EDITOR’S Note:

Human development in the past century has been dramatic, but it seems that the faster we go forward, the more we become interested in the past. Minhang, covering 370 square kilometers, is a tiny spot on the map, but it looms large as a bellwether of both change and nostalgia. Shanghai Daily has compiled the stories of Minhang locals to record the history of the district in a new series entitled “Minhang Geographic.” The stories are told in the voices of those sharing their memories. In this installment, old residents in Jiangchuan Town recount the industrial glory of the past.

ALIGHTING at Dongchuan Road Station on Metro Line 5 and walking south along Humin Road, one comes across a copse of camphor trees. This is the birthplace of the Minhang District.

In 1512, this spot was named Minhang Town. Today it’s called Old Minhang despite its location in Jiangchuan Town.

For the better part of 200 years, this area was a hub of commerce and transportation. It hit its peak in the 1950s, when the first major industrial zone of the People’s Republic of China was built here.

The camphor trees were planted as part of the establishment of the zone, and tens of thousands people moved here within an incredibly short period of time.

Amenities followed. According to old stories, it took only 78 days for a whole street of department stores, food shops, clothiers, bookstores, restaurants, hotels, barbershops, photo studios and optical stores to plant themselves here.

The Minhang Hotel was one of the landmarks of the area. Hu Quan, 84, first general manager of the hotel, witnessed the emergence of the street and how it came to play an important role in the industrial zone.

“It was called No. 1 Street,” said Hu, “and was practically all built up by women.”

In fact, construction of the street started before the design was completed, and work was hurried along to finish it in time to be a tribute to the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on October 1, 1959.

“At that time, the men were all working in the factories, so women volunteered to build the street,” said Hu. “They worked day and night. In 78 days, they finished the 550-meter long street, with 37 main buildings on both sides.”

The dramatic shift from agriculture to commerce turned the street into a symbol of the new socialism. People from around the country came to marvel at “socialist modernization.”

“The busiest place on the street was Laozhengxing Restaurant,” said Hu. “It could hold 600 people at a time, and you still needed to make reservations in advance. The most beautiful place was the Women and Children’s Articles Store, which had a big roof garden.”

The Minhang Hotel itself was a hub of activity. The seven-story structure, which opened on the eve of National Day in 1959, was one of the tallest buildings in Minhang at the time.

“In the beginning, the hotel catered only to high-ranking government officials and their foreign guests,” said Hu.

Part of his job as general manager was to accompany guests on a tour of the street and industrial zone.

At the time, China and the Soviet Union were very friendly, and many of the apartment buildings in the area reflected both Chinese and Russian architectural styles, a combination almost unique in Shanghai. The buildings were painted pink or light yellow, and were decorated with hollowed tracery walls.

The itinerary included a stop at a showplace unit in the Dongfeng No. 2 Residential Quarter. It was the home of Liu Cuilin, a worker at the Shanghai Steam Turbine Factory.

“Many guests marveled at the wool blanket on his bed,” said Hu. “Since not many people could afford such a quality blanket, they believed that workers here had the best living conditions of any social class.’”

Many distinguished guests presented gifts to the hotel, which became part of its treasure trove. They included 24 Chinese paintings by artists from the Shanghai China Art Academy, and a boxwood carving depicting the foundation of the industrial zone.

But to common workers, the Minhang Hotel was a luxurious place that they couldn’t afford, even after it was opened to the general public. The workers’ lives revolved around four factories — a steam turbine factory, an electric machinery factory, a boiler factory and a heavy equipment factory. They were nicknamed the “four guardians” of industry in Shanghai.

Mao Shanqi, 78, who arrived in Minhang with his parents in 1953, witnessed the development of the quartet.

“I threw a tantrum on the way to Minhang because it was such a long way from our home in the downtown,” he recalled. “I thought we were moving to a barren hinterland, but how wrong I was!”

In 1958, Mao began an apprenticeship at the electric machinery factory. He was among some 2,000 people recruited to work there that year. He said such a mass hiring was “unprecedented.”

Before residential complexes were built, workers had to live in dormitories, but even those quarters were cramped because of the large recruitment.

“People had weird sense of pride back then to be able to work in such a factory,” said Mao. “So I didn’t complain, but rather I felt proud to wear my factory uniform and insignia pin.”

Workers living in dormitories went back downtown to be with their families over weekends. Mao still remembers the crowds gathered at the factory gate, waiting for shuttle buses to take them downtown.

“The shuttle buses were actually trucks,” he said. “During weekdays they carried freight, but on weekends, seats and a canvas cover turned them into buses.”

After residential areas and No. 1 Street were built, families started to settle in Minhang. The factories established their own schools, nurseries, kindergartens, parks and hospitals.

“It was like a small society,” said Mao. “Everything was provided by the factory, which became our communal home. Those old feelings have remained with many of us old employees.”

The demographics of the industrial zone did present problems. About 70 percent of factory staff were young men, and it was difficult for them to meet women and find a wife. Factory owners worried that unmarried men might not settle in the zone.

“All the girls in the factories were so popular back then,” said Mao. “The factories often organized parties with stores and other institutions on No. 1 Street to bring more women in.”

Half a century later, many of those who settled in the industrial zone still live here. The camphor trees have grown tall, and the “four guardians” have evolved into the Shanghai Electric Group.

No. 1 Street is now called Jiangchuan Road, and it is no longer as busy as it once was. The state-owned Minhang No. 1 Department Store was divided into small shops, and the Laozhengxing Restaurant closed its Jiangchuan branch in 1990s because of poor business.

The Minhang Hotel was later sold to the Jinjiang Group. After a thorough renovation, it reopened as the Jinjiang Metropolo Hotel Minhang, retaining the treasured gift collection of the past.

Though the area has fallen from prominence in terms of commerce and industry, most local residents don’t really care.

“We now have wider and better choices anyway,” said Mao. “When society changes, some things remain and some things are lost forever.”