East Jinling Road, an ancient road with a history of 160 years, is no stranger to old Shanghainese. At present, an urban development plan is underway to regain its glory.

Completed in 1860 in Shanghai, the road has witnessed the rise and fall of this city for one and a half centuries. Although the road now is not as luxurious as before, it was once called “the French Boulevard” as one of the “Four Commercial Streets” in Shanghai back in the 1990s, joined by East Nanjing Road, Middle Huaihai Road and North Sichuan Road.

The boulevard is home to the most intensive arcade style buildings, infused with Southern Chinese charm. Under the porches of the houses were lived the childhoods of the old Shanghainese.

A large-scale urban renovation

(The layout of Shanghai’s old city area)

The transformation of East Jinling Road will proceed in three stages. The first stage – transferring the land on the Yuyuan Road subway station – has already been completed, and the second one – expropriating five plots south of East Jinling Road – has almost been completed.

The lands reclaimed this time are part of the third-stage plan. Blocks 64, 67, 70 and 72, located along Ninghai Road, Zhejiang Road, Jinling East Road and Matsushita Road, cover an area of more than 25 thousand square meters.

The three stages include the relocation of ten pieces of land, involving an area of over 70 thousand square meters, which is quite rare in a downtown area. No wonder the transformation is recognized as being at an “epic-level”.

In addition, the lands sold in the first two stages are favored by quite a lot of real estate groups including Wharf Holdings Limited. Hence, it’s expected that once the lands are up for sale, the bottom price will probably be over RMB 20 billion.

Preservation of unique characteristics

(A rendering of arcade buildings after redevelopment)

Stretching several kilometers long, the 10 blocks along East Jinling Road are lined with many historic buildings, including Yu Garden which attracts more than 30 million tourists every year because of its unique historical features and beauty. Therefore, the overall future planning will focus on the protective development of the architectural style of the old city area.

For instance, in the block around Yuyuan subway station on Metro Line 14 a landmark office building will be built while retaining the Jinling Road arcade and a large number of historical buildings, so as to integrate modernity with an historical content.

(The arcade buildings on East Jinling Road)

In the future, this area will cover all facilities concerning commerce, residence, business, hotel, culture and so on. It could even be comparable to the Xujiahui Center and the Greenland Bund Center after completion. At the same time, the style of the arcade will be preserved and become another charming "historic fashion block" in Shanghai. Perhaps this reshaping of the area has reshaped your expectations and excited a future visit.