As the Central Business District (CBD) of Nanjing, Xinjiekou endlessly pumps life into the city’s economy, and acts as, not only the CBD, but also an important area for political and governmental exchange, as well as entertainment. As many as half a million people pass through Xinjiekou every day, rising to 1 million during peak holiday periods.
新街口作为南京的中央商务区，为南京的经济注入了源源不断的活力，它不仅是CBD，也是重要的政治、政府交往、娱乐场所。每天经过新街口的人流量多达50万人，节假日高峰期则达到100万人。
Nowadays, it is the Nanjing International Finance Centre (1 Hanzhong Lu) that acts as the gateway to Xinjiekou, which then opens up into a homogonised mega mall.
如今，南京国际金融中心（汉中路1号）成为新街口的门户，进而发展成为同质化的大型购物中心。
However, once upon a time, the area was made up of unique European-style architecture, with whole roads specialised in one particular product or service. Hongwu Lu was known as “Financial Street”, Zhongshan Lu as “Walking Street”, Taiping Lu as “Gold Jewelry Street”, Shigu Lu as “Bar Street”, Wangfu Dajie as “Food Street”, Mochou Lu as “Antique Street”, Changjiang Lu as “Culture Street” and so on, while Xinjiekou Square itself was a place of political gatherings and rallies.
然而，曾几何时，该地区由独特的欧洲风格建筑组成，整条道路专门从事一种特定的产品或服务。洪武路被称为“金融街”，中山路被称为“步行街”，太平路被称为“黄金珠宝街”，石鼓路被称为“酒吧街”，王府大街被称为“美食街”，莫愁路被称为“古玩街”，长江路被称为“文化街”等等，而新街口广场本身就是政治集会和集会的场所。
Due to the construction of Metro Line 1 in 2001, Xinjiekou Square was demolished and the bronze statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1996 edition) was relocated; its last before finally settling back onto its podium 9 years later. It boasts an epic tale that, interestingly, began with a Japanese sculptor, named Maktai Hiroshi, and his four casts.
2001年，因地铁一号线建设，新街口广场被拆除，孙中山铜像（1996年版）迁移； 9年后，这是最后一次重回领奖台。有趣的是，它讲述了一个史诗般的故事，始于一位名叫 Maktai Hiroshi 的日本雕塑家和他的四位演员。
Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Bronze Statue
孙中山先生铜像
Makita, from the Sugawara Gold Works in Japan, was commissioned to produce a total of four casts of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. One of these was personally sent to Nanjing by Meiwu Zhuangji in March, 1929, and placed in the Central Military Academy, while the remaining three found their way to the Guangzhou Huangpu Memorial Hall, the Guangzhou Zhongshan University and the Macau Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
日本菅原金工所的牧田先生受委托制作了总共四尊孙中山先生的铸件。其中一件于1929年3月由梅屋庄吉亲自送到南京，安置在中央军事学院，其余三件则分别存放在广州黄埔纪念馆、广州中山大学和澳门中山纪念堂。
During the height of the cultural revolution in 1966, hot debate erupted between the Red Guards who argued over whether the statue was revolutionary or representative of the bourgeois. It was reported that, on 27 August, 1966, Xinjiekou square was crowded with people, while the Red Guards bickered over what to do and a crane stood by ready to remove the statue. Premier Zhou Enlai himself made the decision to protect it and so had it removed to another location. As a result, Nanjing Municipal Party Committee transported the bronze statue, according to Zhou’s instructions, to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.
1966年文化大革命最激烈的时期，红卫兵之间就这座雕像是革命的还是代表资产阶级的问题爆发了激烈的争论。据报道，1966年8月27日，新街口广场挤满了人，红卫兵们争吵不休，一台起重机站在旁边准备拆除雕像。周恩来总理亲自决定保护它，因此将其移至他处。于是，南京市委根据周恩来的指示，将铜像运往中山陵。
Calling for a return of the statue, Nanjing citizens began a heated discussion in 1994 as to whether this should be permitted. So it was to come to be, in 1995, on the 70th anniversary of the death of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, that his bronze statue was finally allowed to return to its spot in the centre of Nanjing. However it would not be the original statue; a new, bigger and taller version had been commissioned and so got to work Dai Guangwen of the Nanjing Sculpture Studio, whose creation was to be 5.75 meters high, weigh 6.2 tons and paid for purely by social donations.
1994年，南京市民要求归还雕像，引发了一场关于是否应该允许归还雕像的激烈讨论。 1995年，孙中山先生逝世70周年之际，孙中山铜像终于被允许回到南京市中心的原址。然而，这不是原来的雕像。一个更大、更高的新版本已经委托制作，于是南京雕塑工作室的戴广文开始创作，他的作品高5.75米，重6.2吨，完全由社会捐款支付。
With construction of the metro underway, once again, the then-recently-built bronze statue was removed and placed in a warehouse on Fujian Lu, to be later moved to a mountain in Jiangbei. At the beginning of 2005, businessman, Tao Peifen, deputy of the Nanjing Municipal People’s Congress, together with deputy secretary of the Xinbai Party Committee both submitted a proposal to “return the bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen to Xinjiekou”, as Xinjiekou had “lost its soul”. Thus, on the evening of 19 May, 2010, the statue was finally placed back onto its podium in the central square of Xinjiekou and was rotated to face south, towards Sun’s birthplace in Guangdong Province.
随着地铁建设的进行，刚刚建成的铜像又被拆除，放在福建路的一个仓库里，后来又搬到了江北的一座山上。 2005年初，商人、南京市人大代表陶佩芬与新百党委副书记共同提出“将孙中山铜像归还新街口”的提案，因为新街口已经“失去了灵魂”。 于是，2010年5月19日晚，雕像最终被放回新街口中心广场的基座上，并转向南面，朝向孙中山的出生地广东省。
Xinjiekou’s 1,500 Years of History
新街口1500年的历史
Ancient remains of wooden piles and scattered porcelain dating back 1,500 years were once unearthed on Huaihai Lu in Xinjiekou. At 5 metres underground, this archaeological site was U-shaped, while excavations also revealed a middle layer comprising a tunnel that proves the rivers in the Xinjiekou area were once criss-crossed.
新街口淮海路曾出土过距今1500年的古木堆遗迹和散落的瓷器。该考古遗址位于地下5米处，呈U形，发掘过程中还发现了一个由隧道组成的中层，证明新街口地区的河流曾经纵横交错。
It was in the Tongzhi Restoration during the Qing Dynasty that Xinjiekou was thus named. As a reference to its narrow streets, “Xinjiekou” may be used to refer to the square itself, or the surrounding area. Before 1928, Xinjiekou was nothing more than a cold block of low houses and narrow streets.
清朝同治维新时期，新街口由此得名。作为其狭窄街道的参考，“新街口”可以用来指广场本身或周边地区。 1928年之前，新街口只不过是一片寒冷的街区，低矮的房屋和狭窄的街道。
It was not until the fall of the last dynasty and the establishment of government in 1929, that the “Capital Plan”, completed in December of that year, outlined proposals to turn Xinjiekou into an area dedicated to trade. It was to be some 7 years later that the sweeping boulevards of Zhongshan Lu would meet with Hanzhong Lu, forming the main plaza at their intersection, becoming the main transport hub for the city.
直到1929年末代王朝灭亡、政府建立后，同年12月完成的“首都计划”才提出将新街口变成一个专门从事贸易的地区的建议。大约7年后，中山路的林荫大道与汉中路交汇，形成了交汇处的主广场，成为城市的主要交通枢纽。
Trade necessitates finance, and so the establishment of major banking operations such as the Bank of China, the Zhejiang Industrial Bank and the Bank of Communications commenced in 1930, to form a banking district to be known as China’s “Wall Street”. Following in the banks’ wake, the Central Shopping Mall, the Dahua Grand Theatre, the Xindu Grand Theatre, the Fuchang Hotel and the Central Daily News were to make up the core of Nanjing.
贸易需要金融，1930年中国银行、浙江兴业银行、交通银行等大型银行相继成立，形成了被誉为中国“华尔街”的银行区。继银行之后，中央商场、大华大剧院、新都大剧院、富昌宾馆、中央日报社等将构成南京的核心。
Xinjiekou’s Buildings & Politics
新街口的建筑与政治
While the Central Shopping Mall opened for business in 1936, it was accompanied by a boycott of foreign goods, instigated by 32 people, including Kuomintang Central Committee members Jing Jiang and Zeng Yangyu. The move aimed to promote domestic products and develop national industry and commerce.
1936年中央商场开业时，伴随着国民党中央委员经江、曾养育等32人发起的抵制洋货运动。此举旨在推广国货，发展民族工商业。
Hence domestic merchants, such as Jingdezhen Porcelain, Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors and Hengdeli Jewelry were attracted to the Central Mall to set up shop. However, after less than 2 years of operation, the central shopping mall was forced to shut its doors due to the 1937 Japanese invasion.
于是，景德镇瓷业、张小泉剪刀、亨得利珠宝等国内客商纷纷来到中央商城开店。然而，开业不到两年，中央商场就因1937年日军入侵而被迫关门。
Worthy of particular note was the Central News Agency, built in 1948 at 75 (formerly 34) Zhongshan Dong Lu, on the northwest corner of the Hongwu Lu and Zhongshan Dong Lu intersection. Designed by architect, Yang Tingbao, the building was a typical example of an early modern high-rise, its seven floors making it tallest building in Nanjing in the 1940s.
特别值得一提的是中央通讯社，建于1948年，位于中山东路75号（原34号），洪武路与中山东路交叉口西北角。 该建筑由建筑师杨廷宝设计，是早期现代高层建筑的典型范例，共有七层，是20世纪40年代南京最高的建筑。
In addition, the Dahua Grand Theatre, built in 1934 and located at 67 Zhongshan Nan Lu, is considered a masterpiece of the Republican era. Also designed by Yang, the theatre, together with the World Grand Theatre (later renamed Yan’an Theatre), the Capital Theatre (later renamed Liberation Cinema) and the Xindu Theatre (later renamed Victory Cinema) were known as the Four Cinemas of the Republic of China. The Dahua Grand Theatre was reopened on 29 May, 2013, after more than 2 years of maintenance and renovation.
此外，位于中山南路67号的大华大剧院建于1934年，被认为是民国时代的杰作。同样由杨先生设计，该剧院与世界大剧院（后更名为延安剧场）、首都剧场（后更名为解放电影院）、新都剧场（后更名为胜利电影院）并称为民国四大电影院。经过两年多的维护和改造，大华大剧院于2013年5月29日重新开放。
Xinjiekou’s Shopping Malls
新街口的购物中心
The Central Shopping Mall was re designated as a State-Owned Enterprise by the Nanjing Municipal Government in early 1964. It being the only large department store in Nanjing at the time, the Central Shopping Mall held a monopoly over the city’s entire consumer market, until the Xinjiekou department store, Xinbai, was established in 1952. Xinbai was the only mall that spent the next 22 years standing side by side the Central Shopping Mall, and causing a sensation when it became the first listed company in Nanjing.
1964年初，中央商场被南京市政府重新划定为国有企业。作为当时南京唯一的大型百货商场，中央商场垄断了整个城市的消费市场，直到1952年新街口新百百货大楼成立。新百是此后22年里唯一一家与中央商场并肩而立的商场，并成为南京第一家上市公司，轰动一时。
Hardly a sidenote, the Jinling Hotel was built on the northwest corner of Xinjiekou Square. Invested by a Singaporean overseas Chinese and Nanjing native, Tao Xinbo, it is 37 stories high and in May, 1983, was the tallest building in China, as well as the country’s first five-star hotel. The hotel remains a major Nanjing landmark today.
毫不夸张地说，金陵饭店建在新街口广场的西北角。 该酒店由新加坡华侨、南京人陶心波投资，高37层，1983年5月建成，是中国最高的建筑，也是中国第一家五星级酒店。如今，该酒店仍然是南京的主要地标。
Next came the building of Nanjing’s Friendship Store in Xinjiekou. Being the first building in Nanjing to use an escalator, it introduced “high-end” and “chic” concepts to Nanjing for the first time.
接下来是位于新街口的南京友谊商店大楼。作为南京第一座使用自动扶梯的建筑，首次将“高端”、“时尚”的概念引入南京。
In 1996, sales volumes of the Friendship Store reached ￥890 million, surpassing the Central Shopping Mall and second only to Xinbai. However, after slowly abandoning the “boutique” characteristics of a high-end department store and offering only low-end civilian styles, the Friendship Store began to decline. Vicious competition also brought about a price war between the three big companies.
1996年，友谊商店销售额达8.9亿元，超过中央商场，仅次于新百。然而，在慢慢放弃了高端百货店的“精品”特征，只提供低端平民风格后，友谊商店开始走下坡路。恶性竞争也带来了三大公司之间的价格战。
Thus began the era of the Golden Eagle International Department Store, which officially opened in 1996. The store, with its Taiwan-funded background, was originally regarded as a “foreign intruder” by industry insiders, yet now it stands as a Nanjing icon in the eyes of locals.
由此开启了金鹰国际百货时代，于1996年正式开业。这家有着台资背景的金鹰国际百货店，原本被业内人士视为“洋入侵者”，如今却成为当地人眼中的南京地标。
Golden Eagle gradually formed its own high-end position, introducing the likes of Estee Lauder, Clinique, Chanel and Givenchy. “Whether it is a Nanjinger or a foreigner, as long as you buy gifts in Nanjing, you will definitely go to Golden Eagle”, a Nanjing financial manager was quoted as saying when he described the status of Golden Eagle in the minds of Nanjing consumers. “It’s very unreasonable for Nanjing people to have a Xinbai or Central Mall receipt in a gift bag”.
金鹰逐渐形成了自己的高端定位，引进了雅诗兰黛、倩碧、香奈儿、纪梵希等品牌。 “无论是南京人还是外国人，只要在南京买礼物，就一定会去金鹰。”一位南京金融经理在描述金鹰在南京消费者心目中的地位时说道。 “对于南京人来说，礼包里放着新百或者中央商城的收据，是很不合理的”。
As more modern malls began opening in other parts of the city, the subsequent decline of Xinjiekou had in fact been predicted as far back as 2005, when the Hong Kong-funded Deji Group spotted the opportunity, snapping up 40,000 square metres in the northeast corner of Xinjiekou. It proceeded to build Deji Plaza in two phases, covering a total floor area of over 200,000 square metres. The plaza also contributed 8 million to the Xinjiekou metro station construction in 2006, to give people easy access to the mall from the station.
随着更多现代化购物中心开始在城市其他地区开业，新街口随后的衰落其实早在2005年就已被预测到，当时港资德基集团看准了机会，抢购了新街口东北角的4万平方米。分两期建设德基广场，总建筑面积逾20万平方米。 2006年，广场还出资800万建设新街口地铁站，方便人们从车站前往商场。
Deji Plaza’s future was secured, and its investment made worthwhile, by a visit from luxury brand Louis Vuitton’s North Asia representative, Philippe Fortunato, in 2007. He found that Deji Plaza, whether it was the environment or the metro line, very much met his requirements, and so he decided to open Nanjing’s first LV store therein. Within 3 years, the 400-square-meter store had monthly sales of ￥15 million, and its sales per square metre were second only to Shanghai, ranking second in mainland China.
2007年，奢侈品牌Louis Vuitton北亚区代表Philippe Fortunato的到访，让德基广场的未来有了保障，投资也物有所值。他发现德基广场无论是环境还是地铁线路都非常符合他的要求，于是他决定在德基广场开设南京第一家LV专卖店。 3年内，400平米的店面月销售额达1500万元，每平米销售额仅次于上海，位居中国大陆第二。
Xinjiekou would not be that which it is today without its record-breaking metro station that is also the intersection of the network’s lines 1 and 2. With a total of no less than 24 exits, exceeding even that of People’s Square Station in Shanghai, there can be surely be no more an efficient transportation hub in China as the metro that lies beneath Nanjing’s iconic and historic Xinjiekou.
如果没有破纪录的地铁1号线和2号线交汇处的新街口站，就不会有今天的新街口。新街口站总共有不少于24个出口，甚至超过了上海人民广场站，在中国，没有比位于南京标志性历史悠久的新街口下方的地铁更高效的交通枢纽了。
