ABSTRACT
In the 1990s, Beijing and Shanghai saw the emergence of two prominent east–west axes in their urban plans – Chang’an Avenue and the Yan’an Elevated Road-Century Avenue. Coincident with China’s ascendance and re-making of these two metropolises as global cities, these elements were deemed then as relatively contemporary planning interventions. This chapter discusses the conceptual significance of these two axes and several notable urban-architectural outcomes that were materialized with the definition of these key armatures. Much as they appear to be modern inventions, the east–west axes in Beijing and Shanghai in fact bear inflections of the past.
