Vintage scene drivers#
Vintage scene series#

Local residents write down their stories about the historical bus route at the terminal station.īy the 1990s, Shanghai had the largest electric trolley bus system in Asia with 22 routes and about 1,000 electric buses with stand-up wire poles.

'Where there was a new community, there came a new bus line.' The public bus network has been expanding since then with the massive construction of workers' communities which are far away from the old town to accommodate the rising working class, Xue Liyong, a senior researcher with the Shanghai History Museum, explained. The 6-kilometer-long tram line operated between the temple and the Bund. in March 1908 to cater to rising travel demand under the city's rapid expansion that could no longer be met by rickshaws and wagons. The route originated from the city's first tram line, opened by the British Electric Traction Co.

20 route, for instance, passes local landmarks such as the Jing'an Temple, Nanjing Road and the Bund, which carry a host of memories for generations of local people.' 'Buses are important carriers of a city's culture,' noted Ye Luxin, deputy general manager of Bashi No. 20 bus conductor, dressed like a traditional newspaper boy, serves passengers at a bus stop. 20 bus is a 'bold try' to highlight the profound humanitarian and cultural features of Shanghai's public transport system, while improving services for both passengers and bus drivers.Ī No.

The city's road transport bureau launched an online poll about four old-style Shanghai bus exterior paintings or coatings and most netizens chose the current one, an official with the bureau said. The buses are also wheelchair-friendly with many barrier-free designs and facilities. Other high-tech gadgets such as a brake alarm system, high-definition panoramic cameras and driver's monitoring system have been installed to ensure safety. These new-energy buses are actually mainly driven by durable batteries. Some conductors, dressed like newspaper delivery boys in the early 1930s with canvas jackets and hats, serve passengers at the terminus.Īs a highlight, two stand-up wire poles to connect the buses with the overhead cables, once a common scene on local streets, have been retained, more like a nostalgic ornament. Inside the buses, LED bulbs create an ambience of both the prosperous nightlife in Shanghai and the city's technological flavor. 20 route run between Zhongshan Park and the Bund.

Vintage scene drivers#

'Almost every passenger is taking photos throughout their journey, as if they have come for the bus rather than actually for a ride,' said a bus driver surnamed Yang, who was among the first batch of drivers for the vintage buses, which were unveiled on Saturday. 20 route, which runs between Zhongshan Park and the Bund, features the Art Deco-style blue and white coating resembling the early-style Shanghai's tram buses dating back to 1908 in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In a latest nostalgic rush, some vintage buses in downtown Shanghai have been packed during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in a retrospective ride reviewing the city's glorious century-old public transport development.

Vintage scene series#

Television series adapted from literary works about early last century Shanghai are predominant, while the classic song 'Night Time in Shanghai' by famous local singer Zhou Xuan (Chow Hsuan) in the 1940s is often played on local radio programs. Nostalgic vibes are ubiquitous in the city from well-preserved colonial architectures to Baroque-style decorations, from popular western restaurants to vintage coffee houses. Reminiscing about of Shanghai's old days has always been popular with locals even in a city that opened its port not more than two centuries ago.