People's Square

For other uses, see People's Square (disambiguation).

People's Square
The southwest corner of People's Square seen from the Urban Planning Museum
Traditional Chinese	人民廣場
Simplified Chinese	人民广场
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Rénmín Guǎngchǎng

The fountain

People's Square is a large public square in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, China. It is south of Nanjing Road (West) and north of Huaihai Road (East). People's Square is the site of Shanghai's municipal government headquarters building and is used as the standard reference point for measurement of distance in the Shanghai municipality.

The Shanghai Racecourse in 1912.

A 1933 map of Shanghai, including the racetrack on left in green.

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 owned by the Shanghai Race Club. After gambling and horse racing were banned by the new Communist government, 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,

• Grand Cinema
• K11, formerly known as the Hong Kong New World Tower
• Municipal government headquarters
• Nanjing Road
• Park Hotel Shanghai (tallest building in Asia, 1934–1952)
• People's Park
• Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World
• Raffles City Shanghai
• Shanghai Grand Theatre
• Shanghai Museum
• Shanghai Art Museum
• Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center
• Shimao International Plaza
• Tomorrow Square

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

Transportation

Main article: People's Square (Shanghai Metro)

The Shanghai Metro'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.

See also

• People's Park

External links

• Apr. 2007 Sept. 2007 Oct. 2007 Jan. 2008 YouTube videos