Seventy years ago, Wujiaochang in Yangpu District was a place where many people's dreams were met, a place where a large modern Shanghai center was planned.
In 1929, the "Great Shanghai Plan," the city's first overall development scheme, was issued by the then Kuomintang government. Wujiaochang, home of many famous universities and colleges, was to be changed into the city's main administrative area.
On some old maps, the so-called "Chinese Civic Center" can be found far from the downtown concession area.
With amazing speed, in less than 10 years, a new town featuring City Hall, Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai Library and Shanghai Museum were built. It was an ideal complement to the other hub in the concession area.
However, the war to resist Japan's aggression in the 1930s and 1940s wiped out large parts of the area. The scheme was aborted.
Still some of the buildings survived and are well preserved today.
Standing in front of these old buildings, one feels as though the dreams of people no longer alive have returned.
Designed by famous architect Dong Dayou, the former City Hall was a four-story building with green tiles and red bricks, and colorful paintings on the posts and beams. It was constructed in traditional Chinese style.
A broad stairway leads directly to the auditorium on the second floor. A map of the "city center" and its surrounding areas can still be found in the lobby.
The former core architecture of the area is now the faculty office building of Shanghai Institute of Physical Education.
Also designed by Dong, Shanghai Library and Shanghai Museum both look similar. Construction started in 1934 and was completed two years later.
The two buildings still retain a traditional Chinese feature by emphasizing the gateway towers on top of both buildings despite the introduction of Western styles.
The double-layer roofs are decorated with glazed yellow tiles, long balconies and exquisite stone carvings.
The former library is now Tongji High School's library.
The former museum, located in the Second Military Medical University on Changhai Road, was once the site of the first Chinese Architecture Exhibition.
At that time, the fair attracted a great number of visitors and was regarded as unprecedented in Chinese architecture history.
Also in the university is an airplane-shaped building - originally the headquarters of the then Chinese Aviation Association.
The building looks like an airplane in flight. It has two parts. One is the "nose" and the two "front wings." The three-story building was home to the aviation museum and library.
The other, a two-story building, consisting of the "body" and the "tail," was once the office building of the association. The characters "Chinese Aviation Association" can still be seen inlaid on the "tail" today.