People's Square ( zh, 人民广场) is a large

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

in the Huangpu District of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. It is south of

Nanjing Road Nanjing Road (; Shanghainese: ''Noecin Lu'') is a road in Shanghai, the eastern part of which is the main shopping district of Shanghai. It is one of the world's busiest shopping streets, along with Fifth Avenue, Oxford Street, Orchard Road, T ...

(West) and north of Huaihai Road (East). People's Square is the site of Shanghai's municipal government headquarters building and the standard reference point for measurement of distance of almost all highways in the Shanghai municipality is set in the north of the square, near the fountain. Race Couse in Shanghai 1912

History

Prior to 1949 and the establishment of the People's Republic of China, what is now People's Square was a course for

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

owned by the Shanghai Race Club. Gambling and horse racing ceased during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was not permitted to re-commence by the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

government after the war. After the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

, the new

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

government continued the ban and, when the club ran into financial difficulties, took over the grounds and a part of the race course became People's Square, which included a large avenue and spectator stands for use during parades. In the 1990s, major changes were made to the square. The Shanghai Municipal Government was moved here from the former HSBC Building on the Bund, also the

Shanghai Museum The Shanghai Museum is a municipal public museum of ancient Chinese art, situated on the People's Square in the Huangpu District, Shanghai, Huangpu District of Shanghai, China. It is funded by thShanghai Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau Reb ...

was moved here from its previous site in a former office building. More recent additions include the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. Other parts of the race course still remain. The clubhouse buildings became the Shanghai Art Museum, while part of the race track became People's Park, a public park.

Landmarks

Well-known landmarks and tourist attractions surrounding the square include: * Grand Cinema * K11, formerly known as the Hong Kong New World Tower * Municipal government headquarters *

Park Hotel Shanghai Park Hotel (), historically the Shanghai Joint Savings Society Building, is an Art Deco hotel on Nanjing Road, Nanjing West Road, Shanghai, China. It was the tallest building in Asia from its completion in 1934 to 1963. History The Shanghai Jo ...

(tallest building in Asia, 1934–1952) * People's Park * Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World *

Raffles City Shanghai Raffles City Shanghai () is a skyscraper in Shanghai, China, developed by CapitaLand of Singapore. It is 222 m high, has 49 stories and was completed in 2003. Its base contains a shopping mall, with the tower devoted to office space. See also * ...

* Shanghai Grand Theatre *

* Shanghai Art Museum *

Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center () is located on People's Square (Shanghai), People's Square, Shanghai, adjacent to the municipal government building. Overview The Exhibition Center is a six-story building, with two basement levels ...

Shimao International Plaza Shimao International Plaza () is a tall skyscraper of 60 stories in Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is locate ...

Tomorrow Square Tomorrow Square () is the eighth-tallest building in Shanghai, China. It is located in Huangpu District, Puxi, close to People's Square. It is about 285 m (934 ft) tall and has 63 floors. This multi-purpose building contains a 342-r ...

* Madame Tussauds Shanghai The

is in a prominent central position in the square, with large fountains immediately to the north.

Transportation

The

Shanghai Metro The Shanghai Metro (; Shanghainese: ''Zaon6he5 Di6thiq7'') is a rapid transit system in Shanghai, operating urban and suburban transit services to 14 of its 16 List of township-level divisions of Shanghai, municipal districts and to the neighb ...

's People's Square Subway Station is an interchange among the subway's Line 1, Line 2, and Line 8. Several bus stops also ring the north and south sides of the square.

References

External links

Apr. 2007Sept. 2007Oct. 2007Jan. 2008

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

videos {{Coord, 31.229564, N, 121.47438, E, display=title Squares in Shanghai Tourist attractions in Shanghai Huangpu District, Shanghai