Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

The year 2018 marks 40 years of reform and development in China (1978–2018). Since then, the reform and opening-up policy, China has earth-shaking changes.  

 

Let’s have a look at this great change through these photos! 

1978 vs 2018

 

1

People gather at the bus station on the central avenue in Guangzhou city, South China’s Guangdong province, May 4, 1976.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

The Zhongshansi Road bus station is seen in Guangzhou city, South China’s Guangdong province, Sept 7, 2018. The road today is twice as wide as the old one 40 years ago.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

2

A view from a window at Beijing Minzu Hotel, shows few high-rise buildings in 1979. 

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

The view today from a window at Beijing Minzu Hotel on Chang’an Avenue is dramatically different, Sept 22, 2018. 

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

 

3

The banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai are fairly undeveloped, seen from a window at the Fairmont Peace Hotel in the spring of 1979. 

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Skyscrapers rise above the Huangpu River, as seen from the rooftop of the Fairmont Peace Hotel, Aug 19, 2018. 

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

4

A woman pushes a child in a cart in Beijing, 1979.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

A child rides a bike and a woman walks two dogs on Damochang Hutong 

in Qianmen, Beijing, Sept 9, 2018. 

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

 

5

Students wait for a school bus in Beijing, 1979.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

 

Students peer at their mobile phones while waiting to cross the road at Dongdaqiao in Beijing’s Chaoyang district, Sept 18, 2018.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

 

6

A street stall is set up in downtown Kaifeng city, Central China’s Henan province, in the 1980s.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

The former street stalls on Sihou Street in Kaifeng city, Central China’s Henan province, are replaced with a commercial plaza, Sept 26, 2018.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

7

Bicycles are used to help move house in Yangzhou city 

in East China’s Jiangsu province in the 1980s.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

A man carries a refrigerator in a three-wheeled scooter on Guoqing Road, Yangzhou city, East China’s Jiangsu province, Sept 22, 2018. 

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

8

Two men play chess on a bench in Shanghai, 1971.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

 

A man carries a refrigerator in a three-wheeled scooter on Guoqing Road, Yangzhou city, East China’s Jiangsu province, Sept 22, 2018. 

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

9

An old fashioned sailboat is seen on the Huangpu River in Shanghai, 1980.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

 

A cruise ship makes its way past the modern skyline on the Huangpu River 

in Shanghai, Aug 14, 2018.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

10

A woman gets a perm in Shanghai, 1980.

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

 

Women get their hair done in a modern hair salon in Shanghai, April 28, 2018. 

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018

Mysterious China in Old Times: 1978 vs 2018