From a club to a venue for people, the Shanghai Culture Square has stories to tell
The iconic Shanghai Culture Square has been there for 70 years as an important venue symbolizing culture and fashion of the city, and now, photo exhibitions and interactive performances are in place to celebrate its amazing history and development.
Located near the intersection of Fuxing Road M. and Shaanxi Road S. in downtown Huangpu District, the space where the Shanghai Culture Square is located was once called the Canidrome, a dog racing club.
Equipped with hotel, restaurants, ballroom, open-air cinema and mini golf course, it was once Shanghai's most popular entertainment center.
The space was renovated into the People's Culture Square in 1952, and an indoor venue with a capacity of 15,000 was built for conferences and performances. The venue was destroyed in an accidental fire in 1969, and was rebuilt the next year.
The People's Culture Square was established in 1952.
In 1992, the culture square became a stock market. Five years later, it was transformed into Shanghai's biggest flower market.
In 2005, the old structures on the culture square were torn down completely, and the brand-new performing arts venue, the Shanghai Culture Square was born in 2011.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the culture square, the venue introduced an interactive performance "Old Object Box" and an immersive theater production "I Can Hear You," beginning this week.
In "Old Object Box," the Shanghai Culture Square staffers turn into non-player characters (NPCs) from different times to interact with players, during which participants are informed of the history and development of the venue.
The culture square became a stock market in 1992.
Old photos of the culture square are also on display on the second floor, bringing visitors back to the old days of the venue.
Known for its musical performances, the Shanghai Culture Square has staged 881 musical performances from 11 countries over the past 11 years, attracting over 1.1 million spectators.
It has also presented eight self-produced Chinese musicals, initiated the Shanghai International Musical Festival, and began a project to cultivate original musicals.
The Shanghai Culture Square staffers turn into non-player characters in "Old Object Box" to interact with visitors.
If you go:
Address: No. 597 Fuxing Road M.
Transport: Metro Line 10; Bus No. 17, 24, 41, 104, 933
Musical singers and the Shanghai Culture Square chorus perform during a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Culture Square.
