英国领事馆重庆第一座外国领事馆

渝中城市旧貌。 插图/欧阳桦

1891年4月1日，英国领事馆在渝中区民生路正式设立，重庆有了第一座外国领事馆。1900年，英国领事馆迁移至渝中区七星岗领事巷，随即在政治、经济、社会、文化等方面开展了多种形式的活动，对重庆乃至西南地区的对外开放产生了巨大影响。

这座位于领事巷的建筑是一座别致小楼，正立面连续的拱形回廊延续了英国在远东殖民地建筑的一贯风格。在通风庇荫的回廊，可以俯瞰长江。该建筑现今已不在。据该馆历史资料记录，建筑的后院曾覆盖了大片草坪，附近还建有网球场。

1939年为躲避日军轰炸，英国领事馆被迫搬迁至长江南岸的南山。39年间，前后共有34位英国总领事在此任职，这里成为重庆近代历史上使用时间最长的一座领事馆。

On April 1, 1891, the British Consulate-General was officially established as Chongqing’s first foreign consulate on Minsheng Road, Yuzhong District. In 1900, the consulate-general moved to the Lingshi Lane in Qixinggang, Yuzhong District, and immediately launched various activities in politics, economy, society and culture, which had a great impact on the opening up of Chongqing and even the southwest China.

The building located at Lingshi Lane was building. The continuous arched corridor on the front facade represents the traditional style of British colonial buildings in the Far East. From the well-ventilated and shaded cloister, you can overlook the Yangtze River. According to the museum's historical records, the backyard of the building was once covered with a large lawn, and tennis courts were also built nearby.

In 1939, to avoid the Japanese bombing, the British Consulate-General was forced to move to Nanshan on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. During the following 39 years, 34 British Consuls-Generals have worked here, making it the longest serving consulate in Chongqing's modern history.

Only a few know that this consulate was once the temporary residence of the British embassy. With the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Chongqing became the command center of the anti-fascist battlefield in the Far East. Embassies of many countries moved to Chongqing, including the British embassy. As no suitable place was found, the British embassy could only be temporarily located in the consulate, where the then British ambassador to China, Sir Archibald Clark Kerr also worked.

In that war, the British Consulate-General suffered heavy losses, with more than 10 Japanese bombing attacks and heavy damage to its houses and property. Five staff members were injured during the bombings and more than 20 Chinese employees were injured.

鲜为人知的是，这座领事馆当年曾是英国大使馆的临时驻地。随着抗战的爆发，重庆成为整个远东反法西斯战场的指挥中心，各国大使馆纷纷迁驻重庆，其中便包括英国大使馆。由于没有找到合适的地方，英国大使馆只能临时设在领事馆内，当时的英国驻华大使阿希尔德·卡尔爵士也曾在此工作。

在那场战争中，英国领事馆损失惨重，遭遇日军10余次轰炸，其房屋、财物毁损惨重，先后有5名工作人员被炸伤，20余名中国雇员受伤。