In the alleyways, the cries of street vendors could be heard, offering services like umbrella repair, bowl mending, and collecting recyclable goods.
"There is a popular saying from the old era of material scarcity in Shanghai: 'New for three years, old for three years, and patched up for another three years.' When something at home broke, people would never throw it away," says Li.
Over the past decades, Shanghai residents' incomes have experienced an impressive leap, reflecting the profound impact of the country's reform and opening-up, and globalization efforts.
According to the Shanghai municipal government, the per capita disposable income of Shanghai residents reached 88,366 yuan ($12,320) in 2024. In contrast, according to the Shanghai Statistical Yearbook, the average annual wage of workers in the city was 873 yuan in 1980, which made frugality a must.
Weng Sishi, director of the Huangpu district archives, says that in the late 1970s, roughly 60 percent of Shanghai residents lived in Shikumen houses (typical Shanghai-style, two-story lane residences that mix the Chinese and the Western elements; and were largely built before the 1940s), which featured a compact layout and rational use of space, and were usually quite crowded.
She notes that today, as urban renewal projects developed, many Shikumen buildings were preserved. During the urban redevelopment process, the archives provided historical information, such as significant events or notable individuals that were associated with a particular neighborhood, thereby adding cultural value to the redevelopment projects.
According to data from the city's housing authority, there are approximately 2.5 million square meters of Shikumen buildings still remaining, with about 60,000 families residing in them. Meanwhile, Shanghai's permanent population approaches 25 million, indicating that an increasing number of residents have moved into newly constructed apartments.
"The book stands as a testament to the city's enduring spirit of openness, innovation, and inclusiveness, offering valuable insights for future urban development and preservation efforts," says Weng.
Wang Rugang, a custodian of traditional Shanghai comedy, says this book awakened many fragments of his memories. "When reading this book, many people's old memories will surface and they will piece them together to re-create a vibrant tableau of life in Shanghai," he says.
"I saw in the book a mutual journey between the people and the city. The people love the city, and the city provides them with an increasingly better quality of life in return."
