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Other shopping areas paled in comparison to Nanjing Road
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ARCHITECT Tang Yu’en, who restored the Fairmont Peace Hotel on Nanjing Road E., says that the four big department stores made Nanjing Road different from other shopping streets in Shanghai.
“The four emporiums introduced the business model of department stores in Shanghai, which was in vogue overseas early in the last century. These establishments stood out from other shopping streets,” says the architect who also designed the Shanghai Library and restored the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund.
Tang says that the four stores were different from traditional Chinese commercial architecture and featured Chinese-style big roofs and memorial gateways.
“Traditional Chinese shops that usually lined along the street or the river were arranged in a linear way. The four department stores had a much larger area, covered a whole block and were built with modern commercial idea with goods and products transported through inner smaller streets while customers entered through two larger streets,” she says.
Tang says the quality of all the four stores had fallen compared with their heydays as Nanjing Road itself had changed. It was dotted with low-price shops and crammed with group tourists.
“The four department stores had very nice roof gardens and hosted dance parties and concerts in summer. They offered a variety of services and entertainment options. The four buildings dramatically upgraded Nanjing Road and reflected what a Far Eastern city like Shanghai was like early last century,” Tang says.
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