CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Friday, September 18, 2020 | 17 LIFE SHANGHAI

Left: A night scene of the newly opened eastern section of Nanjing Road. JEAN YUAN / FOR CHINA DAILY Above: The eastern section of Nanjing Road reopens after a nine­month renovation project. GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY A new look for a new era Nanjing Road, Shanghai’s most famous shopping street, gets an injection of vitality and glamour, Xing Yi reports.

n 1928, American missionary hai Nanjing Road, which was pub­ called The Central, featuring stores trian street brought a large pop­up and educator Francis Lister lished in August, attended the grand including Nike, New Balance and theme park by Bilibili, a popular vid­ Hawks Pott wrote: “At night opening of the extension of the Skechers. eo­sharing website that features they were illuminated by thou­ pedestrian street, which also In 2018, boutique hotel Edition animation, comics and games. Isands of electric lights, and helped marked the start of this year’s opened in the art­deco former head­ Ye Yifan, general manager of the make the upper part of Nanking Shanghai Tourism Festival that runs quarters of Shanghai Power Compa­ company, says it wants to attract Road a ‘great white way’ … They through the end of this month. ny. more young people to the street, and mark both the gradual process of the “A new era of Nanjing Road starts In June, the biggest flagship store make them feel that Nanjing Road is modernization of China and the from tonight,” she said on the open­ of Huawei replaced the clothes “most Shanghai, most international growing prosperity of Shanghai.” ing day. “It’s crowded yet exciting. retailer Forever 21 in the Hardoon and most fashionable”. The dazzling night scene of the Young and old, locals and tourists Building. Kang Rong, a tourist from country’s top commercial street, speaking different dialects, have all The first store of popular Korean Shaanxi province, explored the Nanjing Road, that Pott described in come to enjoy the road.” emoji character Kakao Friends in entire Nanjing Road with her friend his book, A Short History of Shang­ Qiao has been closely studying the city made its debut on the new on Sunday. hai, has not changed after a century, the history and development of the eastern stretch of Nanjing Road aft­ “I visited the street three years except for becoming much brighter road for her book since 2017. er putting up a successful pop­up ago and I found that it has changed and longer. “During the ‘golden age’ in Shang­ store on the western end of the quite a lot,” she says. “It became The renowned shopping street, hai’s modern history from the 1920s street last year. more modern and high­end as which runs west to east from Peo­ to 1930s, Nanjing Road was a sym­ Many old brands on Nanjing smaller stores were replaced by big ple’s Square in the city center to the bol of the prosperous international Road have also launched new busi­ brands.” Bund along the Huangpu River, offi­ metropolis in the Far East, just like The opening of the extension of the pedestrian street of the country’s nesses. George Wee, general manager of cially opened its eastern section on the Fifth Avenue of New York,” she top commercial street, Nanjing Road, attracts a crowd of visitors. The Sanyang Food Store turned Fairmont Peace, which operates the Sept 12 after a nine­month renova­ says. GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY itself into a cafe. Shao Wan Sheng, city’s landmark Peace Hotel on the tion project. After the founding of the People’s which specialized in alcohol­pre­ eastern end of the road, says about The renovation converted the Republic of China, the road was served food, added imported alcohol the new extension: “I think it’s great 500­meter stretch from a regular home to many big State­owned “The local government also real­ Co Ltd and Japanese Daimaru Mat­ and Spanish ham to its product line. for the city. The openness of space road into a pedestrian street, con­ department stores, and people came ized that the road cannot continue suzakaya Department Stores jointly Shanghai Laodatong Rice Shop and this connection with the Bund necting its existing 1­kilometer to buy food and clothes that could going this way and that the histori­ opened the Shanghai New World developed a series of products fea­ is absolutely perfect — this has pedestrian mall on the west of its not be found anywhere else. cal buildings need a rebirth,” Qiao Daimaru shopping mall on the east­ turing rice as a major ingredient — injected even more energy and intersection with Middle Henan But with new shopping malls says. ern part of the road. The new mall rice ice cream, rice drinks and even buzz. Road. emerging in the city in recent years, A series of urban­renewal projects houses a range of premium brands rice facial masks. Taikang Foods “I see this new pedestrian walk­ The renovation was the biggest the road has gradually lost its appeal took place on the road in the past such as Gucci, Burberry and Tiffany opened a new branch with a trendy way making Nanjing Road even bet­ upgrade of the road in the past two as those from the younger genera­ few years, and many initiatives were & Co. beverage chain, Sweet 7, offering ter than New York’s Fifth Avenue decades. tion have turned to trendier malls. launched to upgrade the business In 2017, The Historical Central bubble milk tea and mango drinks. and Times Square combined.” Qiao Zhengyue, a columnist of the The eastern section soon became and make the road appealing to Store, Midland Building, Erza Build­ A week before the opening of the city’s historical architecture and the disorganized and filled with stores young people again. ing and Overseas Chinese Building eastern extension of the road, the Contact the writer at author of a bilingual book, Shang­ selling campy souvenirs for tourists. In 2015, the Shanghai New World formed a new business complex management company of the pedes­ [email protected] Shanghai Concert Hall reopens to the public

By ZHANG KUN hall and the main performing hall [email protected] above could not achieve total sound insulation, causing some problems The Shanghai Concert Hall when both were in use,” explains Xu reopened on Sept 6 following a Feng of Tongji University, who was large­scale renovation and mainte­ responsible for the refurbishment of nance project that spanned a year the underground hall. and a half. “For this renovation project, we Among the 300 visitors was Wang borrowed the floral patterns in the Yuanliang, a 76­year­old who has main hall to design the interior of worked at the concert hall for 30 the small hall and built double years. As the deputy general manag­ doors to achieve better sound insu­ er of the concert hall, he oversaw the lation.” major project in 2003, which saw The lavatories, too, were expand­ the building being moved 66.46 ed as part of the renovation project. meters to the southeast to make way According to the concert hall, the for the Yan’an Elevated Road. larger restrooms should address the “I’ve spent more time here than in The Shanghai Concert Hall reopens following a large­scale renovation and maintenance project that spanned a year and a half. Another problem of long lines for women. any other job in my career. This is major refurbishment of the 1930s structure took place in 2003 when it was moved 66.46 meters to the southeast to make way for the Yan’an The refurbished Shanghai Con­ like home to me,” says Wang, noting Elevated Road. PHOTOS BY GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY cert Hall will launch its new per­ that the copper handle on a door formance season on Sept 19 with a and the white marble floor are 14 concert by the Shanghai Opera years older than him. first built in 1930, when it was con­ The classical Western style of the 1930s. The venue remained in use for invited by the concert hall, this time House symphony orchestra that is “They bought the white marble sidered one of the finest cinemas in Shanghai Concert Hall was show­ the next 15 years, hosting hundreds to restore the 16 Collins columns he conducted by renowned composer from Yunnan province in the 1920s, the city. Starting in the 1950s, the cased in the 2008 film, Mei Lanfang, of concerts every year, until March painted in 2003. Tan Dun. when the theater was built,” he says. venue served as the city’s first pro­ that was directed by Chen Kaige, 2019, when it was closed for mainte­ “These columns carry the great The new season, which will last “In 2003, when we refurbished fessional music hall. The acoustic notes Ma Zunyi, a visiting journalist nance and restoration work. weight of the architecture, and were until December, comprises 54 con­ the building after the relocation quality of the hall had consistently from Shanghai Eastern Radio. The ultimate goal of the restora­ built with concrete instead of real certs as well as forums, art exhibi­ project, we had the marble covered won praise from visiting musicians. “There was a scene in the movie tion was again to retain its original marble,” Lyu says, noting that he tions and livestreams. and protected by planks before put­ Designed by Chinese architect showing the Peking Opera maestro charm. The project has evidently painted the surface of the 16 col­ According to Fang Jing, general ting up the scaffolds to work on the Fan Wenzhao, the concert hall has performing in New York in the been a success — Wang and many umns in such a way that they would manager of the concert hall, the ven­ columns above.” always been among the most belov­ 1930s,” Ma says. “It was actually shot visitors say that they could barely achieve a unified look with the mar­ ue will open its doors to visitors even Today, the marble floor remains in ed historical buildings in the city. here at the Shanghai Concert Hall, identify any differences. ble floor. when there are no concerts. Guided good condition except for a few “I used to go to Vienna, Austria, but you wouldn’t have been able to The latest project saw the concert The latest renovation works were tours, afternoon tea parties and oth­ spots on the stairs, where small and found the Shanghai Concert tell.” hall having its arched ceiling also extended to a small multifunc­ er events will take place, allowing cracks were repaired and restored, Hall had a lot in common with the In 2003, after the building was repainted, its marble columns tional performance hall in the under­ more members of the public to expe­ Wang says. national theater there,” says a retiree moved, the concert hall underwent a restored, and its acoustic facilities ground level, which was only added rience the glamour of the historical Originally named Nanking Thea­ surnamed Cao, who was one of the massive restoration project that updated and optimized. in 2003, making it more soundproof. building and the charm of classical tre, the Shanghai Concert Hall was visitors at the reopening on Sept 6. aimed to restore the look it had in the Fresco artist Lyu Jijun was again “Over the past 15 years, this small music.