Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street

From a racecourse lane to Shanghai's commercial axis

Nanjing Road began as Park Lane beside the nineteenth-century racecourse. As the settlement expanded westward, the road became the main link between the Bund and the commercial district around today's People's Square. Walking east now reveals that growth in reverse: broad modern retail blocks give way to older shopfronts and finally the stone façades of the Bund.

The western entrance is close to People's Square and makes a clear starting point.

Department stores that changed how Shanghai shopped

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Sincere, Wing On, Sun Sun and Sun Company department stores brought elevators, rooftop entertainment, window displays and fixed-price shopping to the street. Their surviving buildings explain why East Nanjing Road became more than a row of shops: it was a stage for a new urban lifestyle. Wing On's two towers and the corner now occupied by Shanghai Fashion Store are useful visual anchors.

New tenants keep changing the shop windows, while the façades preserve the street's commercial history.

Pair it with the Bund

People's Square → First Department Store → the historic department-store blocks → East Nanjing Road → the Bund forms a continuous city walk. Late afternoon connects the commercial street with the riverfront lights; a daytime walk makes the façades and old signs easier to read. Side streets lead to Fujian Middle Road and the riverside lanes, adding small food shops and quieter views to the main route.