A Hundred Years. Shanghai - Charming Shanghai

Author: Li Xin / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Shanghai is an immigrant city where people of different ethnicities live together, creating a melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures. The clash and fusion of these cultures have turned Shanghai into a region composed of diverse populations. Its shops, clubs, inns, cafes, bars, houses, alleys, and streets all reflect their unique customs. The formation of Shanghai's districts has long been influenced by the so-called "Three Sectors" (British, French, and Chinese concessions) and "Four Powers" (Britain, the United States, France, and China). The urban construction is orderly in the overall layout but chaotic in, with each district forming its own system over the past century: the Bund, the starting point of the "Ten Miles of Brocade"; Nanjing Road, the grand avenue where merchants gather; Jing'an Temple, the oasis of the Western district; Hongkou, a melting pot of diverse peoples; and Xujiahui, Shanghai's "Latin Quarter."
The charm of Shanghai lies in its dynamic pursuit of novelty and change. In the early 21st century, over 2,000 skyscrapers have risen, the financial district of the Bund has been restored, and subways, elevated roads, tunnels, and light rail networks are interconnected, showcasing the city's cultural diversity, economic prosperity, technological innovation, community harmony, and the elevation of its "openness to all" spirit.
In the 1930s, the bridge at the junction of Suzhou Creek and Sichuan Road formed a complex relationship with the city's development and the river, creating various landscapes. In the early 21st century, the Suzhou Creek Sichuan Road Bridge still looks like a river and a bridge, but compared to the past, the city's rise is incomparable.
In the late 19th century, when looking west from the Bund, the Pudong across the river had not yet been developed. In the half century after Shanghai's opening as a port, most of the foreign trading houses built on the Bund were two-story buildings in a peculiar "Kangbaidu" (buyoff) style, blending Eastern and Western elements. Yet, these seemingly ordinary buildings symbolized the Western presence in China and marked the beginning of modern Shanghai's history.
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