1930s China through American eyes

Foochow Road, Shanghai, China

The vast city of Shanghai, nearly twice as large as St. Louis or Boston, has many streets which are colorful with the varied activities of Chinese urban life, but probably none more interesting to the foreign visitor than Foochow Road (Fuzhou road). It has been called "the Piccadilly of China," and it is the center of Chinese night life in Shanghai. Most of the buildings which we see are either restaurants or theaters and the tower in the distance, resembling the upper part of a pagoda, belongs, not to a temple, but to one of the popular tea houses. The American Club is housed in an attractive building on this busy thoroughfare.

A walk, or a ride in a rickshaw along Foochow Road, especially at night when the countless electric lights display the scene with dazzling brilliance, is sure to be full of surprises and strange sights for the visitor.

[Photo provided to China Daily/Keystone View Company]