"Sometimes neat and tidy boutiques are not the best places to kill time with friends," says Jane Xu, 32, a Shanghai woman who moved to Canada but still likes Wujiang Road. "The street has its unique charm - because of its dirt and crowds, everyone can relax totally. You can eat a lot and talk loudly, it is totally free."
People opposed to the street also have something to say.
"The street is convenient to some people but to me it is too dirty. If it's removed, it's nothing to me," says Meng Hao, 26, a doctor.
Dirty is certainly the word. If you go there at night, you will step onto at least two oily plastic bags, plenty of white lunch boxes and countless barbeque sticks. "Wujiang Road is so close to Nanjing Xi Road," says Liu, the official. "The district government doesn't want a huge gap between these two neighboring roads. There are lots of office buildings in the area, so we need a better shopping and dining environment to match."
With that in mind a newly renovated Wujiang Road western section was officially opened two months ago. What is different now is the new section, called the new Wujiang Road and home to some fancy brands like Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Subway, Levi's, DHC Skincare, Yoshinoya Japanese restaurants and Cefiore frozen yogurt. This new section, full of refurbished houses with huge windows, looks very neat and tidy, but attracts fewer visitors than the old section.
"During dinner time, many people still meet in the old section of Wujiang Road," says Jane Geng, manager of Futian Restaurant, a big and clean restaurant that opened in the new section in June.
Fans of old Wujiang Road are worried their favorite food will also be gone, including dumpling restaurant Xiaoyang Shengjian. Shengjian, or pan-fried dumpling, is a famous Shanghai snack.
"I agree with the reconstruction but I am against cleaning out the restaurants here," says Wang Yao, 28, a businessman. "I like Xiaoyang Shengjian most. I think it's representative of Shanghai."
On one day recently, the queue for the take-away in front of Xiaoyang Shengjian was more than 10 m long by 5 pm. Some were eating on the street. All three floors were crowded and some were waiting for tables.
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Customers queue for the pan-fried dumplings by Xiaoyang Shengjian, one of the most famous Shanghai snacks found on the old Wujiang Road.
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Due to its popularity, the restaurant has become the only one to survive the renovation.
"We are very busy everyday," says Gao Juan, the manager of Xiaoyang Shengjian. "At peak time, the queue extends to the gates of the neighbor restaurant and triggers complaints!
"The cooks and waitresses are so busy they have no time to eat, even to speak a word."
Xiaoyang Shengjian has now agreed to move to the new Wujiang Road and will be neighbor to other restaurants like McDonald's.
Some may not like it but its good location by a subway station means business shouldn't be affected.
"Business has exceeded our expectations," says Xia Ming, from the Yoshinoya Japanese restaurant which opened in the new road just three months ago. "There are about 500 customers per day. Most of them are white-collar workers, and we get couples and families at weekends."
It is not, however, the loss of business that has people worried - it is the loss of a down-to-earth and energetic lifestyle.
(Shanghai Star via China Daily October 1, 2008)
