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Intro

Sometimes, reading maps can be a really interesting experience, because we often discover surprising things that we might not have noticed before. Take this building, for example—I found it quite unexpected. When I started trying to figure out what it was, I realised it was really worth sharing. So, in this short video, let’s talk about this building in old Shanghai.

Greater Shanghai Plan

The story starts from a city plan. The Greater Shanghai Plan was a new urban development initiative launched in 1929. The reason why the government at the time decided to move forward with this project was likely because the old government offices were located quite far from the downtown area, which in the 1920s centered around the foreign concessions. In addition, the traditional Chinese district—also known as the Old City of Shanghai—was not large enough and had become increasingly overcrowded.

To address this, the government aimed to select a new area as an expansion zone for the city. This new district was probably expected to strike a balance between the Chinese residential area and the foreign concessions. At the same time, it was envisioned as the future center of China's national development and a global commercial center, in line with the vision of Sun Yat-sen.

The New City Center

The new city center was likely designed to function as a satellite city, helping Shanghai accommodate its growing population. The plan was divided into three stages. In the first stage, the new Shanghai Government Building would serve as the central landmark, surrounded by a complex of buildings. These buildings were intended to be arranged in the shape of the stylized Chinese character '中' (zhong), meaning 'center.'

The second and third stages focused on building additional roads to improve transportation and make commuting more convenient within the new city center. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of World War II and the Chinese Civil War, the Greater Shanghai Plan could not be fully completed. As a result, buildings like the Government Building became part of history—remnants of an ambitious but unfinished vision.

Nowadays

But the fortunate thing is that although the plan didn’t finish, Shanghai is still a bustling city. Nowadays the area that was once planned in the shape of the Chinese character '中' as part of the Greater Shanghai Plan is now part of the Shanghai University of Sport. So the Government Building, the blocks of the new city center of this plan have been historical buildings and areas and in addition, they also get their new function today.

But these buildings are now part of history. So where is the actual Government Building today? In fact, it is also a new building in a new plan. In 1995, the government moved to the new building near People’s Square in Shanghai, relocating from the Bund. By the way, the building near the Bund was once the headquarters of the Shanghai Municipal Council, making it an important historical landmark that is over 100 years old. Additionally, the site of the People’s Square and the new government building is rich in history, as it was once the Shanghai Racecourse (跑马厅; 跑馬廳), where the famous Shanghai Race Club was located from 1862.