Taking a family photo at century-old studio to celebrate New Year
Cai Meiying, 80, who has been cooking for her neighbor's child for five years, has a photo taken with her family at Wangkai.
More than 100 local families have been invited to take photos at the century-old Wangkai Photography on Nanjing Road E. as part of Shanghai's New Year celebration and shopping promotion campaign.
The families of the city's model workers, master artisans as well as police officers, medics, community workers and ordinary citizens are invited to take family photos at the studio and share their family stories.
The event marks the beginning of the "Spend New Year with Nanjing Road" campaign, jointly initiated by Huangpu District government departments and state-owned enterprises New World and Bailian.
The event aims to create a cozy home-like shopping atmosphere along the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall during the New Year celebration, according to the organizers.
Wangkai is known as Shanghai's first photo studio which has been operating since 1921. The historical studio has been capturing life's special moments for generations of people. It was once one of the top four photo studios of old Shanghai, along with Renmin, China and Aihaozhe studios. Only Wangkai remains in its original size.
In its heyday, many iconic Chinese singers and film stars, such as Zhou Xuan (Chow Hsuan), Ruan Lingyu (Lily Yuen) and Hu Die (Butterfly Wu) left their "faceprints" at the studio.
Zhu Wenjin (center), a national model worker at the jewelry department at the No. 1 Department Shopping Center, poses with her apprentices.
The family of Gu Xiaochun, the fifth generation inheritor of the Zhen Laodafang mooncake bakery on Nanjing Road, was among the first batch of customers invited for the family photo campaign. Gu has been working at the flagship store of the time-honored brand for over four decades, making it one of the most popular stores on the commercial street.
"I have spent most of the traditional festivals at the store, serving long queues of customers," said Gu. "It is meaningful to me to take a family photo at the studio beside my bakery."
Other invited guests include the families of Zhu Wenjin, a national model worker at the jewelry department at the No. 1 Department Shopping Center. She has invented over a dozen knots with auspicious meaning and presented to her customers.
Cai Meiying, 80, has been cooking for a neighbor's child for five years. She was invited by Wangkai to take a memorial photo with her husband. Additional local families, especially those having stories pertaining to the pedestrian street, will be invited to the studio to have their photos taken.
Nanjing Road was constructed in 1851 as Park Lane and ran from the Bund to a race track on today's Henan Road. It was extended to Zhejiang Road in 1854 before being further stretched to Xizang Road in 1862. Nanjing Road E. was converted into a pedestrian street and unveiled to the public on the evening of September 20, 1999, when it quickly became an attraction for tourists and local residents alike.
The walking street was listed by the Ministry of Commerce as one of China's first batch of pedestrian roads to receive high-quality, tasteful renovations and improvements. The entire road is now covered by 5G, the next generation of mobile communication technology, a key factor in its future development.
Gu Xiaochun, the fifth generation inheritor of the Zhen Laodafang mooncake bakery on Nanjing Road.
