An old photo taken in the early days of the Republic of China recently caused Internet buzz on Weibo.
The photo shows the scene of Xiaguan District in Nanjing, which seems to represent Shanghai though.
The photo shows urban scenery in the early 20th century. In the middle is a wide road with a lot of pedestrians, among which men wear robe and hat and women wear cheongsam. Facing the camera are rickshaws pulled by drivers with passengers. Several rickshaw drivers are waiting for passengers at both sides of the road. In the photo also stand western buildings. We can read “Jinling Hotel”, “Dingzhou Bank”, “Dadong”, “private bank” and “men and women” from the signs. Under the roof of a building is hanging a clock.
A lot of netizens guessed that the scene represented coastal cities which were open to the outside world in early days, such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Qingdao and Tianjin. But in fact, the photo was taken in Nanjing, presenting the Main Road in Xiaguan District. Most buildings have been pulled downed. Only the western tower building, once the Jiangsu Postal Administration, in the back of the photo remains. This building is the most important evidence for us to conclude that this photo was taken at Nanjing Main Road.
The Main Road, built in 1895 and broadened in 1907, is an important road connecting Yifeng Gate and Xiaguan District, according to the History of Jinling compiled in the Qing Dynasty.
The Main Road is located by the river bank in consideration of city construction. It was damaged in several wars. The Japanese army ruined almost all buildings here in 1937, except the Jiangsu Postal Administration. This most prosperous financial street has never recovered since then, according to sources.
