Great World
The Great World (Chinese: 大世界; pinyin: Dà Shìjìe; Shanghainese: Da Syga) is an amusement arcade and entertainment complex located in Shanghai, China. Built in 1917 on the corner of Avenue Edward VII (now Yan'an Road) and Yu Ya Ching Road (now Middle Xizang Road), it was the first and for a long time the most influential indoor amusement arcade in Shanghai, so much so that it spawned imitations all over China. It had gained a reputation as the “No. 1 Entertainment Venue in the Far East.”[1]
While the traditional style entertainment offered by the Great World today faces great competition from newer forms of entertainment and electronic media, it remains an important tourist attraction popular with visitors to Shanghai from other parts of China.
Such is the influence of Great World, that its Chinese name (Da Shijie) has become the name of a locality in its vicinity, "Dashijie".
It was closed in 2003 due to an outbreak of the
History
The Great World opened on 14 July 1917, the brainchild of Shanghai magnate
On 14 August 1937 it was the site of the Great World bombing, or "Black Saturday", and also the location of where the
After the
Great World was closed following the SARS epidemic in 2003. It was reopened in March 2017.[5]
The basic layout of the complex has remained the same since the 1928 rebuilding. While the entertainment options have been updated over the years (with
Description
In its heyday, Great World's main attractions were vaudeville, various regional forms of traditional Chinese opera, and Chinese folk art forms. It was also famous for the twelve distorting "magic mirrors" imported from the Netherlands in the lobby area.[1]
Writing of his visit in the mid-1930s, Hollywood film director
Now there is theater, music hall, Guinness World Records competition hall, movie hall, video hall, magic world, dancing hall, KTV, tea house and ski field and so on. There is also the new Shanghai flavor snack corridor, restaurant and boutique market and so on. The Shanghai Great World is a playing center with entertainment, performance, viewing, food and sports and so on.
Architecture
The Great World consists of three four-storey buildings and two annexe buildings.[5] The building was built in a simple Vernacular Style, except a tall, Baroque-inspired spire in the centre, which is supported by grand order columns extending to the first floor.
Transportation
Address: 1 Xizang Road, Shanghai
- Shanghai Metro:
- Dashijie Station: Lines 8 and 14
- People's Square Station: Lines 1, 2 and 8
- Shanghai Buses: routes 127, 71, 48, 49, 01, 17, 18, 23, 980 etc.
References
- ^ a b c "Century-old Shanghai Dashijie set to recapture glorious golden days". mobile.shanghaidaily.com. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
- ^ a b "A world of entertainment is revived".
- ^ Sun, Vlasova, Lianggang, Evgenia. "Shanghai 1937 – Where World War II Began". SHANGHAI 1937: WHERE WORLD WAR II BEGAN. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
When did World War II begin? Shanghai 1937: Where World War II Began answers that question in a way most audiences will find surprising. Americans might say December 7, 1941… The day the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For Europeans, it was September 1, 1939… When Nazi Germany invaded Poland. But in China, people will tell you a different date. August 13, 1937.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Bergin, Bob (2017-08-22). "High Aviation Ideals". HistoryNet. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
Although the pilots were ordered not to fly over Shanghai's international settlement, Idzumo was berthed right in front of it. Two 1,100-pound bombs fell on Nanking Road, in a crowded shopping area. One failed to explode, but the other killed 950 Chinese and foreigners...
- ^ a b "Dashijie (The Great World)".
- ^ "Six teeming floors of oriental pleasure - all yours for just 15p". The Independent. December 24, 1996.
- ISBN 978-0471648499.
- "Great World Entertainment Center, Shanghai". Retrieved 18 June 2013.