Great World

Great World (大世界, Dàshìjiè) is an amusement hall at the corner of Xizang South Road and Yan’an Road. It was built in 1917 and took its present form in 1928. Since a restoration reported in 2016, it has been a venue for intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and performances.

English Wikipedia says the businessman Huang Chujiu (黄楚九) founded it and gives 14 July 1917 as the opening date. It was rebuilt in 1928, in an eclectic style with a central tower. The complex has three four-storey buildings and two annexes. Chinese Wikipedia names Zhou Huinan (周惠南) as the architect of the first-generation park.

In the 1920s and 1930s it held amusement arcades, parlour games, variety shows and regional opera. English Wikipedia lists twelve distorting mirrors imported from the Netherlands. A 2016 report in The Paper (澎湃新闻) says twelve historic funhouse mirrors were kept in the restoration, and ten of them are said to be over a century old.

On 14 August 1937, during the Battle of Shanghai, bombs fell in front of the building. Both Wikipedia articles say about two thousand people were killed or injured; English Wikipedia also notes another source that gives 950 dead.

After 1949 it was renamed People’s Amusement Arcade (人民游乐场). It regained its old name in 1958. In 1974 the site became the Shanghai Youth Palace (上海市青年宫), and on 25 January 1981 it reopened as the Great World Entertainment Centre (大世界游乐中心). It closed in 2003. Chinese Wikipedia says that was for renovation, in May.

The restored building began a trial operation on 28 December 2016, with an official opening planned for March 2017. The Paper’s 2016 report described a non-profit centre of about 16,800 square metres on four floors with 12 exhibition halls, focused on intangible cultural heritage, with exhibitions, performances, skills classes and heritage food. Chinese Wikipedia lists it as a Shanghai municipal cultural relic protection unit, designated on 25 September 1989.

The 2016 report said ticket prices had not been set. Check hours and prices before going.