To the east of the bustling commercial district of Xintiandi, lies Laoximen. If you are just stepping out of the Laoximen metro station where Line 8 and Line 10 converge, the area may not seem any different from any other area in Shanghai. However, just take a turn into Yancheng Road, walk eastwards crossing Zhonghua Road and enter Menghua Street, the world around you starts to seem a little different. Highrise buildings gradually disappear behind you and start to be replaced by rows of shabby shacks and bungalows, and the street narrows the further east you go. You realise that the modern bourgeoisie version of Shanghai you are familiar with is gone. Welcome to the Old City of Shanghai. After China's defeat in the Opium War in 1842, Shanghai opened as a trade port and foreigners were granted the power to build settlements in Shanghai. As a result of this, various foreign concessions were built in and around Shanghai. However, foreigners generally preferred building on land surrounding the Huangpu River and the Suzhou River. Thus, the original Chinese city of Shanghai - located south of the concessions - remains largely in tact. Until the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Old City continued to flourish as one of the major commercial and cultural hubs of the city. Political upheavals during the first 30 years of the People’s Republic were also responsible for the destruction of many religious and cultural buildings in the region. Today’s Old City has lost its former prominence, but its rich historical and cultural heritage has made it a place of nostalgia for many local Shanghainese. The Old City is home to most traditional Chinese attractions in Shanghai, such as the City God Temple (城隍庙) and the Confucius Temple (上海文庙). However, the real charm of the Old City lies in its narrow alleys and old buildings scattered around the region. Hundreds of alleys in the Old City create a vast network, resembling a huge maze. In the maze stands the buildings of the Old City. The architecture in the Old City is an fascinating mix of old and new - you can see ruins of the private gardens that flourished during the last days of Qing Dynasty, generic 6-storey apartment buildings built in the 60’s and 70’s, and also recently built condominiums. This is also due to the large-scale urban renewal and gentrification efforts made by the city government in recent years. Demolitions of old buildings are going on every day and new buildings are being erected on these ruins. Some residents of the older buildings are happy about the demolitions - as they would finally be able to move to new apartments with a lucrative compensation from the government. But what does that mean for the Old City when the old is eventually replaced by the new? [cincopa AkPAHFMfVRLe] This article was written by Richard Lewei Huang. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo credit: Richard Lewei Huang