026, functioning as China’s most prominent financial, commercial, and technological hub. Year after year, Shangay is strengthening its status as a "global city of excellence".
The Chabad-Lubavitch presence, which includes multiple emissary families in the area, has been playing a key role in the reemergence of a vibrant Jewish community in Shanghai. The main facility of the movement located at 87 South ShuiCheng Road, Villa #1, is the Shanghai Jewish Center directed by Rabbi Shalom Greenberg who for more than a decade has been a partner of the Jewish Community of Porto.
Chabad in Shanghai serves the international community and an increasing number of business people, offering a welcoming space in the city. The center runs a Hebrew school, a preschool (the Rohr Foundation Shanghai Gan), and adult education classes, and operates synagogues holding Shabbat and holiday services, without forgetting the mikvaot center, and Kosher facilities. It provides a comprehensive range of services for both local Jewish residents and visitors, serving as a hub for Jewish life in the city.
The most prominent Jews in the Shanghai community were from the very beginning the cousins "Sassoons and Kadoories", who built the city's commercial empire, and later Russian refugees who fostered a vibrant cultural life in Hongkew. They were prominent for turning Shanghai into a global trading hub, supporting refugees, and shaping the city’s development, particularly in real estate and international commerce.
The Kadoorie family is deeply and historically connected to the Jewish community of Shanghai. They were one of the prominent families in the city from the late 19th century, playing a critical role in supporting fellow Jews, particularly the 20,000 European refugees who fled to Shanghai during World War II. The first lady to drive a car in Shanghai was Laura Mocatta Lombroso Kadoorie, after whom the central synagogue in the city of Porto, Portugal, was named.
