PHOTOS: Japanese Occupation of Shanghai, Then and Now

By That's Shanghai, December 8, 2021

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The Japanese takeover of Shanghai's International Settlement began on December 8, 1941. Here are some photos of the captured areas then and now.

1. Garden Bridge (then) and Waibaidu Bridge (now)

Garden Bridge Japanese Takeover
Japanese Special Naval Landing Force marines drive across Garden Bridge (now Waibaidu Bridge) past Shanghai Mansions (now Broadway Mansions) and onto the Bund on the morning of December 8, 1941.

Waibaidu Bridge today
Waibaidu Bridge today.

2. Park Hotel and Grand Theatre

A Japanese Army band marches up Nanjing Xi Lu past the Park Hotel and the Grand Theatre during a large parade to celebrate their capture of the International Settlement in December 1941
A Japanese Army band marches up Nanjing Xi Lu past the Park Hotel and the Grand Theatre during a large parade to celebrate their capture of the International Settlement in December 1941.

The same area in modern times
The same area in modern times.

3. Shanghai Racecourse (then) and People's Square (now)

Park Hotel Shanghai Japanese invasion
Japanese Type-95 light tanks occupy the streets around the Race Course (now People’s Square) on the morning of December 8, 1941.

Park Hotel in People's Square
That same spot in the 21st century.

4. Nanjing Xi Lu

 Chinese clamor to remove their savings from a branch of Bank of China on Nanjing Xi Lu (next door to Marks & Spencer today) while a Japanese soldier with fixed bayonet stands guard alongside several Shanghai Municipal Police officers
Chinese clamor to remove their savings from a branch of Bank of China on Nanjing Xi Lu (near today's Taikoo Hui) while a Japanese soldier with fixed bayonet stands guard alongside several Shanghai Municipal Police officers.

The same area in 2012
The same area in 2012.

READ MORE: The 1941 Japanese Takeover of the International Settlement

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