Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai is impressive as a fast-paced metropolis with its glass and steel skyscrapers sprouting up all over the city. However, harmony between the old buildings and newer additions is being stressed in the city's urban planning vision.
For visitors strolling around the universities scattered in Yangpu District, they will come across an array of buildings from early last century that exude a nostalgic charm for old Shanghai.
The district government has pledged to protect 25 groups of old buildings within its boundaries. Among them are four groups of buildings located at Shanghai Science and Technology University, Fudan University, Shanghai Institute of Physical Education and Tongji University, according to the district's Administration Office of Cultural Heritage.
The now-defunct University of Shanghai was founded in the early 20th century. It has preserved its campus architecture after a period of turbulent history.
The university existed between 1906 and 1952 and was an influential high-education institute founded by the Northern and Southern Baptists of America in China. After 1952, the various schools from the university were merged with others, Fudan and Jiao Tong universities among them.
Its site is currently the home to the Shanghai Science and Technology University and it still retains an atmosphere of a Western university.
Standing in front of those old buildings, one will be impressed by their delicate architectural styles that share the same essence as vintage European cathedrals.
The use of steel window frames for the buildings was a revolution in modern architecture in the city at the time. Some 30 buildings on the campus were constructed before 1948, built with bricks and reinforced with the concrete frames of various heights.
Among them, the Instrument Building and Auditorium were declared as "Outstanding Modern Architectures of Shanghai" by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government in 1994.
For gothic-style institutional architecture, one just has to look at Fudan University's Mathematics Building. Erected in 1926, it is a three-story wood and brick structure. It sports a light gray painted facade and an semi-circular balcony supported by four pillars at the south-facing front of the building.
Xianghui hall, another famous two-story building on the campus, was inaugurated in 1921. However, it was seriously damaged by Japanese bombs during the Japanese occupation (1937-1945) of the city.
With the help of alumni's fund-raising activities for the university's expansion in 1946, the restoration of the building was completed one year later.
With its gray-tiled roof, red windows and white walls, the structure is where most of lectures and activities are held.
In 1929, the "Great Shanghai Plan," the city's first overall development scheme, was issued by the then Kuomintang government. Wujiaochang area was to be changed into the city's main administrative area.
With amazing speed, a new town featuring the Shanghai Special Municipal Government Hall, Shanghai Municipal Library and Shanghai Municipal Museum were built in less than 10 years.
However, the Japanese invasion wiped out large parts of the area. The scheme was thus aborted.
The former City Hall is now the faculty office of the Shanghai Institute of Physical Education. The four-story building with its green tiles and red brick is decorated with colorful paintings on the posts and beams and constructed in a traditional Chinese style.
While exploring these old buildings, one will be reminded of history and can enjoy their unique beauty.