Source 1 Liangyou Huabao Issue 88 (1934) Such is Shanghai (Photo collage)

Source 1 Liangyou Huabao Issue 88 (1934) Such is Shanghai (Photo collage)

Modernity in Shanghai

This collage of Shanghai residents and buildings depicts a city built on commerce; leisure activities such as the Lyceum theatre and amateur dramatics society, founded in 1930 are present alongside shopping malls and estate agents. Allusions to modern western fashion, illustrated by a secretary’s legs and short skirt are accompanied by an image of the Bank of China, the nation’s reserve bank created in 1928. As such, Shanghai, at the time the fifth largest city in the world, is presented as a modern capitalist mecca, set to rival its European counterparts like Paris.

Anon

Liangyou Huabao (The Young Companion)

1934