Cinemas are a very popular form of entertainment for young people today as they seek out the latest adventures in 3-D or 4-D complete with stars, special effects and surround sound. But there still exist in downtown Shanghai some of the city's original cinemas which continue to attract audiences just as they have been doing for 80 years or more. They might not be packing in audiences for every screening but they survive and are treasured by their patrons and anyone keen on the history of the city.

The Zhejiang Cinema has been showing films for more than 80 years. The four-story red-brick building which houses it on Zhejiang Road Middle near the People's Square was designed by the famed Hungarian architect Laszlo Hudec and was first known as the Chekiang Theater. It's easy to walk past this cinema and not know it is there.

With just one screen and a red-velvet auditorium seating around 340, the cinema today is popular with both older and younger Shanghai residents. "The ticket prices are reasonable and occasionally there are prizes for us," said 76-year-old Dong, who attends the cinema with friends every month. "And you can choose whichever seat you want because the cinema is hardly ever full."

For the early morning screenings at the Zhejiang Cinema (between 10 am and 10:30 am), it costs between 10 yuan ($1.63) and 15 yuan a ticket. Even for other times the ticket prices don't go above 50 yuan and students usually pay only 30 yuan. There is no flashy electronic signage here - the day's film titles and screening times are handwritten on a whiteboard at the ticket office.

"The cinema feels just like the cinemas I went to when I was a child. It's nostalgic for me. It's also a good place to find some peace and quiet when you want to get away from it all," said office worker Chen, who works nearby. Last year when the building was reportedly facing demolition, many netizens expressed opposition. Although the building is not listed as a protected example of architecture, authorities have decided to maintain it while undertaking major renovations to its interior.

Not far from the Zhejiang Cinema is another vintage theater. The Xinguang Film Art Center on Ningbo Road, neighboring the busy Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, was originally an art deco building and was called the Strand Theater, but the exterior has been refurbished and the building now includes the cinema, a hotel, a card and mahjong room and a cafe. The cinema premiered the country's first homemade sound film Sing-song Girl Red Peony in March 1931. Since the 1980s, the center has screened classic foreign films.

Its glamorous days are reflected in the posters and photographs that feature on the walls inside. But its audience base today seems to be similar to the Zhejiang Cinema's followers. Ticket office staff said if they don't sell any tickets for a film, they cancel the screening.

On the intersection of Huaihai Road Middle and Maoming Road South stands the Guotai Cinema, originally the Cathay Theater. Now undergoing renovations, it will reopen early in June. The first film screened here was A Free Soul starring Norma Shearer and this flickered into life here on January 1, 1932.