The Shanghai Exhibition Center, former Sino-Soviet Friendship Building, Shanghai, China
Image details
Contributor:
B.O'Kane / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
2BBNXWTFile size:
57.1 MB (2.6 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
5472 x 3648 px | 46.3 x 30.9 cm | 18.2 x 12.2 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
11 August 2019Location:
Shanghai, ChinaMore information:
The Shanghai Exhibition Center (Chinese: 上海展览中心; pinyin: Shànghǎi Zhǎnlǎn Zhōngxīn) or the Shanghai Exhibition Hall (Chinese: 上海展览馆; pinyin: Shànghǎi Zhǎnlǎn Guǎn; Shanghainese: Zånhae Zuelae Gue) is an exhibition and convention center in central Shanghai. The building was built in 1955 as the Sino-Soviet Friendship Building (Chinese: 中苏友好大厦) to commemorate the alliance between China and the Soviet Union, a name by which many locals still refer to the building. Reflecting its original name, the design draws heavily on Russian and Empire style neoclassical architecture with Stalinist neoclassical innovations. The building is a major landmark in Shanghai. At 93, 000 square meters, it is one of the largest integrated building complexes in central Shanghai by footprint. At 110.4 meters (to the top of spire), it was for decades (1955–1988) the tallest building in Shanghai. Its main frontage, an open quadrangle with an elaborate central tower, faces Yan'an Road, today the main east-west artery across central Shanghai, while its secondary façade, a colonnade, faces West Nanjing Road, one of the premier retail and commercial streets of Shanghai. To pay homage to the Soviet Union, the Communist Party leadership decided in the early 1950s to hold an exhibition in Shanghai in 1955 on the Soviet Union's economic and cultural achievements in the 37 years since the October Revolution. In 1953, the Hardoon Garden site was chosen for the construction of a new building to house this exhibition. The building was designed by Sergey Andreyev, Chen Zhi, Wang Dingzheng and Cai Xianyu. It resembles the main building of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSKhV) in Moscow and the Admiralty in Leningrad. On 4 May 1954 construction on the Sino-Soviet Friendship Building began. The building was completed on 5 March 1955. On 11 May 1968, as a result of the Sino-Soviet split, the building's name was changed to the Shanghai Exhibition Center.