Maps

Historic maps

1524

Ming-era Jiaqing reign map of Shanghai, before the construction of the city wall (1524).

1550s

Ming-era map of Shanghai just before the construction of the city wall (1550s), digitally colorized.

1814

Map of Shanghai County 上海县城图 (1814), reprinted in the western-published Shanghai Miscellany (1850).

1848

Detail of Plan de la ville et du port de Changhaï (1848), showing the northern half of the walled city (north on the right). C. Maybon and J. Fredet, Histoire de la Concession française de Shanghai (1929). 

1853

Map "Shanghai and its suburbs about 1853". G. Lanning and S. Couling, History of Shanghai (1921).
Detail of the map "Shanghai and its suburbs about 1853", G. Lanning and S. Couling, History of Shanghai (1921).

1855

Detail of the map "Shanghai in 1855", showing the location of foreign missions in the walled city (1855). F. L. Hawks Pott, A Short History of Shanghai (1928).

1860s

Qing-era Tongzhi reign map of Shanghai County 清同治年间上晒县城图 (1860s), digitally colorized to show the wall, moat and inner city creeks.

1865

Map of the walled city of Shanghai (1865). Gallica.

1866

Detail of the map of Shanghai harbor (1866), showing the northern part of the walled city. 

1870

Map of Shanghai 上海洋城全图 (1870), with north and south reversed. Virtual Shanghai.
Hydrographic and Battalion Map of Shanghai County 上海縣水道營汛圖 (1870), with north and south reversed. sinica.edu.

1874

Plan of the Ningbo Guild property, northwest of Shanghai County, outside the walls (1874). North is on the left. North-China Herald. 

1884

Map of the walled city and creeks (1884), digitally colorized. Original at Library of Congress.

1898

New plan of Chinese City, published in 1898.

1900s

上海縣城廂租界全圖, Taiwan Reading Digital Atlas (http://sinica.edu.tw).

1909

Map of Shanghai County (1909). Gallica.

1912

Map of streets and police posts in Shanghai County 上海城内道路警岗图 (1912). Virtual Shanghai.

1913

Map of Shanghai old city and its creeks. 新测上海地图 (1913). Commercial Press 商务印书馆.

1915

Mock bird's eye view of the northeastern section of the Chinese City (Nantao District). New Commercial Plan of Shanghai (1915). UWM Libraries.

1917

Map of Chinese City and Nanshi District 上海县城及南市分图 (1917). Commercial Press 商务印书馆

1921

Map of Dongjiadu (Chinese Bund) in Nantao District (1921). Shanghai Library.

1923

Detail of Plan of Shanghai (1923). Library of Congress.

1928

Map of the former walled city; detail (1928). Source forgotten.

1932

Newest Map of Shanghai 最新上海地图, detail (1932). UWM Libraries.

1939

Native City map 城内图, with street names in Shanghainese dialect (1939), from Shanghai Street Directory 上海市行号路图录. Virtual Shanghai.

1946

Detail of Public Transportation Map 上海市街道线图 (1946).
Plan of Shanghai's Walled City, from 1947 Shanghai Commercial Atlas 上海市行號路圖錄). To download this map in hi-res follow this link to Google Drive (25 Mb).

Aerial maps

1927

Aerial map of the former walled city (1927). Virtual Shanghai.

1939

Aerial map of Shanghai's old city (1939), showing the damage from the onset of the Japanese occupation. Osaka University, digitized by Virtual Shanghai.

1948

Aerial map of Shanghai's old city (1948). Tianditu. Download this map in hi-res (31 Mb) at Google Drive or Internet Archive.

1979

Aerial map of Shanghai's old city (1979). Tianditu. To download this map in hi-res follow this link to Google Drive (28 Mb).

Interpretive maps

Diagram showing the disappearance of historic housing between the 1980s and the 2000s. Yongjie Sha et al., Shanghai Urbanism at the Medium Scale (2014). Link

2005

Map composited from the Preservation guidelines for the historical and cultural district of Shanghai old town 上海市老城厢历史文化风貌区保护规划 (2005), with buildings color-coded according to their historic value. More info. Download the map here.

2020

Map of Shanghai old town (2020) showing historic areas undergoing demolition and facing it in the near future. More info.
Puzzle with a map of Jinjiafang 金家坊, showing the overlap of historic and modern features (2018). 世纪朵云