China's premier shopping street, 3.4-mile-long Nanjing Road, it is famously named one of the World's Seven Great Roads in the 1930s. The road stretches from The Bund east towards Hongqiao, with Shanghai's centerpoint People's Square in the middle.

Shanghai became a treaty port after the Opium War (1839-1842),. Nanjing Road was first the British Concession, then the International Settlement. Importing large quantities of foreign goods, it became the earliest shopping street in Shanghai.

Nanjing Road has been restructured, undergoing significant change. For shopping convenience, its eastern end has an all-weather pedestrian arcade. The Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, the car-free central section between People's Park and Henan Zhonglu, is known for its stationery and book stores. One of the largest is the Shanghai Book City which is all Chinese language, or the the Foreign Book Store just down the street which caters to Western tastes. Big traditional stores no longer dominate the market since modern shopping malls, specialty stores, theatres, and international hotels have mushroomed on both sides of the street.

Open-air bars, abstract sculptures, and lingering sounds from street musicians enhance evening strolls. A trackless sightseeing train provides a comfortable tour of the night-transformed pedestrian street. Flashing neon signs illuminate the magnificent buildings and spangle the night skyline of this lively city.

Today Nanjing Road is a must-see metropolitan destination attracting thousands of fashion-seeking shoppers from all over the world.