With Nanjing Road in its north, Shanghai People's Square is located at the very center of Shanghai and is the demarcation point of East Nanjing Road and West Nanjing Road. With Yan'an Gaojia Road in its south, Huangpi North Road in its west and Tibetan Central Road in its east, it is a flourishing place for people to look around.
This area was once the racecourse regarded as the 'No. 1 racecourse Far East' but was destroyed later. In 1949, the People's Avenue was built across the center of the area with the People's Park built on the north side and the People's Square on the south part. By the end of 1993, through a comprehensive reconstruction, it covered an area about 140,000 square meters and has become the largest public square of the city.
After renovation, the new Municipal Government Mansion lies in the center of the northern People's Square, while the Shanghai Museum, which was designed to resemble a Chinese cooking pot, is located to its south. Flanked on both sides by 17-meter-wide green belts, People's Avenue goes across the center of the square. At the northwest corner sits the Shanghai Grand Theater which is a colossal construction made almost entirely from glass which is balanced by the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall in the east and in the northeast side lies the subway station. Along the south side of the People's Avenue, there are several large underground structures, including Hong Kong Famous Brands Street and Dimei Shopping Center, the largest underground city transformer substation of Asia and the largest underground parking garage of Shanghai.
The central plaza, with an area of 3.844 square meters, is located in the south side of the People's Avenue. Two small squares sit on both sides of the central square. The easterly one is Xuri Square (the Rising Sun Square) while the southern one is Mingyue Square (the Light Moon Square). In the center of the central plaza lies the circular musical fountain (320 square meters). The red, yellow and blue glassy sidesteps of the fountain provides a colorful aura which is beautiful and spectacular. The fountain is surrounded by four purple cupreous parterres while the center of the fountain highlights the territory of the city. On each of the four entry steps stand embossments showing traditional culture traits.
People's Avenue, a 600 meter long, 32 meter wide pavement, crosses People's Square with a 5.5-meter-wide greenbelt and 6.5-meter-wide non-motor vehicle lanes on both sides of the avenue. The total greenbelt of People's Square is about 80,000 square meters and extends gradually in all directions from the circular fountain.
A blue and white dovecot can be seen in the southwest side of the People's Square. Every day visitors will see thousands of doves which provide a peaceful and matronly atmosphere there. Moreover, the square is one of the city's important transportation hubs, so there are loads of jumping-off stops of public traffic routs around it. Visitors can get there easily.