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Shanghai’s “Old City” is a four square kilometer section in the south of the metropolis that has yet to succumb to the gentrification and rebuilding which has taken place throughout the rest of the city. This area was the site of the original walled city of the 11th Century and was set-aside as the “Chinese City” when the rest of Shanghai became the base of French and British imperialism in China from the late 19th to mid 20th Centuries.
To walk into this area today is to take a step back in time. In stark contrast to the rest of Shanghai, which in parts could easily be mistaken for London or Tokyo, the old city is a tangled mess of twisting alleyways and dilapidated houses. Still, the area exudes a certain charm and feels more “Chinese” than the rest of the city. Laundry is hung out on telephone wires to dry, children play badminton in the street and everything from live poultry to women’s underwear is sold in impromptu stalls on the side of the road.
If Shanghai represents the direction that China is headed, then the old city may represent the reality of where most of the country remains. While many Shanghai residents have quickly grown accustomed to a more affluent consumer lifestyle, most of the rest of China has seen little of the spoils of this newfound wealth.
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