Virtual Shanghai

Shanghai Urban Space in Time

Editor: Christian Henriot (IAO - Lyon 2 University)

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Source Maps

Map Narratives

eAtlas

Base Maps

The Institut d’Asie Orientale has collected a large number of maps of Shanghai in the course of a research project on the history of the city in the 19th-20th centuries.¹ The collection includes original maps, photographic reproductions, slides and sometimes even Xerox copies. Altogether, a hundred maps are deposited in the map collection of the institute. Since Shanghai maps are scattered among many collections all over the world, we have engaged in a systematic digitizing of maps that we can make available to scholars and students through this database. Whenever possible, the current location of each original is indicated. The online version of our maps does not permit reproduction except for the maps that are copyright-free or that we own. For access to high-resolution map files, please contact us (contact: virtualshanghai@ish-lyon.cnrs.fr).

The second and more advanced level of the map database is the collection of georeferenced maps of Shanghai. We have selected a sample of historical maps for complete georeferencing in order to make full use of GIS technology in historical research. The present sample covers the period from 1855 to 2003 with approximate intervals of 25-30 years. Apart from the general maps of Shanghai, a systematic effort is being undertaken to digitize and georeference detailed cartographic surveys made in the 1930s, 1940s and 1980s. To know about our georectified maps, you need to select "georectified" in "Search" (all fields).

The third level presents an application of GIS technology on which the present project relies. In the course of the present project, we have been carrying out a survey of the major buildings of the city in 1939-1940. New additions will be made over time. Presently, the 1,400-odd buildings are presented with minimal data (name, dates of construction and destruction, usage). We plan to use this database for research in historical geography. Beyond this project, numerous applications related to space and territories will be implemented. The powerful GIS tool made available through our platform will allow users to create their own maps or produce maps fit to their own needs.

Our site has no intention to infringe upon the rights of the institutions that own the original maps presented here. Applications for reproducing the maps should be addressed to the relevant institutions. All these maps, however, are available for consultation at the library of the Institut d’Asie Orientale.

1 See Henriot, Christian & Zheng Zu’an, Atlas de Shanghai. Espace et représentation de 1849 à nos jours, Paris, CNRS-éditions, 1999.

Page modified on 09 October 2006