The Central Hotel Shanghai, Huangpu District, Shanghai (City & Municipality), P.R. China. Located in shopping and business district and adjacent to the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall, Nanjing Road is the main shopping street of Shanghai, China, and is one of the world's busiest shopping streets. Today's Nanjing Road comprises two sections, Nanjing Road East and Nanjing Road West. In some contexts, "Nanjing Road" refers only to what was pre-1945 Nanjing Road, today's Nanjing Road East, which is largely pedestrianised. Prior to 1949, the road's English name was rendered "Nanking Road" using the standard romanization of the time. Nanjing Road is located in the city center, running in a west-east direction. Its eastern section is in Huangpu District and extends from The Bund west to People's Square. The western section begins at People's Square and continues westward towards Jing'an District. The entirety of Nanjing Road has been a centre of commerce in Shanghai for more than a century.