Engraved with the characters 市路界 (shi lu jie, city road boundary), this merestone later became part of the wall built around Shanghai in 1912. During the French Concession (1849–1943), the Municipal Bureau implemented a series of such civil regulations through which the public and private spheres, as well as modern life, were clearly defined.

Source: Photos in this essay were taken by Yanbo Li, unless otherwise noted.