Exhibitions tell city's story of then and now
Qian Zhongyi and Shi Jianjun, both 70 years old, pictured in front of the iconic Park Hotel on Nanjing Road W. in 1967 and 2019.
Shanghai Archives launched two exhibitions on Monday recalling the development of the city and its residents over the past seven decades with photos and paintings.
The “Our common witness” exhibition opened to public at newly launched community archives in the Xianxia Community in Changning District.
Seventy historical photos from 16 local district-level archives showcase the great changes of many landmark areas such as Lujiazui, Xujiahui and Hongqiao. The old photos from are displayed alongside photos taken today.
The Lujiazui financial hub was a large piece of farmland in an old photo from the Pudong New Area Archives. The bustling Pudong Road S. had a single vehicle lane with village houses on both sides in another historical picture.
The Gothic structure of Xujiahui Cathedral, however, has barely changed in 70 years. One of Shanghai’s most iconic buildings, it reopened to the public last year after a two-year restoration project.
Formerly known as the Saint Ignatius Cathedral, the building was once the largest cathedral in East Asia. Construction began in 1906 and was completed in October 1910.
About 30 copies of precious documents are also on display, many open to public for the first time. They include the purchase documents for the land of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, one of China’s earliest modern military factories dating back to the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and a piece of the North China Herald, Shanghai's first English-language newspaper.
Liu Zhuoyu, 30, is held by his mother in 1994 on the Bund while he embraces his bride in 2019 at the same spot.
The exhibition features many old photos collected from city residents.
Qian Zhongyi and Shi Jianjun, both 70 years old, have been lifelong friends. They were pictured in front of the Park Hotel, once the tallest structure in the city, in 1967 and were there for another picture in the same place this year.
Liu Zhuoyu, 30, donated photos taken in 1994 and 2019 on the Bund. In the oldest photo, his mother holds him as he sits on a wall while the latest one shows him holding his bride at the same place.
Other historical documents from residents such as the city’s earliest marriage certificate as well as photos about the life in China’s earliest workers’ communities are also displayed.
The other exhibition at the archives at 9 East Zhongshan No. 2 Road on the Bund features 30 paintings by local artists depicting the city’s iconic sites or landmark events.
Artists painted the city’s scenery, industries and residents’ lives in oil, watercolor and wood blocks.
The exhibition marks the first cooperation between the archives and the Shanghai Federation of Literature and Art Circles and the Shanghai Artists Association.
The archives and the federation signed an agreement on Monday to host more such exhibitions in future.
Both exhibitions are open to public free through mid-February.
The local wet market pictured in the 1950s and in 2019.
An apartment in China's earliest worker's community in Shanghai in the 1950s.
A television provides the entertainment in this apartment in China's earliest worker's community in Shanghai in the 1950s.
