Nanjing Road

This is Nanjing Road, one of China’s most iconic avenues, stretching for more than five kilometres from the Bund to Jing’an Temple and capturing the spirit of Shanghai, a lively blend of history, modernity and relentless urban energy. Created in the mid-nineteenth century and once known as Park Lane, by the 20s it had become the beating heart of modern commerce, its trams, department stores and neon lights already rivaling those of New York or Paris. In 1999, part of the street was transformed into a pedestrian zone, beginning its new chapter as a prime destination for strolling and shopping.

Nanjing Road is divided into two sections, and here the street is fully pedestrian and buzzing with life, an open-air show of storefronts, neon signs, street musicians and the vintage Dangdang tram that rolls by for just a few yuan, alongside historic department stores like Sincere and Yongan that evoke the Shanghai of the 30s, as well as some of the city’s oldest food stalls still serving classics like Wangjiasha’s famous wontons or De Xing Guan’s mooncakes. Further west, Nanjing Road shifts in mood and becomes more elegant and refined, a luxury district where major shopping malls and international brands like Tiffany and Montblanc sit next to modern cafés and contemporary art galleries, and where the city’s noise softens just steps from Jing’an Temple, its golden roof glowing between the towers. But it’s at night that Nanjing Road truly comes alive as its signs blaze, the crowds thicken and the entire street turns into a river of light and movement.