The Past and Present Life at the Corner of Huashan Road and Hengshan Road, 【 Memories of the Sea 】 Xuhui Pacific Group | Store | Xuhui Pacific

One of the landmarks of the Xujiahui commercial district in Shanghai, the Shanghai Pacific Department Store Xuhui store located at the intersection of Huashan Road and Hengshan Road, recently announced that due to the expiration of the cooperation period with the joint venture party this year, it will officially close and terminate operations after the end of business on August 31, 2023.

Meanwhile, another piece of news is that the Xujiahui Aerial Corridor project has connected key commercial entities in the Xujiahui commercial district, including the Zhaojiabang Road Overpass, Huijin Department Store, Sixth Department Store, Meiluo City, T20 Building, Pacific Digital Phase II, Oriental Mall, and Ganghui Henglong Plaza. In the future, the aerial corridor will form a complete aerial stroll loop in the Xujiahui commercial district.

The old department stores standing in the core area of Xujiahui are taking new steps, just as 30 years ago, the second phase of Xujiahui Mall was fully put into construction, and a number of well-known landmark buildings such as Huijin Department Store, Meiluo Building, Meiluo City, Ganghui Square, and Jiahui Square rose up in the future, giving people a stunning look; Just like 45 years ago, the Xujiahui area demonstrated a determined and enterprising spirit when expanding its stores in Shanghai's Sixth Department Store, Hengshan Food Store, Hongwei Cultural Goods Store, New Standard Watch Store, and Detian Restaurant.

Using this street corner as a window to observe the surging commercial trend in Shanghai, it can be seen that the city has always had the ability to self renew.

The store opening advertisement published in local newspapers in 1993

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In 1607, Xu Guangqi, a great scholar and scientist from the Wenyuan Pavilion, returned home with worries and buried his father at the confluence of Puhuitang, Zhaojiabang, and Li Jingjing. Xu Guangqi established a separate farm in the south of Fahua Town and west of Xujiahui, and his descendants also built houses and guarded tombs here. The population at the confluence of the three rivers gradually increased, and it became a market town, henceforth known as "Xujiahui".

In 1847, the Jesuits established a main courtyard, a Catholic church, and a library in Xujiahui. The arrival of Western immigrants has brought space for cultural exchange between China and the West in Xujiahui, covering an area of less than 1.5 square kilometers from today's Yaoqiao Road in the east, to Wending Road in the west, to Xietu Road in the south, and to Hongqiao Road in the north. Emerging schools, hospitals, and other facilities have also been built.

Xujiahui Library

The burial site of Xu Guangqi, identified in the 1817 Songjiang Prefecture Annals - the 28th Baotou plot in Gaochang Township

Portrait of Xu Guangqi

According to the "History of Shanghai City", during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, after the Taiping Army entered Shanghai, the British and French concessions used defense as an excuse to build roads in Xujiahui, named Xujiahui Road. In order to avoid war and chaos, nearby residents flooded into this area to live, and the population surged. Xujiahui gradually formed a market, which was originally called "Xu Town", that is, the old street of Xujiahui Town.

Due to the increase in foot traffic, the number of shops has increased, and the market is becoming increasingly prosperous. In July 1908, the first tram line opened by the French electric light and water company within the French Concession was extended to Xujiahui. In the same year, wealthy merchants built Shikumen houses and shops in Xujiahui, and facilities such as post offices, electric lights, and tap water also emerged one after another. Xuzhen has become a transportation hub connecting Qibao and Sijing. On both sides of the street, the eastern section consists of old-fashioned two-story buildings, while the western section consists of brick and wood tiled bungalows. There are numerous shops and a prosperous market, including Fushun Meat Shop, Caiyun Tea House, Tongxing Restaurant, Tongtai Flour Shop, Huqinji Construction Factory, Shengtai Cotton Shop, etc.

Compared to the more central area at that time, Xujiahui was a typical urban-rural junction, but its good geographical location and convenient transportation continued to prosper. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, a large number of people from the Jianghuai region flowed into the country, forming four villages and one garden, including Nanping Village, Beiping Village, Xinmin New Village, Citizen Village, and Xiaohuayuan.

As can be seen from the 1949 Shanghai City Road Atlas, the location of the Pacific Department Store Xuhui Store in Shanghai was once a residential alley, with houses along the streets of Huashan Road and Hengshan Road, densely packed in a circle, all of which were small businesses such as rice shops, small bookstores, hardware stores, and pharmacies, all with small storefronts. The slightly larger storefronts in the alley include Gongdaxiang Cotton Cloth Shop, Huiquan Pool Bathroom, Private Clinic, Soda Factory, and Tea Factory. This is in line with the description in the data that in 1949, there were over 150 small shops operating daily necessities in Xujiahui, becoming a small commercial area radiating to the surrounding area.

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In the early days of Shanghai's liberation, a group of state-owned grain, daily necessities, oil and other commercial companies and supply and marketing cooperatives gradually emerged in the Xujiahui area. In 1954, Shanghai Sixth Department Store, the largest comprehensive department store with the largest operating area in the district, emerged.

In the spring of 1973, at the corner of Zhongshan South Second Road and Caoxi North Road, which was still part of Longhua People's Commune in Shanghai County at that time, the Shanghai Sports Center project, later known as the "Ten Thousand Sports Hall," was restarted. On June 20, 1975, two years later, Xuhui New Village, designed by renowned architect Xing Tonghe, broke ground and started construction at the intersection of Caoxi North Road and Yude Road in Xuhui District today. It is known as the "Caoxi North Building" or "Nine Buildings". According to the Xuhui District Annals, in 1977, the 11th Department Store in Shanghai, with a business area of over 5000 square meters, was built to support the nine buildings.

After 1978, the Xujiahui area successively expanded its stores such as Shanghai Sixth Department Store, Hengshan Food Store, and Detian Restaurant, renovated Huashan Road Vegetable Market, opened Xuhui Department Store, and a number of professional stores such as knitted underwear and household appliances. Xujiahui has become increasingly lively.

In 1989, in conjunction with the construction of Metro Line 1, 23 shops on Hengshan Road and Huashan Road were demolished, and a batch of shops such as Tianyaoqiao Road Huilian Shopping Mall were built, becoming an extension of Xujiahui's commercial development. By the end of 1990, there were a total of 174 various types of shops in Xujiahui, of which 90 were concentrated on Huashan Road.

In 1992, the construction of the first phase of Xujiahui Mall began. The first phase of the project includes 10 engineering projects, including Dongfang Shopping Mall, Shanghai 600, Huilian Shopping Mall, Daqian Food Forest, West Asia Hotel, Pacific Department Store, Sanjiekou Shopping Mall, Xujiahui Underground Shopping Mall, Caoxi North Road Underground Shopping Mall, and Zhongxing Department Store, which are 10 times larger than the original Xujiahui commercial network.

In 1993, the second phase of the Xujiahui Shopping Mall project was fully put into construction. Buildings such as Huijin Department Store, Meiluo Building, Meiluo City, Ganghui Square, and Jiahui Square rose from the ground, with the Xujiahui Square green space at the intersection of seven streets including Caoxi North Road, Hongqiao Road, Huashan Road, Hengshan Road, Zhaojiabang Road, Tianyaoqiao Road, and Tianping Road as the center. It radiates radially along various streets, reaching Wanping Road and Wanping South Road in the east, Wending Road and Zhongcao Road in the west, Lingling Road and Kaixuan Road in the south, Guangyuan Road and Guangyuan West Road in the north. Famous shops are abundant in the commercial area. Business prosperity.

1949 Huashan Road Hengshan Road Corner 3

On December 19, 1993, Shanghai Pacific Department Store Co., Ltd., with a total construction area of nearly 30000 square meters, officially opened for business.

The street corner at the intersection of Hengshan Road and Huashan Road has changed its appearance. Looking at the era, the rise of this street corner is a microcosm of the flourishing development of the entire Shanghai at that time:

On New Year's Day of this year, the Party Committee and Management Committee of Pudong New Area were established; On January 22 of that year, Comrade Deng Xiaoping celebrated the Spring Festival with people from all walks of life in Shanghai on New Year's Eve and delivered a speech; In May of that year, the first East Asian Games were held in Shanghai with great success and excitement; This year, the southern section of Shanghai Metro Line 1 was put into trial operation, the Yangpu Bridge was completed and opened to traffic, and the Shanghai Combined Sewage Project was completed; In this year, the first Shanghai International Film Festival, the fourth Shanghai International Radio and Music Festival, and other events were held successively, and the first club football team managed by an enterprise in Chinese football, Shanghai Shenhua Football Club, was officially established

Xujiahui has also changed its appearance. In 1995, Xujiahui was listed as one of the "Four Streets and Four Cities" in Shanghai; Since 2000, it has been listed as one of the "six major commercial districts" in the city; By the end of 2005, the total operating area of commercial districts had increased sharply from less than 20000 square meters in 1991 to 500000 square meters; The total annual retail sales of consumer goods have jumped from 400 million yuan in 1991 to 9.898 billion yuan. The functional status of city level business sub centers and public activity centers is increasingly evident.

The tide of 30 years rises and rises, in people it is the year of standing, and at a street corner it is the node of renewal and departure.

Nowadays, as the Shanghai Pacific Department Store's Xuhui store is carrying out promotional activities such as closing and clearance with significant discounts, the background music "Sorry Baby" that used to sound every hour during business hours is once again echoing in the store hall.