The time-honored brands Cai Tong De Tang, Shaowansheng and Zhang Xiao Quan dotted along Nanjing Road East. Photos: Sun Shuangjie/GT and CFP

Nanjing Road East station is the last station west of the Huangpu River on metro Line 2 that stretches from west to east through the heart of the city. Just as the Pudong New Area represents the recent economic boom of the ever-changing city, the west bank is known as the cradle of Shanghai culture.

Nanjing Road East has witnessed the city's cultural and commercial sectors blossom over the past century and continues to thrive today.

By the end of 2005, the Ministry of Commerce had recognized 286 enterprises in the city as China Time-Honored Brands, and 61 of them boast histories of more than 100 years, according to Shanghai's Youth Daily.

Within walking distance of the Nanjing Road East station, there are a number of such time-honored brands that have survived amid fierce competition and are still doing enviably good business.

Local snacks

Walking out of the metro station from exit 4, you will see opposite you across the pedestrian street the eye-catching façade of Shaowansheng Food Store (414 Nanjing Road East, 6322-4443).

Set up in 1852 by a Zhejiang family, the food store is popular with locals for its preserved food made with alcohol and other sauces, such as preserved fish, crab, sea snails, chicken and duck.

Currently, customers can find a wide selection of food in the 200-square-meter store on the pedestrian street, including the store's own products as well as a number of snacks from other famous brands.

Cured pork, preserved fruit, pickled duck feet, as well as candies, cakes and pastries have attracted an endless stream of customers to the store every day.

The staff in the store are mostly Shanghainese women who are familiar with the traditional local methods of preparation, and customers can watch them make peanut crisps on site.

A palace of treasures

Heading west from the food store, you will encounter a vintage-style façade after a few minutes of walking. Established in 1900, Duo Yun Xuan (422 Nanjing Road East, 6322-3410) originally traded in the "four treasures of a Chinese study" (writing brushes, paper, ink and ink stones) as well as folding fans, but later on its business expanded to include artworks, such as paintings and calligraphy scrolls, porcelain, old furniture and other antiques.

The five stories of the large store testify to the vast scale of its business: the first floor is usually the most crowded one, which sells not only the "four treasures of a Chinese study" but also a number of art gifts ranging from fans to seals, porcelain and exquisite iron pots; the second floor showcases ink and wash paintings by modern and contemporary Chinese artists, the prices of which vary from several thousand yuan to several million yuan; the third floor is dedicated to ancient paintings and antiques including old-fashioned smoking pipes, mahjong sets, go boards, as well as tableware; the fourth and fifth floors showcase some large collections of the store, such as wooden screens, furniture, as well as jade sculptures.

Duo Yun Xuan became the first enterprise to set up an auction company on the Chinese mainland in 1992, and has become one of the most important players in the traditional art market. From time to time, the store on Nanjing Road East plays host to themed exhibitions, which are free to the public.

The time-honored brands Cai Tong De Tang, Shaowansheng and Zhang Xiao Quan dotted along Nanjing Road East. Photos: Sun Shuangjie/GT and CFP

TCM care

Continuing westward along the pedestrian street, the impressive ancient-style pharmacy Cai Tong De Tang (450 Nanjing Road East, 6322-1160) will not fail to catch your eyes.

Founded in 1882 by a Zhejiang businessman named Cai Meiqing, the pharmacy became popular with locals for its dedication to authentic traditional Chinese medicinal herbs.

The seven-story store now not only sells TCM herbs but also stocks Western medicine as well as cosmetics and medical equipments. As a designated medical institution, the store also operates a TCM clinic on its fifth and sixth floors.

In recent years, the herbal tonic made by Cai Tong De Tang has become a go-to choice for people who suffer from poor health due to work stress.

The time-honored brands Cai Tong De Tang, Shaowansheng and Zhang Xiao Quan dotted along Nanjing Road East. Photos: Sun Shuangjie/GT and CFP

Winter warmer

It has become a routine to see dozens of people, especially seniors, queue up outside the Zhang Xiao Quan Knives and Scissors General Store (490 Nanjing Road East, 6322-3858) during winter to buy shiny bronze bed-warming pots.

The pot was dubbed tang pozi - a "hot water wife" - by locals and was an indispensable household item for getting through the winter months before the advent of electric blankets or air conditioners. Hot water is poured into the pot through the mouth, the cover is sealed and it is wrapped in a piece of cloth and used as a hot water bottle.

Besides the tang pozi, Zhang Xiao Quan, which boasts a history of over 100 years in Shanghai, offers a wide range of knives and scissors in its compact store, which has made it a must-see on the street for tourists. Here customers can not only find plain-looking culinary knives and scissors, but also some special designs with exquisite decorative carvings, such as cranes, fish and clouds.

The way shop assistants work is also charmingly quaint: above their heads hangs a metal wire, on which the order boards will slide among them, and thus they do not need to walk around in the busy shop.