A Personal History of Shanghai: My Observations on the Transformation of Shanghai's Urban Space

Zhu Dajian hasa Ph.D.in management. Heisadistinguished professorat Tongji Universityandadoctoral supervisorat the School of Economics and Management.He iscurrently the directorof the Institute ofSustainable DevelopmentandManagementof Tongji University and the deputy director of the Academic Committee of Tongji University.Hisresearch interestsinclude sustainabilityscience，urbandevelopment and public governance， circular economy， and low-carbon economy.

W henlwasachild，Ilived in Xiaonanmen （Little South Gate）and often played nearthe Bell Tower.The BellTower Was the highest point in old Nanshi City， proposed by Li Pingshu in 1909 and completed in 1910，opening to the public that same year.In 1911，Chen Qimei and Li Pingshu used the Bell Tower to send signals for the uprising that led to the restoration.Then， in1927，WangRuofeidirected the Nanshi Workers'Armed Uprisingin Shanghai，also using the tower's bell asa signal.To commemorate Li Pingshu's contributions to the modernization of the old city，a bronze statue of him wasonce erectedatthe Bell Tower.

Anumberofnew-style shikumen lilongresidenceswereconstructed While Shanghai's shikumen houses Were primarily concentrated in the foreign concessions，they increasinglyappeared in the Chinese-administeredareasafter thefounding oftheRepublicof China.Perhaps benefiting from the dismantling of the city walls，many shikumen houses in Nanshi's Old City were built along the circular roadsthatreplacedtheformer wallperimeter.l，alongwith some ofmy elementary andmiddle school classmates，grew up in shikumen lilong near Zhonghua Road.Comparedto living insome of the older-style buildings in the Old City，the living conditions anddailyconveniencesthere felt noticeablybetter.

Among the Shikumen lilong alleywaysin the Old City，the most representativeoneisLongmen Village on Shangwen Road - a placeweloved to exploreas children，whether we had free timeor not.Wandering through itsfishbone-likelanesfeltlikea magicaladventure.Originally， the sitewasa private garden called

\"Wu Garden\"（Wu Yuan），which later housed the Longmen Academyand Shanghai High School.In1934， Shanghai High School relocated to the southern outskirts of the city， and the land of the former campus wassold to developers.Thenew residentialcomplexbuiltthere was named Longmen Village.

Afterthecircularroadswere built around the old city walls，the former city gates became bustling hubsconnecting the innerand outerareasofShanghai's Old City，makingdaily life remarkably convenient through the four gatesat differentdirections. Daily errands-whether buying breakfast，groceries，condiments， orgettinga haircut-wereeasily handledaroundXiaonanmen and Dongjiadu Road. For clothing，higher-end goods， orentertainment like movies， Laoximen （Old West Gate） was the place to go.If you wanted the freshest seafood，Xiaodongmen （Little East Gate） and Shiliupu were the best choices.And during the Chinese NewYear，the liveliest celebrationscould be found near Xinbeimen （New North Gate）， around the City God Temple.

Theroadnetwork in Nanshi's Old City followed the original waterways，primarilyrunning east-westwithunderdeveloped north-south connections.A significanttransformation occurredafterthecitywallswere demolished：Henan Road，originally serving as the western boundary of the British Concession，began extending southward.First，the French Concession connected the sectionof Henan Roadbetween Yan'an Road and Renmin Road. Afterliberationin1949，theroad wasfurtherextendedsouthto Zhonghua Road in 1956.Following China's reform and opening-up， Henan Road reached itscurrent southern terminus at Lujiabang Road in 20oo.Thus，South Henan Road evolved into the primary north-souththoroughfare traversing the entire Old City.

Whenlwasachild，everywinter and summervacation trip to the countryside in Ningbo would begin with taking BusNo.66on Henan Roadtothe OldNorth Station.Nowadays，whenever l take Metro Line 10 through the citycenter，l'mremindedthat we'reactuallytravelingbeneath Henan Road.In the old county seat era of Shanghai'swalled city，Guangqi Road served as the primary north-south thoroughfare. Today， South Henan Road has effectively replaced Guangqi Road's historical function.Together With East Fuxing Road，they form a cross-shaped axisthat divides the original walled city space into four distinct quadrants.

Today，when studying Nanshi's Old City，we can analyze its spatial structure，landmark buildings，and external connections through itsfour distinct quadrants.The northeastquadrantis home to the Yu Garden and City God Temple，connectedexternallyvia Xiaodongmen to Shiliupu.The northwestquadrant features Dajing Pavilion and Luxiang Yuan， withaccess through Xiaobeimen leading to Baxianqiao and the GreatWorldentertainment center.Thesouthwestquadrant contains the Confucian Temple andLongmenVillage，linkedtothe outside via Laoximen connecting to Fuxing Middle Roadand the Cultural Plaza.Thesoutheast quadrantboaststheBell Tower and Shuyin Lou，with Xiaonanmen providing passage to Dongjiadu.

Whena Liberation Daily reporter wasconducting interviewswith Shanghai scholarsabout the city's urbantransformationandasked me to share perspectives from my childhood neighborhood，I had originally planned to discuss thevibrant local lifearound Xiaonanmen in the Old City area. However，upon learningthatno one had yet spoken about the City God Temple，Iimmediately suggested that discussing this landmarkwouldbe farmore significant.Iremarked，\"The City God Temple embodies Shanghai natives'collective nostalgia. Without understanding it，one cannot comprehend the Jiangnan cultural DNA that has shaped Shanghai'surban development\"Shanghai residents have a deeprooted tradition ofvisitingthe City God Temple during festivals. Nomatter howmodern Shanghai becomes，the temple remains the most bustling place every Lantern Festival.Asa child during New Year celebrations，my greatest anticipation was waking up to adultssaying，\"Don'teattoo much breakfast today\"Thismeant it wasthatspecialannualdaywhen familieswouldtaketheirchildren to the City God Temple for food and fun.In childhood，themeasure of any place'sworth was simple： didithavedelicioustreatsand exciting things to do？

Therowofsnackstallsin frontof theCity God Temple alongwith the streetperformancesnearthefood stands，created a magical wonderland in children's eyes-it was the \"Disneyland\"of our generation.If childhood memoriesof visiting the City God Temple had a flavor，for me， it would first and foremost be the tasteofosmanthus-flavoredsweet rice porridge.Going to the temple for a bowl of this fragrant porridge was aregularritual.Beyond that，there werealso“shuangdang\"（wheatgluten and tofu skin wraps），chicken and duck blood soup，youdunzi （deep-fried radishcakes），andcountlessother delicacies whosenamesl can no longer recall.

Next to the food stallswereall sorts ofstreet performances，allowingus to snackwhile being entertained. Artisans speaking various regional dialects each had their own marvelous tricks.There were monkey trainers，peepshowoperators， diabolo jugglers，as well as slingshot masters and top spinners （the spinning top was known locally as “jiangutou\"or\"cheapbones\"）.The craftsmenalsosoldbambooleaf blow pipes-when you blew into them，the front would magically extend astonishingly long.In children'seyes，thesewonders seemed likepuremagic.We'd stand transfixed，utterly captivated， completely unwilling to move on.

Both inside and outside the City God Temple complex，it served asShanghai'smost famous distribution hub forsmall commodities.Thrifty Shanghai housewiveswould come here whenever theyneeded various buttonsof different shapesand colors，alength ofelasticora zipper，a replacement cork stopper forathermos，ora new handle for a traditionalbedwarmer （tangpozi）. Thesetrivialyetessential items"thatcouldn'tbeeasilyfoundor matched elsewhere could almost alwaysbesourced fromthesmall shops surrounding the City God Temple.

During my elementary school days I was fond of drawing and carving patterns，often making solo trips to the paper-cutting shops in the City God Temple to buydecorative stencils.After completing my errands，Iwould wander every corner of the temple complex. My regular route began at the southern gate on Fangbang Road， wound through the entirearea untilexitingat thenorthern gate on Fuyou Road，only to re-enter through another northern gate and circleback to the southern exit.l once knew City God Temple's every nookand crannywith the intimate familiarity of walking through my own home's doorway.

After graduating from high school， I left Shanghai for rural Zhejiang as part of the“Down to the Countryside\"movement.Following mytime there，lwasrecruited for factory work，pursued further studies，andeventuallybecame auniversity faculty member.It wasn't until 1986，after completing mypostgraduatestudies，that lreturned to Shanghai to work at Tongji University.Throughout those sixteen intervening years， whenever lvisited Shanghai during family trips，lwould always make time to wander through City God Temple ifpossible.

Yetthe foodestablishments remained.Iwould sit down to savor a bowl of Ningbo tangyuan （glutinous rice dumplings） or order a serving of Nanxiang xiaolongbao （soup dumplings）.Before leaving， I'd always buy several packs of the City God Temple's pear syrup candiesorspicedbroadbeansto sharewithcolleaguesand friends backelsewhere.These treats weren't necessarilyabout being delicious - much like buying chocolatesassouvenirswhen traveling abroad today. Revisiting childhood flavorsin my hometown wasnostalgia distilled into taste. Distributing these local specialties in other cities，too，was nothing but theflavorofhomesickness.