"Yeh Lai Hsiang", "Rose Rose I Love You" and "Shanghai Night" are the songs that represented Shanghai in the 1930s, and they might be made intangible cultural heritage.
These songs combine jazz and Chinese folk music as well as Chinese operas, and are considered as a successful example of cultural fusion. It is said that they originated from Baak Lok Moon Pub on the Yuyuan Road in Jingan District in 1933, thus they are called "Baak Lok Moon Music". In the prime time, Baak Lok Moon Pub shared the same fame as Broadway and Moulin Rouge. The first jazz band in China was also organized by Baak Lok Moon Pub.
Baak Lok Moon Music can be heard in many old Chinese films, and they were the first pop songs in China. Several classic ones are even popular today.
Staff members of Jingan District Archives plan to apply to the municipal government next month for inclusion of Baak Lok Moon Music on the city's intangible cultural heritage list.
(China Daily March 9, 2007)
