The transformation of shopping

A look at how department stores in the city have changed over the years, from small- and medium-sized business to mega malls.

Women dressed in elegant qipao and high-heels with dainty bags in their hands stand in front of a green and white livery tram along Shanghai's Nanjing Road, colorful neon signs flickering in the background.

But nothing in this scene is actually real. The women are cardboard figures. The tram is a replica. The scene is actually set above ground and indoors, within a chic new space called Lane 100 that is located on the seventh floor of No 1 Shopping Center on East Nanjing Road, a well-known shopping area in the country.

"It's thrilling to see popular necessities from the 1900s here, including enamel mugs, old-school Chinese postman's bikes and manual sewing machines," said Ke Xiaojie, a Shanghai resident in her 50s.

"I also love the brick and mortar shikumen-style wall design, and how the tunes of Shanghai Nights (a classic song of old Shanghai) are being played in the background, calling back my childhood memories."

Dedicated to the exhibition of nostalgic goods, Lane 100 is just one of the new offerings in the mall which was reopened in November after 18 months of renovation. The makeover project saw the old No 1 Shopping Center merge with the former Orient Shopping Center just across Liuhe Street.