From Tushanwan to the World: The 110-Year Journey of Shanghai's Pagoda Models

Caption: Shot by Sun Chao. Edited by Sun Chao. Reported by Qiao Zhengyue. Subtitles by Sun Chao.

One hundred and ten years ago, young craftsmen from the Tushanwan Orphanage in Shanghai produced more than eighty finely detailed pagoda models under the guidance of the German missionary Aloysis Beck. The models were sent to San Francisco for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition, offering international audiences a glimpse of China's rich architectural traditions.

After the exposition, the collection was acquired by the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, where it remained largely out of public view for decades.

In 2024, these remarkable models once again crossed the ocean, this time to be exhibited at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore, bringing renewed attention to a little-known chapter of cultural exchange.

In 2025, one of the finest pieces – a model of the Porcelain Tower of the Great Bao'en Temple in Nanjing – returned to China for the first time. It was presented in the special exhibition "Seeing the Pagoda: From Urban Landmark to World Memory" in Nanjing.

From Shanghai to San Francisco, Chicago, Singapore, and now Nanjing, these delicate models trace a remarkable journey across continents – a story of craftsmanship, faith, and the enduring circulation of cultural heritage.