Last Thursday, shoppers at Hua Lian, one of the best-known department stores on Nanjing Road, were surprised to find a new name over the entrance - Wing On, as it was in the pre-communist era.
Inside, the decor has been restored to the European style that existed in the 1930s, including iron balustrades, balconies, window boxes and a roof garden.
Founded in 1918 by the Guo (Kwok) family of Xiangshan county, Guangdong, Wing On was the second of the 'big four' modern department stores in pre-war Shanghai. Sincere opened in 1917, Sun Sun in 1925, and The Sun in 1936.
Wing On helped to introduce modern shopping to China, with novelties such as pretty female staff, fashion and beauty pageants, performances by famous singers, gift contests and product exhibitions.
The Guos had already opened their Wing On department store in Hong Kong, in 1907, and it remains one of the best-known retailers in the city.
Guo Linshuang, general manager of the Shanghai store from 1933, planned to leave at the time of the communist takeover, but could not abandon the family business. In January 1956, the state took over the property and in 1966 renamed it the East is Red department store. Guo died in Shanghai in 1974. In 1985, the store's ownership passed to a city company named Hua Lian, which has become the biggest commercial conglomerate in Shanghai.