Grand Cinema

Magnificent Art Deco cinema from 1933 on Nanjing Road — heart of Shanghai''s golden age of film

At 216 Nanjing Road West in the heart of Shanghai''s Huangpu district stands the Grand Cinema — one of the finest Art Deco picture houses in Asia. Opened in 1933, it was immediately the most prestigious cinema in the city: more than 2,000 seats, a sweeping facade, and an interior that translated the glamour of Hollywood''s golden age into a Shanghai setting. In the heyday of Chinese cinema during the 1930s and 40s, the Grand Cinema was where the most important films had their premieres, at the centre of Shanghai''s flourishing sound-film industry. The building survived the city''s turbulent 20th century intact and is now protected as a historic monument. It continues to operate as a working cinema, showing both Chinese and international films in an atmosphere that still echoes the interwar era of movie-going.