Nanjing Road is Shanghai's main shopping street, famously named one of the World's Seven Great Roads in the 1930s and now making a rapid comeback after decades of Maoist austerity. The road stretches from The Bund east towards Hongqiao, with Shanghai's centerpoint People's Square in the middle.
It is the most important commercial street in Shanghai, with hundreds of shops, many with a rich history. Nanjing Road is the world's longest shopping district, around 6 km long, and attracts over 1 million visitors daily. As a rough generalization, Nanjing East Road is more historical but these days a little downmarket, while Nanjing West Road is brash, modern and caters more to the status-conscious luxury shopper.
