New chapter opens on the city's bygone era at Zikawei Library

Credit: Ti Gong

Caption: A poster of the activities.

A batch of reading activities will be rolled out in Zikawei Library, Xuhui District, through 2024, which will serve as a window for people to explore the city in a different way.

A list of activities was released over the weekend at the library. On a monthly basis, experts and teachers of Shanghai's annals of local history will deliver lectures focusing on various aspects of the city based on historical accounts and materials.

Topics will include coffee cafe history, parks and museums, where Shanghainese watched films in a bygone era, the stories behind Shanghai's sports venues, the history of local railway stations, and the city's shopping malls.

The first session of the series was held at the library on Saturday with Shanghai's folk customs and traditional ways of celebrating the Lantern Festival shared. These covered temple fairs, nianhuo (Chinese Lunar New Year goods) and must-visit spots during the Spring Festival.

Credit: Ti Gong

Caption: A girl's dragon lantern receives attention.

With vivid narration and colorful pictures, the lecture drew attendees into the fun and boisterous world of Shanghanese celebration of the traditional festival from the 1920s till now.

Annals of local history are deemed as "a local encyclopedia" and embody splendid traditional Chinese culture, said Fang Yunfang, director of the library.

Shanghai conducted two rounds of editing of local annals since the founding of the People's Republic of China. About 300 annals were edited, which faithfully and thoroughly record the development of the city and offer a panoramic picture of its politics, economy, culture and society, said Fang.

As part of the series, citywalk reading events and salons will be held.

People can apply for these activities via the WeChat account of Xuhui Culture and Tourism (徐汇文旅).

After opening on January 1 last year, the 18,650-square-meter library located in the core area of Xujiahui, quickly became one of the most popular cultural venues and a new cultural landmark in the city with loyal readers and tourists.

Zikawei is the transcription of the Shanghai dialect for Xujiahui.