Yan'an Road
Yan'an Road (; Shanghainese: Yi'ue Lu) is a road in Shanghai, a major east–west thoroughfare through the centre of the city. The modern Yan'an Road is in three sections, reflecting three connected streets which existed pre-1945: Avenue Edward VII, Avenue Foch and the Great Western Road. The streets were joined together under a common name by the Republic of China government in 1945, then renamed in the early 1950s after the Chinese Communist Party took over Shanghai. The road is named after Yan'an, the Communist base during the Chinese Civil War. East Yan'an Road East Yan'an Road stretches from the southern end of the Bund in the east to Xizang Road (near People's Square and the customary centre of urban Shanghai) in the west. Yan'an Road East follows the course of an ancient canal, the West Yangjing Bang (the East Yangjing Bang was on the east side of the Huangpu River; the two were more closely connected when the Huangpu River was a small tributary of the larger Suzhou Creek). The Yangjing Bang (also Yang-ching-pang and Yang-king-pang) was the boundary between the British Concession (later part of the Shanghai International Settlement) to the north, and the Shanghai French Concession in the south. It was also close to the walled Chinese city. The mix of nationalities in this area gave rise to the Chinese name "Yangjing Bang English" for Chinese Pidgin English. In 1914–15, authorities in the two concessions co-operated to fill in the Yangjing Bang. The former canal along with the two narrow roads which ran alongside it together became a wide avenue and a major thoroughfare. In 1916, the two authorities agreed to name the new road "Avenue Edward VII", after Edward VII of the United Kingdom. In 1943, as part of a wholesale renaming of "Western" road names in Shanghai, the puppet government collaborating with the Japanese occupation renamed the road "Great Shanghai Road". In 1945, the Republic of China government, after recovering Shanghai at the end of World War II, renamed the road Zhongzheng Road East, after Chiang Kai-shek. The new Communist government of Shanghai renamed it Yan'an Road East in 1950 as part of the wholesale renaming of roads and parks named after Kuomintang figures. The eastern end of Yan'an Road East features a group of historic skyscrapers dating from the early 20th century. Further west, the road is today mainly lined with large contemporary skyscrapers, as well as several government office buildings. Other important historic sites along Yan'an Road East include the Shanghai Natural History Museum, the Great World entertainment centre, and the Shanghai Concert Hall. Central Yan'an Road Central Yan'an Road also follows the course of a small canal (Chang Bang). The canal also became the boundary between the International Settlement and the French Concession after the two concessions expanded west in 1899 and 1914 respectively. In 1920, the canal was filled in, and the concession authorities agreed to name it "Avenue Foch", after French marshal Ferdinand Foch. In 1943 it was renamed "Luoyang