The former French Concession: a visitor's guide

The short answer. The former French Concession (原法租界, Yuán Fǎzūjiè) is too big to see in a day, so pick one half. The Wukang Road side in the west has the villas, apartment blocks and plane trees most people come for, plus Soong Ching-ling’s house. The Fuxing Park side in the east has the park, Sun Yat-sen’s house and the lane-house blocks of Xintiandi and Tianzifang. Each route below is about 3 km on the map and takes half a day at an easy pace. Go on a weekday morning; at weekends and on holidays the Wukang Road corner is packed. Most buildings are homes or offices: look from the street, and go inside only where a page says it is open.

What is the “French Concession” today?

The French Concession was the part of Shanghai run by the French consul and its own municipal council until the 1940s; How the French Concession was run tells that story, and the French Concession page shows how its boundaries moved. On today’s map it is not one district but parts of Huangpu and Xuhui.

The western part is protected by the city as the Hengshan Road–Fuxing Road historic area, usually shortened to Hengfu (衡复, Héngfù). In Xuhui District it covers 4.3 km², and 31 of the 64 Shanghai roads that the city has promised never to widen are inside it (Shanghai Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, July 2024). That rule is why the streets are still narrow and lined with trees; see The 64 roads that will not be widened. On this site the area page is Former French Concession, and Xintiandi and Tianzifang are on Xintiandi and Huaihai Road.

Route 1: the Wukang Road side

About 3 km on the map, from Jiao Tong University station (Lines 10 and 11) to Changshu Road station (Lines 1 and 7).

1. Wukang Mansion. A few hundred metres from the station, where Huaihai Middle Road meets Wukang Road: László Hudec’s wedge-shaped apartment block with an arcade along its ground floor. It is a residential building; photograph it from across the junction and do not go into the lobby.
2. Soong Ching-ling’s Former Residence. Right beside the mansion on Huaihai Middle Road, and the easiest way to see one of these garden houses from the inside. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 to 17:00, with last entry at 16:30; individual visitors buy tickets in advance through the museum’s WeChat mini-program, and numbers may be capped on busy days (museum visitor page).
3. Wukang Road. Walk north along it, about 1.2 km of villas, apartment buildings and garden walls. Many houses carry plaques that tell you who lived there.
4. Ba Jin’s Former Residence, 113 Wukang Road. The writer’s house, now a museum. We could not find official opening times; check before you go.
5. Anfu Road. At the north end of Wukang Road, turn east along Anfu Road, a street of small shops and cafés, and follow it to Changshu Road station.

Extensions. South of Wukang Mansion, along Fuxing Middle Road and Hengshan Road, are the Blackstone Apartments, whose ground floor is a public bookshop-café, the Art Deco Hengshan Picardie Hotel and the Community Church. To the west, on Huashan Road, is the garden villa called Dingxiang Garden, which you see from the street.

Route 2: the Fuxing Park side

About 3 km on the map, from South Shaanxi Road station (Lines 1, 10 and 12) to Xintiandi.

1. Cathay Theatre and the Jin Jiang Hotel. At the start, on Huaihai Middle Road and Maoming Road: the Art Deco cinema, and the Sassoon apartment towers that became a state guesthouse.
2. St Nicholas Church. The former Russian Orthodox church on Gaolan Road, at the edge of the park.
3. Fuxing Park. A park laid out by the French municipal council, with a French formal garden and a Chinese garden.
4. Sun Yat-sen’s Former Residence, 7 Xiangshan Road. A short walk from the park; open as a museum, closed on Mondays.
5. Sinan Mansions. Restored garden houses on Sinan Road, now shops, cafés and a hotel.
6. Xintiandi. Restored stone-gate lane houses, now restaurants and shops, a good place to end with dinner. The First CPC Congress memorial is in the same block.

Extension. Tianzifang, off Taikang Road near Dapuqiao station, is a block of lane houses where residents still live above the shops. It is under a kilometre south of Sinan Mansions. Behind the stone gate explains how these lanes were built.

Can I do both in one day?

Yes, if you keep moving: do Route 1 in the morning, take Line 1 one stop from Changshu Road to South Shaanxi Road, and do Route 2 in the afternoon. You will not have time to go inside much. Our 1, 2 or 3 days itinerary plans it this way.

When should I go?

• Weekday mornings are the quietest. The junction at Wukang Mansion draws enormous crowds on holidays: more than 70,000 people around it in the first two days of the 2024 May Day holiday, according to the city’s planning bureau (see above).
• Mondays: Soong Ching-ling’s and Sun Yat-sen’s houses are closed.
• Spring and autumn are the best seasons for walking; the plane trees give shade in summer. See When to visit.

How to behave in a living neighbourhood

• Most of the villas and lane houses are homes, offices or consulates. Do not walk into courtyards or lobbies, or photograph through windows.
• Keep off the road when you take photos; the streets are narrow and traffic still uses them.
• Lanes are quiet places. Keep your voice down.

Practical notes

• Getting there: the metro stations above are on the getting around guide; the walk between the two routes is one stop on Line 1.
• Food: both routes pass plenty of cafés; Anfu Road, Sinan Mansions and Xintiandi are the easiest places to stop.
• Directions: each place page has the Chinese address and buttons to open it in Amap or Apple Maps.
• Where to stay: see Former French Concession and Where to stay.