Neighborhood's past in personal memories
Today's Zhaojiaqiao Road
A special “neighborhood chronicles,” with a collection of stories based on the lives of Jing’an residents, has been published in a first of its kind in Shanghai.
The stories were written by 22 ordinary people from all walks of life, including an architect, an amateur writer and a retired worker. They talk about their childhood neighborhoods, recall community memories and present old photographs, some showing buildings now long gone.
“Previously, we relied on historians and experts to write the chronicles,” said Zhu Huijun, deputy editor-in-chief of the book. “But their accounts were sometimes too dry and formal, lacking the personal touch of everyday lives.”
According to Zhu, the new collection attempts to trace local history from a perspective that includes grassroots voices, memories and stories.
“Neighborhoods are fertile grounds that foster a city’s culture,” she said. Readers can access additional photos and video clips of local life in Jing’an by scanning a QR code on the book.
The first 4,000 copies of the chronicles will be sent to Jing’an residents. If people like it, more copies may be printed and a foreign-language version will be considered, Zhu said.
Ye Gongfa, deputy director of the district’s records office, said he was impressed by the story about the Tsung The Girls’ Middle School, built in 1905, where legendary actress Ruan Lingyu and the sister of Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei studied.
The school moved to Shaanxi Road in 1940. Today the site holds Qiyi High School. “The Tsung The Girls’ Middle School had both Chinese and foreign teachers,” Ye said. “No matter what their backgrounds, the girls who studied here reflected the city’s inclusive culture.”
He said he is also impressed by the story of Zhaojiaqiao, written by Li Jinhai, 63.
“What Li wrote has all disappeared from today’s life, such as the neighborhood where he spent his childhood,” Ye said.
Li lived in a neighborhood called Zhaojiaqiao, enclosed by today’s Jiaozhou, Yuyuan, Chengde and Beijing roads. Starting in the 1980s, many of the area’s residential buildings were demolished by urban renewal development. Only a small alley called Zhaojiaqiao Road remains.
“Everything changed so rapidly, but my memory about Zhaojiaqiao will never fade,” Li wrote. “I can still remember the grocery store, the barber and the noodle shop. Together they formed my past.”
Old scenes in Jing’an (Illustrations by Liu Weimin)
The barbershop by resident Li Jinhai
In the early 1950s, both roadside barber stalls and privately owned hair salons were common, but the prices were set by an industrial association. At the time, hair-care services were classified in 10 grades. A full service to men was priced 0.85 yuan, while the simple hair cost 0.25 yuan.
Laohu zao, by resident Ji Jinhai
Laohu zao, literally “tiger’s stove,” were places selling hot water in yesteryear.
At that time, alley residences housed several families, who had to queue to use one water tap shared by several families. Without gas stoves or heaters, residents went to nearby “tiger’s stove” places with thermos bottles to get the hot water they needed for cooking, tea-making and bathing.
They were called “tiger’s stove” because of the pipe of the huge communal wood and coal burning stove that curled like a tiger’s tail. The stove had windows shaped like a tiger’s eyes.
In 1956, people paid 0.01 yuan for a bottle of hot water. The price was raised to 0.02 yuan in 1985.
These places were also social gathering points where neighbors met and chatted.
Matong, by resident Cheng Shumin
Dozens of years ago, most Shanghai people living in old shikumen buildings without indoor bathrooms had to use matong, a unique Chinese chamber pot.
At 4am every day, a man would push a handcart through the neighborhoods, carrying a large container where people could empty their chamber pots.
The routine heralded the start of a new day.
