1941 Large Format Yoshida View of Greater Shanghai, China

An outstanding 1941 / Minguo 30 / Showa 16 bird's-eye view map of 'Greater Shanghai', a massive-scale redevelopment of Shanghai proposed between 1927 and 1945. The view by Yoshida Feng (吉田豐) looks southward on Shanghai from an assumed highpoint above modern day Binjaing Forest Park, near where the Huangpu River empties into the Baoshan Waterway. The original intention of 'Greater Shanghai' was to replace the foreign-run concession zone with a larger spectacular new Chinese-governed city that would act as Shanghai's economic and political hub. In line with these values, Greater Shanghai, appearing in the foreground, presents a well laid out and commodious modern city, with an enormous port, monumental architecture, spacious gardens, and comfortable residential areas. By contract, the foreign concession area, appearing in the distance, seems diminished, small, and crowded.

The Greater Shanghai Plan - 大上海计划

In 1927 the Chinese Nationalist government conceived of a grandiose plan to build a new Shanghai downriver from the Bund and concession areas - called Greater Shanghai (大上海计划). They hoped Greater Shanghai would diminish the significance of the International Settlement and French Concessions in favor of the new fully Chinese-governed city. Their plan for the new city ironically followed the guidelines laid down in British urban planner Ebenezer Howard's 1902 book Garden Cities of Tomorrow and included broad park-lined avenues, enormous plazas, municipal lakes, and more. It also included a new government center, with imposing buildings surrounded by manicured gardens.

The Shanghai-Hengshen Company Development

When the Japanese invaded Shanghai in 1937, they coopted the vision of Greater Shanghai, but put their own stamp on it with a new plan partially derived from the original. This they termed the 'Greater Shanghai Metropolitan Plan' (' 上海大都市计划). Development rights fell to the newly minted Japanese joint-stock company Shanghai-Hengshen Ltd. (上海恒產股份有限公司 / 恒产株式会社). The firm used war plunder to capitalize its development and construction operations. They brought in hundreds of Japanese immigrants to manage the Greater Shanghai construction project, constructing more than 100 garden houses in Wujiaochang (literally 'five corner plaza'), which here appears prominently as a large roundabout at center. Development of the new city proceeded on-and-off throughout the war but ended in 1945, when the Japanese were fully driven from Shanghai. Following the war, governance of the concessions reverted to Chinese authorities, negating the original purpose for Greater Shanghai. Although Shanghai did ultimately expand into these areas, the grand vision was replaced by more organic growth.

Publication History and Census

This view was commissioned by Yan Chuan of Hengsan Ltd. and drawn by the Japanese artist Yoshida Feng (吉田豐). It was printed in Tokyo by the Japanese firm Toppan (凸版印刷株式会社), which still exists. This view is rare. We have been unable to identify any other examples in any collection, public or private. The work does appear in a scarce Chinese-published catalog of views, but we have been unable to trace their source image.