Old-time Shanghai has romantic connotations, most often seen in books, dramas and movies about the period.

An ongoing exhibition of old Shanghai brings together more than 200 works from the collections of 14 museums around the city, at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.

The exhibition is held to commemorate the 26th anniversary of Shanghai being named by the State Council as a national historical and cultural city.

Shanghai is the birthplace of many industries and the exhibition shows off the development of the city since its inception as a commercial port in 1843.

The exhibits provide an overview of Shanghai's municipal and industrial development.

Perhaps the most eye-catching piece in the collection is a painting of The Bund, in the early 20th century, by an unnamed painter.

Other highlights include the city's former Chunghwa Post white-capped mailbox, an old Shanghai-Nanjing railway timetable, a Ford Model A from the 1930s, and women's garments from the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

lixinzhu@chinadaily.com.cn

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