From past to present

By Zhou Yanjie (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-06 16:14

Shanghai's old nongtang (narrow alleyways) have had to make way for new highrises.

In the old days, the Temple of the Town God, tiger stoves (the old-fashioned stoves found in nongtang neighborhoods) and cobblestone roads made Shanghai what it was.

But things have changed a lot since then.

The shikumen or the siheyuan of Beijing have been replaced with high-rise buildings. The tiger stoves have become all sorts of restaurants. And the cobblestone roads have been paved to become major streets.

Senior citizens are surprised to find the younger generations care little for pear sugar or spiced beans. The Ming and Qing (1368-1911) dynastic architecture is vanishing, as are the city's old nongtang (narrow alleyways similar to Beijing's hutong).

Shanghai has undergone two major reconstructions in its history.

The first came with a gentry's fund in the 19th century. The old walls came tumbling down, allowing downtown Shanghai to sprawl.

In the 1990s, the next overhaul began. It was intended to accommodate the city's commercial and population growth, and improve residents' quality of life.

In 2005, the fifth renovation of Yuyuan Garden - a longstanding historical symbol of Shanghai - began. Its completion in 2010 will make Shanghai the city containing one of the most historical and cultural sites in China.

Residents and outsiders view the old town's fading with mixed feelings. They are happy about the new and improved quality of life that comes with modernity but regret to see the sceneries disappear.

Many believe the city's modernization should be infused with the protection of the historical city. Once torn down, these sites and symbols of Shanghai's legacy can never be recovered.

And these are more than cultural treasures; they are the very soul of Shanghai.

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