Areas
Xintiandi and Huaihai Road
新天地 / 淮海中路
Restored shikumen lanes at Xintiandi and Tianzifang, the garden houses of Sinan Road, and the shops of Huaihai Middle Road.
Best fornightlifediningshikumen lanes
This area runs along Huaihai Middle Road (淮海中路, Huáihǎi Zhōnglù), east of the Hengfu streets. Its sights are blocks of lane housing that have been restored, rebuilt or turned to new uses, so it is the best place in the city to see the stone-gate houses called shikumen (石库门, shíkùmén).
Three versions of the same houses
Xintiandi is the polished one: a car-free block of restored shikumen houses, now restaurants and shops, with a small museum of lane life in one house. In the same block is the Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Tianzifang, off Taikang Road, is the opposite: narrow lanes of craft shops, cafés and studios where residents still live. Walk it slowly and keep out of doorways.
Sinan Mansions on Sinan Road are garden houses rather than lane houses, now shops, cafés, offices and a hotel, a short walk from Fuxing Park.
To understand what you are looking at, read Shikumen lanes before you go.
Loading map…
Places to see
Site· 1925
Former Site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
大韩民国临时政府旧址Dàhán Mínguó Línshí Zhèngfǔ Jiùzhǐ
A restored three-storey lane house on Madang Road, used 1926-1932 as the office of the Korean Provisional Government and now an exhibition hall.
.jpg){kind=link}
Museum· c. 1920
Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China
中共一大纪念馆Zhōnggòng Yīdà Jìniànguǎn
The Xintiandi houses where the Communist Party of China's first national congress met in July 1921, now a museum with a new exhibition hall opened in 2021.
Shopping district· c. 1900
Middle Huaihai Road Shopping District
淮海中路商圈Huáihǎi Zhōnglù Shāngquān
Middle Huaihai Road, the former Avenue Joffre: a city-level shopping district through the old French Concession.
Museum
Shikumen Open House Museum
屋里厢石库门民居陈列馆Wūlixiāng Shíkùmén Mínjū Chénlièguǎn
A small furnished shikumen house in Xintiandi's North Block showing 1920s-30s Shanghai home life, including a tingzijian attic room.
Lane· c. 1920–1939
Sinan Mansions
思南公馆Sīnán Gōngguǎn
Fifty-one 1920s-30s garden houses on Sinan Road in the former French Concession, restored and reopened in 2010 as shops, cafes, offices and a hotel.
Church· 1996
St. Peter's Church (Chongqing South Road)
圣伯多禄堂Shèng Bóduōlù Táng
A Catholic parish church on Chongqing South Road that began as Aurora University's chapel in 1933 and was rebuilt in 1996; it offers English-language Mass.
Lane
Tianzifang
田子坊Tiánzǐfāng
A Taikang Road shikumen block turned from housing and small factories into a maze of craft shops, cafes and studios, with residents still in the lanes.
Lane· c. 1996–2001
Xintiandi
新天地Xīntiāndì
A car-free district of restored shikumen houses, now restaurants and shops (2001), with a small museum of 1920s-30s Shanghai life in a stone-gate house.
Also nearby
Temple· c. 1924
Fazang Temple
法藏讲寺Fǎzàng Jiǎngsì
Where to stay
Staying in Xintiandi and Huaihai Road
Why stay here
- +Restaurants and bars in walking distance, many open late.
- +Easy to combine with the Hengfu streets of the former French Concession to the west.
- +Several metro lines stop along Huaihai Middle Road.
Downsides
- −Hotels here are mostly upscale.
- −Xintiandi and Tianzifang are crowded in the evenings and at weekends.
Price level¥¥¥¥
Getting to and from
| Pudong Airport | 71 minLines 10 and 2 from Xintiandi(estimate) |
|---|---|
| Hongqiao Airport | 27 minLine 10 from Xintiandi(estimate) |
| Hongqiao Railway Station | 29 minLine 10 from Xintiandi(estimate) |
| Shanghai Railway Station | 15 minLines 13 and 1 from Xintiandi(estimate) |
Where to stay
Hotel recommendations for this area are being checked.
Getting here
Metro linesLine 1Line 8Line 9Line 10Line 13Line 14