The district opened in 2001 on a block of lane houses in the former French Concession, near the site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Rather than demolish the shikumen, the developers retained the brick facades and lane structure and inserted new buildings behind them, keeping the scale and the plan while replacing the interiors.
What it is now
Two pedestrian lanes of restaurants, bars, cafes, galleries and designer shops, plus a small shopping mall at the south end. The food ranges from Cantonese and Shanghainese to Italian, Japanese, Thai and modern European, and most places have outdoor seating under the trees. Menus are usually in English, which makes it the least effortful dinner in the city.
When to go
Lunch is quiet and pleasant. Dinner from 7 p.m. is busy and the atmosphere is at its best. After 10 p.m. the bars take over and the lanes stay lively; this is one of the safer and more comfortable places in Shanghai for a late evening, with good lighting and plenty of foot traffic.
Practical notes
Reservations are recommended for dinner Thursday through Sunday. Prices are well above neighborhood level, roughly comparable to a mid-range restaurant in a Western city. It is a ten-minute walk from the South Huangpi Road metro station and about fifteen minutes on foot from Tianzifang. If you want a genuinely local meal instead, the lanes immediately north and west hold small Shanghainese restaurants that serve similar dishes at a fraction of the price.
