Specialty Streets in Shanghai(1)
On Sunday,when we were on a tour in the Hongqiao Economic Development Zone,we saw many cheerful people walk by with flowers or pet birds.Later we were told there is a large flower market nearby.We decided to go and have a look at it.
The flower market is at 1778 Hongqiao Road in the upscale Gubei residential area.At the beginning of the market is a colorfully-adorned archway in ancient Chinese style. We ran into the general manager of the flower market,Xiao Yun,who volunteered to be our tour guide.Xiao told us that the Gubei flower market is the largest in Shanghai,with about 20,000 square meters of business area.In the 3,000-square-meter indoor bazaar,there are 250 florist outlets.
It is not merely a flower market.Besides a wide spectrum of flowers,we saw pet birds,handicrafts,antiques and furniture of Ming-and Qing Dynasty.
The layout of the market looks unique.Artisans were called in from Anji of Zhejiang Province,the known "home of bamboo,to decorate the market with five bamboo houses and more than 1oo bamboo stands.They are not pleasant looking,but also fit the showcasing of flowers.The flower market in Gubei opened four months ago.Word of mouth has brought a large number of customers to it.
Fuzhou Road Cultural Street
Traffic: No 1 Subway People's Square stop, public buses 17, 49, 123, 66
A century ago, many bookstores and stationery shop were found on Fuzhou Road, which has ever since enjoyed the reputatio of a cultural street.
Now, about 30 bookstores and stationery shops have opened here, like China Science Bookstore, Shanghai Bookstore, Bookstore of Foreign Languages, and Ancient Bookstore. At the end of 1998, the 27-story Shanghai Book City was built and opened for business. There are many statiionery shops and publishing house business department here. The street has become a cultural street known in the whole country.
Huaihai Road-Elegant Commercial and Cultural Street
Traffic: No.1 Subway Huangpi Road Stop and Shaanxi Road Stop and Public Buses 42,926,24,126 and 911
Huaihai Road and Nanjing Road are both tourist and shopping streets.Huaihai Road was formerly named Avenue Joffre.The 6 km-long street is a bustling but elegant street and can be compared to Ave. des Champs Elysees in Paris,the Fifth Avenue in New York,the Ginza in Tokyo,Wujie Road in Singapore.There are over 400 modernized shops on the most prosperous section of Huaihai Road,that's a 2.2 km-long commercial street from Shaanxi Road to Xizang Road.
Huaihai Road, with shops mainly selling high and medium grades things ,are well known for its elegance. The street is dotted with a number of large shops like the Huating Esetan, the Paris Spring and the Shanghai No.2 Yongxin Department Store. There are also other shops which sell special goods or commodities with famous brands. Huaihai Road is popularly known as "The street of fashions and dresses."
Nanjing Road -- China's No.1 Shopping Street
Traffic: No 1 Subway People's Square stop, public buses 20, 22, 37, 42, 49, 145 and 135
The 5.5-km long Nanjing Road is the most bustling and prosperous street in Shanghai and famed as . It was first built in 1851. Formerly it was a country path in the fields running east-westward from the Bund to Henan Road. In 1853 the Fuli company was opened here. In 1851, 14 firms like the Watson, Lao Company was opened here.
In 1851, 14 firms like the Waston, Lao Deji Pharmacy and others and 9 cotton and woollen fabrics store were set up. Along with the development of the city and the import of large quantities of foreign merchandise commerce, on Nanjing Road was rapidly developing.
Hundres of big stores and famous shops were opened one after another. With the opening of five department stores, Wing On, Sincere, Sun Sun, Dai Sun and China Chinese Goods, the colourful and brightly lit Nanjing Road became the most bustling commercial street in Shanghai and in the whole country.
After liberation, it has been totally remoulded and the newly rearranged Nanjing Road has become the centre of Shanghai's busy downtown.
Here, one will find hundreds of modernised malls, famous old-brand stores and special product shops. It has become the largest collecting and distributing centre of retail goods and an information centre. The every-day visitor flow here reaches over a million person/times.
At night, lights glitter in blazing colours, especially at weekends, it becomes a pedestrian walkway for shopping and sightseeing. Nanjing Road, with its magnificent building, shops standing in rows upon rows, bustling street scene and brilliant night view, is worth of its reputation as China's No 1 Shopping Street .
On Oct. 1, 1999, China's No 1 Shoppings Street will be opened as a 24_hour pedestrian walkway extending from Henan Road to Xizang Road has adopted an unsymmetrical design.
On the northern side of the straight road there is a continuous golden belt , collecting artistic sketches, flower-beds and bus-waiting stands, forming a number of movie-like picturesque scenes under the sun light. The commercial layout on Nanjing Road will be rearranged.
There will no longer be a thousand shops with the same face. Shanghai No 1 Department Store, Hualian Commercial Building, and New World Department Store will keep their characteristics of department stores, while the other shops will be turned into one shop, one commodity . At the same time, facilities for catering, leisure and recreation will be increased to make Nanjing Road a pedestrians walkway graceful in the eastern section, special in the middle section and prosperous in the western section .
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