An Old Shanghai that is fading away ...
Kau Yan School , Bunting , Clara - 8
I
f you are on a walk around Shanghai , you can see lots of old , western-style buildings which will make you think you ’ re in the middle of a beautiful European city .
But Shanghai has not always been that way . In the south of the city , there is an area known as the Old City , which dates from as far back as the Song Dynasty ( 960-1279AD ). City walls were built in the 16th century to stop Japanese pirates and other invaders from attacking the people who lived there , but the walls were knocked down in 1912 .
When China lost in the Opium War in 1842 , foreigners like the French and British occupied parts of Shanghai and built lots of European buildings , including schools , churches and hospitals , and they even had their own government , laws and police . These were known as foreign concessions .
But the Old City remained under Chinese control . To this day , there are still many old-fashioned Chinese houses built in the distinctive Shanghai “ Shikumen ” ( stone gate ) style , ancient temples and narrow little lanes called Longtang . Amid the Longtang , there are still neighbourhood shops such as tailors , barbers , fruit vendors , roast meat shops , tea shops and street peddlers selling all kinds of things . There are ancient houses where families have lived for generations . Living in an old house like this , every morning you might hear granny street peddlers calling out to sell their goods . You might even hear the happy shouts of little children playing outside and your neighbours playing chess or mah-jong .
I imagine I would have a lot of fun living in an old Shanghai neighbourhood . I would only need to open the doors and find children to play with and have a chat with the elderly shop owners in the Longtang , or stop for a little snack when I am tired . I could play with chicks wandering on the street and with my best friends , we could have such fun playing games like Mikado spiel , marbles , kicking balls , skipping with rubber bands and so on .
Sadly , Old Shanghai ’ s traditional way of life is quickly fading away .
Property developers have been buying up valuable land , demolishing old houses and building tall , gleaming modern tower blocks to make loads of money . Imagine if I were one of those people suddenly forced out of my house in a Longtang , I would be quite devastated because I would miss playing with my friends , the sounds of peddlers calling and the cute little shops . It would not be so nice in a modern building , as I wouldn ’ t bump into my neighbours much and maybe not even know them at all .
If I ever went back to my old neighbourhood and saw my house levelled and rubble everywhere , surrounded by advertisements for luxury apartments , I would feel rather sad . I wouldn ’ t be able to live in the expensive high-rise blocks that were built over my old home , and I would probably have to move far away , where I would know no one .