Rotary China History

Rotary has a long history in China that dates back to 1919 when the first club in China (and the second club in Asia) was chartered in Shanghai. This first English-language club was predominantly comprised of expatriate Americans and British, but it soon took on a very international flavor as it welcomed other nationalities to its roster including prominent local Chinese businessmen.

Rotary flourished in China before and after the war, and ultimately spawned 33 clubs throughout the mainland up to Liberation in 1949. After 1949 however it quickly became impossible for Rotarians to meet and so most members moved abroad and so Rotary International formally disbanded the remaining clubs in 1952.

Here we are now in 2016:  

There are currently 11 chartered Rotary clubs and 5 provisional Rotary Clubs in mainland China: 

• Beijing
• Rotary Club of Beijing 
• Rotary Club of Beijing Chaoyang   ??
• Rotary Club of Beijing Mandarin  ??
• Chengdu
• Rotary Club of Chengdu 
• Chongqing
• Rotary Club of Chongqing (Provisional)
• Dalian
• Rotary Club of Dalian 
• Hangzhou
• Rotary Club of Hangzhou (Provisional) 
• Kunshan
• Rotary Club of  Kunshan ??
• Nanning
• Rotary Club of Nanning (Provisional) ?? 
• Qingdao
• Rotary Club of Qingdao (Provisional)
• Shanghai
• Rotary Club of Shanghai
• Rotary Club of Shanghai Fresh Start
• Rotary Club of Shanghai Pudong Lujiazui 
• Rotary Club of Shanghai West  ??
• Suzhou
• Rotary Club of Suzhou
• Tianjin
• Rotary Club of Tianjin

Rotaract Clubs

• Rotaract Club of Hult Shanghai
• Rotaract Club of NYU Shanghai
   

Interact Clubs

• Interact Club of Oxford International College (Changzhou) KS3
• Interact Club of Oxford International College (Changzhou) KS4/5
• Interact Club of Shanghai Community International School Hongqiao
• Interact Club of Shanghai High School International Division

Full Chronological List of CHINA Clubs (all disbanded in 1952 till now)

Before 1949 Rotary had established 32 Rotary clubs.

Shanghai    1919 October 1
Tianjin    1923 May 10
Beijing    1924 August 30
Guangdong    1932 April 25
Qingdao    1932 December 5
Jinan    1932 December 9
Hangzhou    1932 June 23
Hankou    1933 December 20
Fuzhou    1933 July 31
Xiamen    1933 October 23
Nanjing    1934 January 19
Wuhu    1936 February 6
Kaifeng    1936 May 13
Shantou    1936 May 21
Wuzhou    1936 May 22
Suzhou    1936 November 11
Ningbo    1936 September 2
Jingjiang    1937 April 2
Xian    1937 August 30
Wuxi    1937 June 16
Changsha    1937 June 28
Wuchang    1937 March 8
Kunming    1937 May 28
Chongqing    1937 Novenber 18
Chengdu    1939 January 2
Lanzhou    1943 November 11
Guilin    1944 June 16
Guiyang    1945 April 23
Liuzhou    1948 December 14
Nanchang    1948 March 29
Shenyang    1948 March 31
Shanghai West    1948 November 16