Are happy days here again?
- Source: Global Times
- [17:10 June 30 2010]
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Big World in 1948. Photo: www.tiexue.net
In keeping with Shanghai's reputation as a business dynamo, Big World has already welcomed a number of retail outlets onto its ground floor, many of which are famous brands from the city's illustrious past including Tong Han Chun Tang, the drugstore founded in 1783 during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) and Xing Hua Lou, a well known chain of restaurants first opened in 1851 selling Cantonese dishes.
But will today's consumers buy into the new Big World? Liu Handong, a 60-year-old security guard was a regular visitor to the venue during the 1960s and 1970s, when it was more commonly known as the Three Six Nine (San Liu Jiu) among locals. This was because the three Chinese charac-ters of the name dashijie contain three, six and nine strokes respectively. "Back then, we always went to the Three Six Nine for a good night out," he recalls. "It was the only place in town you could enjoy such a big choice of things to do. And you could also leave one show whenever you wanted, and drop into watch some other form of entertainment." A fan of acrobatics, Liu said he may consider seeing the new ERA show, but that he hoped the place would retain its original atmosphere. "It's a one of a kind," he added.
According to Cora Wang, a Chinese art management student at the CMU College of America, Big World represents the very epitome of Old Shanghai. "But people today want to be entertained in different ways to our parents and grandparents," she said. "The history and design of the building is a big plus, but they will have to think about how they are going to mix the old with the new." Chinese student Dong Buyuan, however, has already made up his mind about Shanghai's next big thing. "I can just imagine how this place will be run so, no, I won't be visiting. Shanghai is a dynamic city with plenty of entertainment destinations. So if Big World wants to attract more than just sight-seers interested in its past, they are going to have to be very innovative indeed."
