Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street

(Image: chs.meet-in-shanghai.net)

Shanghai’s Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street sets an exemplary model for Asia’s shopping scene. It’s positioned for the middle-end and high-end brands and is visited by both the locals and visitors from other places. The “Big Four” are can’t-misses: the Shanghai No.1 Department Store, Yong’an Company, Shanghai Fashion Company, and the Shanghai First Food Store. The well-established Shanghai No. 1 Department Store stands right in the intersection of Tibet Middle Road and Nanjing East Road. In its previous incarnation as Daxin Company before 1949, the department store was the most illustrious building on Nanjing East Road.

Although today it’s no longer a symbol of chic and trends, it still represents Shanghai’s commercial culture, and it has always been the most famous department store for decades in China. It's quite an experience to cruise through this 1200-meter pedestrian street paved with colored bricks and stones, with pedestrian traffic flowing irresistibly and sightseeing trains trundling through small stalls and boutique shops. This is one of the best places where one can savor up Shanghai’s signature of modern metropolitan style, with the rickshaws, incense shops, and classic cigarette ads being a thing of past. Stroll eastwards from Henan Road to Shanghai’s most celebrated attraction: the Bund, and you feel you are no longer in the 21st century and are transported back in time; you feel you land in Charles Dickens’ London seen only in photos. Narrow streets, tall buildings, grey walls, high ceilings, and pointed roofs - everything has a story to tell. In the glow of the setting sun, the Bund exudes the unique charms of the 30's and 40's of the last century.

Address: East Nanjing Road

Traffic route: Subway Line 2/10(East Nanjing Road Station)