Comments on: Nanjing Road: Then and Now

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:17:31 +0000

China is witnessing an era of rapid change and development, so it’s quite startling and fascinating to see how some things have hardly changed at all.

Perhaps Nanjing East Road is not really comparable to New York’s Fifth Ave; it’s more like Times Square, a tourist hub. But I would think Nanjing West Road, with shopping malls like Plaza 66, might be a better comparison.

By: I Left My Heart in Shanghai « 五香路 Five Spice Alley

I Left My Heart in Shanghai « 五香路 Five Spice Alley — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:53:54 +0000

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By: Dany

Dany — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:57:19 +0000

Yin-wah, you are correct–guess I typed too fast for my own good

By: Yin-wah Ma

Yin-wah Ma — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:55:45 +0000

The correct identification of the department store on the right is SINCERE Co. Ltd, not Sun Sun as you indicated. Two signs with its Chinese name are clearly identified above its front entrance and along Nanjing Road (can see clearly on the cover of Treasures Magazine, January 2010). Founded in 1900, SINCERE is the oldest and first Chinese-owned department store in Hong Kong, and opened its Shanghai branch in 1917, two years before Wing On Department Store (on the left) opened its Shanghai branch.

By: Cicie Wang

Cicie Wang — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:08:47 +0000

Any old Shanghainese people would tell you Nanjing Road is not really the 5th Ave of Shanghai. In Shanghai, we say Nanjing Rd is the front lawn of a house where the visitors go. it’s targeted towards mid range priced items. keep in mind, most of Chinese people are less well off than Shanghai locals. The backyard where the real locals hang out is Huaihai Rd with high end shops.

Nevertheless, I still have al ot of fond memories of Nanjing Rd including the department store where my grandpa was a buyer and the many stores I used to wonder around because my dad worked near by. going shopping was a way of life like the Californians like the out door

By: edeb

edeb — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:54:28 +0000

This is a great reality check on the anatomy of this particular place in Shanghai.

I enjoyed comparing what has changed in these images from the artist’s rendition in the 1930s to your photographs from 2009.

What was the artist in the earlier image wanting to convey by the inclusion of so many motorized vehicles and no less than eight airplanes surely doomed to crash? In your photo, cars are now banned from this pedestrian-only area of the city. Is this progress coming full circle from the thrill of heavy machinery (then) to the purging of those same machines from urban environments to survive (now)?

The two large buildings are still standing only to be eclipsed by lots of people and contemporary neon signs, and dwarfed by the skyscraper beyond evoking some sort of giant robot.

These images convey both the solidity of Shanghai’s history and the dynamism of its present. Thanks for sharing them.

By: noelcornell

noelcornell — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:37:09 +0000

I really enjoy what you did here. It reminds me of an interesting set I stumbled upon on Flickr months ago where someone re-shot scenes from Hitchcock’s Vertigo which was filmed here in San Francisco.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chickenwithtwoheads/sets/72157604417810621/

I think the ground shot you’ve got is probably closer to the angle of the 1930’s poster. Unfortunately it appears that angle is probably floating somewhere in the air between your two shots so getting it lined up perfectly might prove a very difficult task indeed.

The aerial view is nice though – demonstrating hustle and bustle of the volume of people in the more contemporary city.