Was Shanghai Portman Shopian a residential area or a corporate unit before it was built?

Residential area.

Before the construction of the Shanghai Portman Hotel (now known as Shanghai Mall), the site was originally a residential area called Nanjing Road Racecourse. It was built in 1933 and was once the most luxurious international racecourse in Shanghai. However, after 1952, the land was gradually converted into park green space and residential buildings. In the late 1980s, with the accelerated development of Shanghai's urban economic construction, the Nanjing Road Racecourse plot was re-planned for commercial use. In 1988, the Portman Group obtained the development rights of this land and invested in the construction of Shanghai Mall, which included the Portman Hotel, shopping mall, office buildings and other facilities. The project was completed and opened in the early 1990s and became a landmark building in Shanghai at that time.