The 30-degree angle area at the intersection of Huaihai Middle Road and Tian Ping Road has been transformed and designed to become the best shooting point of Wukang Tower. Every day, 40,000 people pour into Wu Kang Road, where Wukanglou is the "Prince of Yan".
Around the Song Dynasty, people who took photos, took selfies and watched came from all over the country. Some are noisy, crowded and full of energy.
"Why did you come here to punch in?" A girl who took a photo simply replied, "Because I like Shanghai."
Song put the camera on a tripod, waiting to capture the orange light of the sunset and sprinkle it on the Wu Kang Building. The tourist next to him was curious and asked him. They began to talk about photography and the history of Wu Kang Building. Soon after Song returned from studying abroad, he photographed the cultural landscapes of many cities, especially Shanghai.
In the lens, Wukang Building is like a giant ship with a red brick wall and a long porch, which has a history of nearly a hundred years. Feel the charm of the city. Building is a window that can't be bypassed.
No matter Wu Kang Road or Hengfu Scenic Area, or even the whole Shanghai, buildings can be seen, and the block is suitable for sightseeing. It has both international style and oriental charm. This is one reason why a large number of Chinese and foreign tourists like Shanghai.
Tens of thousands of tourists flock to Wu Kang Tower every day, which makes a vivid footnote for the city's "soft power".
"It feels like Shanghai"
"Tilt your head. It doesn't matter. Hold your husband with your left hand. Take it. Do not move. Smile. Smile. Very good. Change your posture. " Liu Ang (pseudonym) issued instructions like a torrent, and the shutter clicked.
Every week, Liu Ang, a wedding photographer, goes to Wu Kang Tower at least two or three times. The guests are both local and out of town. Some of them asked for location shooting, others he recommended. The reason is simple: to look good, to make a movie.
On June 23rd, he photographed Yu (a pseudonym) and his girlfriend. Although tortured by photographers and repeatedly posing, crossing the street, kissing, hugging and holding hands around Wukangta, it was "a bit embarrassing", but the couple always showed a bright smile.
Yu, a 27-year-old native of Heilongjiang, graduated from college six years ago and came to Shanghai with his girlfriend to work hard. As soon as he arrived, he received a notice from Baoyan that he would go back to graduate school for three years. His girlfriend waited for him in Shanghai for three years.
After graduating from graduate school, Yu flew to Shanghai again and is now engaged in the computer industry. His girlfriend works as a nurse in a hospital in Huinan, Pudong where they live.
Yu told reporters that his happiest time was three years in Shanghai with her. Because everyone likes Shanghai, he chose to shoot outdoors. Wukanglou has the feeling of Shanghai. He said that there are many job opportunities in Shanghai, the subway and bus are very convenient when working overtime, and there are 24-hour convenience stores.
I smiled a simple and honest smile, and my small eyes narrowed into a crack. He hopes to take root in Shanghai after marriage and grow old together.
German Peter looked at the entrance of Wu Kang Building with ice cream. The ice cream is almost at the bottom, and there is no intention of leaving.
He came to Shanghai 25 years ago. On summer nights, he said, residents of the Wu Kang Building without air conditioning would get out of bed and sleep on a well-ventilated porch. Peter said with a smile, it's a pity that great changes have taken place in Shanghai in the past 25 years, but he can't leave the image at that time.
This time I came to Wu Kang Building to see the scenery and have a cold drink. Peter feels that he has become a tourist with novel eyes again. In his eyes, this building is very special and has a typical Shanghai style.
Nine times out of ten, people who punch in will come here. Brush Weibo, little red book and circle of friends, and "blockbusters" around Wu Kang Tower often appear. If you don't come to see them, you will regret it. Searching for "Wu Kang Road" and "Wukang Building" on Xiaohongshu APP involves tens of thousands of comments. The most popular "punch-in gesture" is to make an ice cream the main character in the picture, with Wu Kang Tower and Shu Lang skyline exposed behind it.
Mr. Li and his girlfriend came to Shanghai for a one-day trip from Hangzhou on June 2 1, and made a strategy in Xiaohongshu in advance. Wukang Building is famous. Let's see its true colors. After filming Wukangta, I am going to visit the Bund and the old square of 1933.
"I will send a circle of friends." On 2 1, another tourist, Zhang Jieru, said with a smile that she was attracted by the photos on the Internet and took photos with her friends at Wu Kang Tower. Ten days ago, they just finished the college entrance examination.
This road, "catch it to the end"
For most tourists who punch in at Wukangta, taking photos is just the beginning. After taking photos with friends, Zhang Jieru immediately went to an online celebrity shop to buy ice cream, and then visited Soong Ching Ling's former residence.
Wu Kang Tower, built at 1924, is the earliest veranda apartment building in Shanghai. To the south of the ground floor is a straight and transparent porch, which can not only shelter pedestrians from the wind and rain, but also provide a temporary rest place. Many shops along the corridor have become online celebrity shops, such as Laomai Cafe, Cool Mine Handmade Cream, Long Yuan Music Bookstore and Yin Da Bookstore, which greet and send a large number of customers every day.
"I will be satisfied if you stand here and take a picture of you." On the morning of June 2 1, Zhang Jiaming instructed He Jiayao to pose, and the smiling faces of youth and retro architecture matched each other. The four of them have grown up, and specially asked for annual leave from Chengdu to come to Shanghai to play. After filming Wu Kang Tower, they visited Wu Kang Road.
Zhang Jiaming worked out a strategy before he came. "Along the way, from Wu Kanglou to Shanghai Film Actors Troupe, Huang Xing's former residence, Ferguson Lane, Cape Town Apartment, Ba Jin's former residence, to the Bow Tower, we have to catch up."
Strolling along Wu Kang Road, the buttonwood trees on both sides of the road bring coolness, and almost every building is hung with the signboard of "Historical Building", which can be called Shanghai Modern Architecture Museum. "It suddenly became quiet, with the breath of life." He Jiayao walked into the depths of Wu Kang Road and could not help feeling.
This kind of happiness is not hers alone. "Walking here (Wu Kang Road), people who can't write poetry want to write poetry, people who can't paint want to paint, and people who can't sing want to sing. It feels wonderful. " As early as 1933, the Irish playwright Bernard Shaw said this sentence.
Hejiayao also passed the "bow balcony" which was very popular not long ago. Now the bow has been removed long ago, but people who come here can still recognize Grandma Bow. In the morning, grandma came out with an umbrella, trying to have recognized tourists whisper, but it didn't bother too much.
On a larger scale, Hengfu Scenic Area, with a total area of 7.66 square kilometers, receives more tourists from or to Wukanglou every day.
Every day from morning 10, the clerk of Starbucks Wu Kang Road Store watched more and more tourists along the street, and the tourists gradually dispersed until night fell. Tourists from all over the world make this block full of vitality. In mid-June, when she was running a coffee classroom, she met a fellow villager in Yancheng. It feels very kind.
On the afternoon of June 24th, a girl rode all the way from Anfu Road to Wu Kang Building. She said this area is easy to visit. Like Wu Kang Road, Anfu Road is the location where many network celebrities open western restaurants, cafes and second-hand fashion shops, and it has also become a popular punching place in Wenqing in recent years. Some netizens even called Anfu Road-Wu Kang Road "the cosmic center of contemporary civilization".
"There are always surprises"
After eight or nine o'clock every night, the "aborigines" near Wu Kang Building gradually emerge. Compared with tourists who come for "Yan value" during the day, their purpose is very affordable, enjoying the cool, eating and walking.
On the evening of June 23rd, Mr. Men from Shanghai Architectural Planning and Design Company met some friends while walking, and they were chatting together. He just started a new camera and wanted to shoot the Wu Kang Building, but it was too dark to shoot it, which made his friends laugh.
From the architectural point of view, the teacher said that Wu Kang Building is a beautiful European building with more than one style, and some angles are very suitable for shooting. But he also wants to know why Wu Kang Tower suddenly caught fire with so many beautiful buildings in Shanghai.
There are more than 20 "city walking groups" coming. "In this hiking trip, we planned nine scenic spots. The first one is Wu Kang Building. At 8 pm on June 23rd, the organizer explained the history of Wukang Building.
"Programmers have a small circle and want to make more friends, so they join." Teacher Zheng, a member, said that he had joined a reading group in Douban before and built a WeChat group. They have activities such as reading club, city walking and script killing. Some friends in the group came to Shanghai soon, so it is a good choice to learn about Shanghai from Wu Kang Tower.
Han Dong, born in 198 1, was born in Wukanglou. He spent his primary school, middle school and college time here and moved out after getting married. He often goes back to Wukanglou to visit his parents. For him, Wukanglou has a homesickness.
Like many people who have lived in Wu Kang Building since childhood, Han Dong liked to climb to the terrace on the roof when he was a teenager. There, during the Spring Festival, he can overlook the whole Puxi, see the blue sky and watch the fireworks in the distance.
Wu Kang Tower bears a rich history of urban development. Han Dong said that it suddenly became an online celebrity, which is also closely related to the development of the city.
In September 2000, the protective renovation of Wukang Building was completed, and the original appearance of this classic building was re-presented to the world with the concept of retro. With the rectification of telephone poles and the laying of overhead lines, there are no obstacles and obstructions in front of Wukang Building, and there is a spacious skyline.
Han Dong said that in addition, compared with before, the cultural and commercial facilities around Wu Kang Tower are different now. Constantly explore Shanghai culture, attract and serve every citizen.
Xiaohong has a high evaluation in her book. Walking aimlessly on Wu Kang Road, the afternoon sun shines through the gap of buttonwood, and there will always be surprises at the next intersection. This feeling is so good.
People clock in at Wu Kang Tower instead of reading a building, a block and a city.