The Shanghai Municipal History Museum is well-worth a visit and is situated just below the Oriental Pearl Tower.

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7740.jpg

It has quite a variety of exhibits showcasing Shanghai's history. First, some historic vehicles.

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7747.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7748.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7750.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7752.jpg

Quite big banners along yesterday's streets.

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7744.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7753.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7767.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7766.jpg

The old buses could even fit a 3rd class.

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7775.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7776.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7781.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7789.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7791.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7755.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7762.jpg

There are also plenty of life-sized exhibits showing the different Shanghainese trades.

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7799.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7806.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7811.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7815.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7814.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7820.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7828.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7827.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7822.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7834.jpg

The West has arrived in Shanghai!

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7835.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7845.jpg

A French sign marking the French Concession boundary.

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7839.jpg

Notice even the street name in the French Concession was ... French.

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7848.jpg

Another bounday stone for the Americans.

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7842.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7849.jpg

Opium imported by the British would prove disastrous for China.

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7854.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7860.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7868.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7878.jpg

Who want to visit the brothel?

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7872.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7884.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7885.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7891.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7892.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7899.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7898.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7902.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7907.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7914.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7922.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai/20091227/IMG_7926.jpg

Full Set : http://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai.htm

Part 1 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1148257
Part 2 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1150273
Part 3 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1152105
Part 4 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1154009
Part 5 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1156735

Intresting history, prostitutes, foreigners, and snobby rich people everywhere, nothing has changed!

Intresting history, prostitutes, foreigners, and snobby rich people everywhere, nothing has changed!

Lih

A part of the 20's and 30's charm has certainly disappeared. And somehow I get the feeling that the prostitutes of the old were more classy. I can't imagine anyone offering "special massage, 200 kuai" in the colonial days.

Lih

A part of the 20's and 30's charm has certainly disappeared. And somehow I get the feeling that the prostitutes of the old were more classy. I can't imagine anyone offering "special massage, 200 kuai" in the colonial days.

Haha I love your romanticism. Only the classy ones get remembered in history. If anything the lower class prostitutes were a lot shadier and dirty than they are today. And I'm sure there are very classy ones today as well.

The only reason why everything seems so romantic and classy back then is because of the 30 years of Communism and 20 years of poverty (1980's to 2000). I'm sure if hypothetically (God forbid) China collapses in say 2030, people in 2070 would surely look back at the 2010's and 2020's, romanticizing about how glamorous and classy "Old Shanghai of the early 21st century" was, remembering only the expat lifestyle, Huaihai road, West Nanjing road, Pudong, LV and Gucci flagship stores, celebrity appearances, etc. and forget the gritty, impoverished migrant workers, etc.

People forget that the charm was only a minuscule part of Old Shanghai, with the majority of the population living in bone-wrenching poverty that is visible only in the shabbiest districts today. New Shanghai has outclassed Old Shanghai in almost every way including classiness, charm, number and variety of expats, etc.

A lot of the architecture is still here, so it won't be too hard to re-live the old world charm. Many other Asian cities are not that fortunate.

People forget that the charm was only a minuscule part of Old Shanghai, with the majority of the population living in bone-wrenching poverty that is visible only in the shabbiest districts today. New Shanghai has outclassed Old Shanghai in almost every way including classiness, charm, number and variety of expats, etc.

Yep. If you measure it with absolutes, such as income, lifespan, literacy, crime rates, etc., old Shanghai was definitely worse in every aspect. Like Victorian London. Despite the romantic picture, the place was a cesspool.

However, it's the little things of that particular time and place that I find appealing. Something in the way of thinking and the culture of pre-revolution China and Shanghai. I wouldn't actually want to live in the Paris of 1900 either, but there are reasons why la belle époque is called that.

In a sense as China is developing (rapidly) some of the little things are being left behind. It's all about fancy corporate brands these days the unglamorous things the ordinary people care about are being forgotten. West Nanjing road is already alien to the old residents living in state accommodation.