Shangxian Fang

Shangxian Fang

Shangxian Fang is a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.

Shangxian Fang is located at Lane 358, Middle Huaihai Road (formerly Avenue Joffre), a Shikumen lane residence built in 1924. The name of Shangxian Fang is related to the Shangxian Hall. Shangxian Hall was an institution established in 1897 in Beijing by the American Christian missionary Gilbert Reid to spread Christian cultural ideas, which, when translated from English, means "China International Institute". It was burned down by the Boxers in 1900. In 1903, Gilbert Reid came to Shanghai to rebuild Shangxian Hall, selecting a site on the north side of Avenue Joffre. After fundraising, he constructed a lecture hall and a building for foreign language, political science, and history studies. After Gilbert Reid passed away in 1927, Shangxian Hall was disbanded. In 1921, real estate developers used the reputation of Shangxian Hall to build the lane residences.

Shangxian Fang covers an area of 6,120 square meters, with a total construction area of 10,180 square meters. The lane contains three rows of single-bay and double-bay row houses. The main lane and branch lanes form a “丰” (abundant) shape. The main lane has an overhead passageway along the street, with the lane entrance featuring a cement-pressed eave, a Baroque-style facade with lines and ornaments, and arched entrances at the branch lane openings. The structure is a combination of brick and concrete. The ground floor along the street is used for shops, while the second and third floors are residential. Each residence within the lane is two stories, with exposed red brick walls and a one-meter-high cement base. A black-painted door leads into a small courtyard, and through floor-to-ceiling wooden windows is the living room, with the kitchen (known as the “zao pi jian”) behind. The upper floor includes a front parlor, and if it’s an end unit, there are also front and rear wing rooms. Above the kitchen is the mezzanine room (tingzijian), and above that is an open-air terrace.

The residents of Shangxian Fang were mostly small merchants, teachers, and writers. A friend of the famous writer Yu Dafu once lived in Shangxian Fang, and Yu often visited him and gathered with other intellectuals living in the same Shikumen residence. The culture of Shikumen is intertwined with its emotions. In January 1927, Yu Dafu visited his friend Sun Baigang at Shangxian Fang. Sun lived here, and intellectuals often gathered at his home, such as writers Zhang Kebiao and Fang Guangtao. However, after this visit, Yu began coming to Sun’s home every few days—not to chat with friends, but to see a 20-year-old young lady from Hangzhou, Wang Yingxia, who lived in the tingzijian of Sun’s home. Yu Dafu fell head over heels in love with her at first sight, leading to a passionate and dramatic love story.

In recent years, as skyscrapers have sprung up across Shanghai and most Shikumen buildings have been demolished, Shangxian Fang, as a representative lane-style Shikumen architecture, has been designated as a municipal-level cultural heritage site. Despite being situated on bustling Middle Huaihai Road and between the metro line and the North-South Elevated Road, its preservation is no small feat.

Address: Lane 358, Middle Huaihai Road, Luwan District, Shanghai

Transportation Guide: Take Metro Line 1 and get off at Huangpi South Road Station, or take buses No. 42, 926, 24, 126, 320, 911, etc.

Shangxian Fang is located on Middle Huaihai Road, near Pacific Department Store, Hong Kong Plaza, Lippo Plaza, Central Plaza, the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xintiandi, and Yanzhong Green Space.