Today, Shanghai has an extensive public transport system, largely based on buses, trolley buses, taxis, and a rapidly expanding metro system. Shanghai has invested heavily in public transportation before and after the 2010 World Expo, including the construction of the Hongqiao Transportation Hub of high-speed rail, air, metro and bus routes.
However, the beginnings of the local traffic system were strikingly different…
1.From the mid 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century the basic vehicles on the streets of Shanghai were carriages.
2.The first carriages which were firstly introduced from Europe in 1850 were western style and only the wealthy or respectable could afford them.
3.The one – wheel riskshaw drawn by a man came from the northern China. The inner iron wheel was sturdy and durable, and capable of load-bearing. It cost only a few pennies and was suitable for both the old and the young.
This picture was taken at the beginning of 20th century.
5. Rickshaw prevailed in the 1920s and 1930s.
They offered an affordable and convenient means of getting around.Popular among the rich and poor alike, rickshaws were ideal for short journeys through crowded inner-city streets and alleys. Besides from passengers, rickshaws also carried goods, manure and even cadavers. Commuters used it to get to work, take children to school or attend social gatherings. Rickshaws could last for at least five years with regular maintenance. However, the purchase cost was high, amounting to at least a year’s salary of a rickshaw puller in 1917. In an attempt to cut costs, rickshaws began to be produced locally in 1921, but the product proved inferior compared with the Japanese-made ones.
7.In the early years of the Republic of China, the improved jinrick-shaws were painted yellow and picked up passengers on the streets – they got the name Huangbaoche.
Till 1940s, the number of registered Huangbaoche in Shanghai developed as well as the trishaws which were equipped with chains and spinning steel balls, and compared with Huangabaoche, they were apparently much more advanced.
8.The best vehicle for carrying heavy things such as firewood, coal and iron was tiger couch wagon. It had two pneumatic tyres.It needed pushing and pulling to make it move, mostly seen in the place for docking barges in a pier.
9.On 5 March, 1908, the first tramcar introduced by British businessmen began to run in public concession, which symbolized that the transport with modern civilization features began its times in Shanghai.
Following the tramcars, other advanced vehicles such as buses and trolleybuses also appeared and greatly facilitated Shanghai citizens’ lives.
10.Private cars, motors, trishaws, jinrick-shaws and pedestrians were moving at the same time on a street of concession, on which tramcars and buses could drive. There were no traffic rules. Even a flock of sheep could boldly cross the street.
