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The Introduction of Yuyuan Bazaar

Shanghai was already a prosperous city. During 1736-1851, Shanghai had become a hub of north-south transportation and a trade center with flourishing industry and business; merchant capital was very active. Shanghai County seat was growing prosperous and population was increasing.

From 1851-1875, temple all the year round and small snack stalls, stalls of daily necessities and juggling stalls crowded the area in and outside the temple. Later on, more and more petty merchants and peddlers came here to set up stalls.

With the increase of the number of visitors, buildings were constructed for teahouses and restaurants. From then on, the area around the Nine-Zigzag Bridge and Mid-Lake Pavilion became the site for temple fairs and gradually developed into a bazaar; merchant capital was getting more and more active. Thus it was rightly said that the bazaar was the birthplace of capitalism in Shanghai.

Today's City God Temple Bazaar, which is composed of specialty stores selling traditional Chinese arts and crafts, medicine and souvenirs, differs from the large stores in big streets like Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road. The streets in the area are 3.5-4.5 meters wide on the average; they are for pedestrians only. The buildings mostly constructed before 1911, in the late years of the Qing Dynasty, all over 80 years old, are characterized by their ancient Chinese architectural style. There are over a hundred small stores standing side by side, beautifully laid with a large collection of commodities, each with its own unique feature and alive with shoppers, keeping the style of traditional Chinese town streets. The stores are known for dealing in commodities, small, native, special and varied in kinds and specifications. The bazaar is estimated to receive about 100,000 customers every day and 200,000 to 300,000 on holidays. 70 percent of the visitors to Shanghai, foreign or Chinese, come to the bazaar. "Go and have some fun in the City God Temple" has long been a popular saying among the Shanghai people.