重庆有个“国际村”

文/杨艳 图/唐安冰

从渝中区两路口往鹅岭公园方向缓坡上行一段，便是国际村社区。居民楼依山而建，石梯小巷蜿蜒曲折，就像城市的毛细血管逶迤伸展，周边很多老建筑至今保存较好。其实，曾经的国际村范围比现在的国际村社区还大。抗战时期以该地区为核心，李子坝、两路口、佛图关等地，进驻多国外交机构，往来无数外交人员及国际友人。

抗战时期，重庆作为战时首都，成为世界反法西斯国际统一战线多方力量的聚集地。1937年至1946年，外国在重庆设有大使馆18个、公使馆5个、专员公署1个，法国、德国同时设大使馆、总领事馆。同时，大韩民国临时政府也设于重庆。大量的外事机构及外交人员、国际友人被分散安置于城市多地，其中主要集中于渝中半岛和南岸黄山。

基于与渝中区上清寺政要枢机的毗邻度，美国大使馆、澳大利亚公使馆、丹麦公使馆、土耳其公使馆在两路口至佛图关沿线先后进驻，随之而来的还有使领馆人员寓所（美国公使馆记者宿舍楼）、娱乐设施，以及保护这些外交机构的暗堡等军事设施的建设。

抗战时期，在东至两路口，西至佛图关，北抵李子坝（嘉陵新村），南至王家坡，沿山脊分布有4处使领馆，另有蒋介石宋美龄“鹅岭飞阁”短期居所（后为英国驻华大使卡尔居所）、中央银行印钞厂（今渝中区鹅岭二厂）、中央图书馆（罗斯福图书馆）等，成为承载抗战外交、军事、文化活动的重要聚集场所—国际村。

国际村经由三层马路穿越嘉陵新村，北接嘉陵江岸的李子坝正街，沿途分布有徐远举公馆等多处政要官邸，以及金融、新闻机构，包括大公报及其印刷洞、交通银行建筑群等。

关于此地的历史沿革，重庆市规划和自然资源局曾作过细致研究：随着1946年政要机构陆续撤离，除民国印钞厂工人继续留驻外，普通市民迅速搬迁入住。新中国成立后，1953年印钞厂改为重庆印制二厂 ，其后于山林之间兴建住宅，更多的工人定居国际村。如今的国际村已是渝中区两路口街道办事处下辖社区居委会的称谓，西起佛图关公园，东至两路口市急救中心，规模为0.4平方公里。

如今，经过修缮提档升级后的国际村社区焕然一新，社区里的文化长廊以抗战文化为主题布展了老照片，沿路设置的线路导示牌介绍有美国记者楼旧址、英国海军俱乐部旧址，以及石碉堡和无线电台旧址。

一路行至坡顶，一栋两层楼的灰色小洋楼就是抗战时期美国领事馆的记者宿舍，也就是美国记者楼旧址，砖木结构中西结合建筑，外墙为青砖，木质楼板和回廊、梯道，还有小阳台，建筑布局为“船”的形态。

附近还有一处陈旧的红砖民房，是当年的石碉堡。暗堡藏身地下，一共有3个掩体，连接一间不规则形状的主屋，高约1.8米，墙面为燕窝泥。如今石碉堡外墙已粉刷，内部布局呈八角形，可容两三人。社科院专家考察后认为，当时美国大使馆等重要机关都处于此地，外国人出入频繁，为了安全保卫，便修建了这座暗堡。据了解，这里是渝中的一处制高点，共有多个暗堡，布局呈梅花状，人稱“梅花堡”。解放后，其他暗堡均被拆除，只剩下这一座。

除此之外，还有一座无线电台旧址，抗战时期进行对敌干扰和监听的工作。现已在原址上完成复建。

漫步在曲折的街巷里，从墙上的老照片追寻历史，今天的国际村虽然已看不到昔日的景象，但可以想象那时很“国际”的样子。

An "International Village" in Chongqing

The International Village Community lies on the upward section of a gentle slope from Lianglukou in Yuzhong District to E'ling Park. Its residential buildings nestle snugly along the mountains， with stone steps and alleys meandering and stretching like capillaries of the city， and countless adjacent old architectures remaining intact till now. Actually， the "International Village" used to encompass a larger area than it does at present. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression， with the region at the core， multiple countries' diplomatic institutions settled at such places as Liziba， Lianglukou， and Fotuguan， etc.， ushering in a myriad of diplomats and international friends.

During the same period of time， as the Wartime Capital， Chongqing emerged as the rendezvous of multipartite forces of the International Anti-Fascist United Front. From 1937 to 1946， 18 embassies， 5 legations and 1 Commissioner's Office were set up in Chongqing by foreign countries， including the French and German Consulates General at the same time. Meanwhile， Chongqing also served as the seat of the interim government of the Republic of Korea. Legions of foreign affairs institutions， diplomats and international friends were scattered and displaced in multiple places of the city， mainly in Yuzhong Peninsula and Huangshan Mountain in Nanan District.

Based on the proximity to Shangqing Temple， the politician hub in Yuzhong District， the US Embassy， Australian Legation， Danish Legation and Turkish Legation successively settled along the route from Lianglukou to Fotuguan， ensued by apartments of embassy and consular personnel （US Embassy journalist dormitory building）， recreational amenities as well as the construction of military facilities such as bunkers protecting these diplomatic institutions.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression， with four embassies and consulates distributed along the mountain ridge covering from Lianglukou in the east to Fotuguan in the west， and from Liziba （Jialing New Village） in the north to Wangjiapo in the south， alongside "Feige Pavilion"， the interim residence of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong May-ling （the later residence for Archibald Clark Kerr， British ambassador to China）， Central Bank Banknote Printing Plant （Testbed 2 of Yuzhong District at present）， Central Library （Roosevelt Library） and so on， the "International Village" became a key rendezvous for the diplomatic， military and cultural activities during the wartime， and its stories are still being told till now.

The "International Village" is connected with Liziba Street on the riverbank of the Jialing River that passes through "Jialing New Village" via three layers of roads. Along the way， there are many dignitary residences such as Xu Yuanju Residence， as well as financial and news agencies including Ta Kung Pao and its printing caves， building cluster of Bank of Communications， etc.

Chongqing Bureau of Urban Planning and Natural Resources used to conduct detailed researches on the history of this site： after the withdrawal of political institutions in 1946 in succession， except that the workers in Banknote Printing Plant of ROC stayed on their posts， common citizens flocked in and settled here rapidly. After the founding of New China， in 1953， the Banknote Printing Plant was changed to Chongqing No.2 Printing Plant， and as buildings were built amid mountains and forests subsequently， more workers settled in the "International Village". Today， the "International Village" has become the appellation of the community residents committee affiliated to Lianglukou Sub-district Office of Yuzhong District， covering an area of 0.4 square kilometres from Fotuguan Park in the west to Lianglukou Emergency Medical Center in the east and dovetailing with the aforementioned scope in the wartime.

The renovated and upgraded International Village Community has assumed a refreshed look nowadays. Themed upon the wartime culture， old photos are on display in the community cultural corridor. Moreover， the route signages set along the roads also indicate the former site of the US journalist building， former site of the British Navy Club， as well as the former sites of stone bunkers and radio stations.

All the way to the top of the slope， a two-storey gray Western-style building appears， which used to act as the journalist dormitory of the US Consulate during the wartime， i.e.， the former site of the US journalist building. As a combination of Chinese- and Western-style architectures in the brick and wood structure， its architectural layout is in the form of “ship” with the exterior wall made of grey bricks， all wooden floors， corridors， and stairways， and small balconies equipped.

There is also a timeworn red brick house nearby， which was a stone bunker back then. The bunker was hidden underground with its three shelters connected by an irregular-shaped main building about 1.8m high， and its wall was covered by bird's nest mud. Nowadays， the exterior wall of the stone bunker has been coated with cement， and its octagonal internal layout can accommodate two to three persons inside. Experts from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences once concluded after a visit here that the US Embassy and other key organs were located here and visited by foreign people heavily at that time， so such bunker was built for security reasons. It is learnt that this place is called “the plum blossom bunker” as it is a commanding height in Yuzhong with several hidden bunkers in the shape of plum blossoms. After the liberation， all other hidden bunkers have been removed， leaving this one as the only bunker behind.

Besides， there is a former site of a radio station， which was a radio monitoring and interference station during the wartime for enemy interference and monitoring. And its reconstruction has been completed on the original site.

By strolling along the winding streets and alleys and tracing the history from the old photos on the wall， we can still envision the "International" hustle and bustle it assumed despite the long-gone scene in the International Village today.