Budapest’s Chinese Cultural Center is hosting Timeless Modernity – Hungarian Architectural Heritage in Shanghai until February 6, spotlighting the Shanghai-era work of Ladislaus (László) Hudec, Charles (Károly) Gonda, Bela (Béla) Mátrai, and Rudolf Sömjén. The free exhibition traces how these Hungarian architects helped shape early 20th-century Shanghai’s modern skyline, and how their landmark buildings remain woven into the city’s identity today. Visitors can also enjoy a full program of roundtables, film screenings, and cultural events.
How Hungarians Built Modern Shanghai
Hudec’s sleek high-rises, Gonda’s urbane commercial hubs, Mátrai’s refined residential and public designs, and Sömjén’s inventive structures collectively created a new urban language for Shanghai—international in spirit, local in impact. Their silhouettes, materials, and street-level rhythms still tell the story of a city racing into modernity.
Events, Films, Conversations
Beyond archival plans and photos, the show brings voices and context: discussions unpack design legacies, screenings revive Shanghai’s interwar pulse, and cultural programs connect Budapest and Shanghai through the architects who bridged them. Admission is free.
