Sassoon Villa

Sassoon Villa

Sassoon Villa is a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.

Sassoon Villa

Located at No. 2409 Hongqiao Road, this British classical-style country villa was built in 1932. Along with the property at No. 2310 Hongqiao Road (Robinson Garden, also known as Sassoon Villa), it forms a pair of sister garden villas. Originally Building 1 of the Longbai Hotel, it was also called “Eden” or “Evans” at the time. It served as a weekend retreat and summer vacation home for Sassoon and his staff. The staircase, furniture, fireplace, and decorations inside the house all feature traditional British designs. It is said that when building the villa, Sassoon spared no expense importing oak and other construction materials from Britain.

On the eve of Shanghai’s liberation, before Chen Yi led his troops into the urban area, this place was used as a temporary command post. After the liberation, the golf club to the west was converted into the Western Suburbs Park. In the 1980s, the original Sassoon Villa was expanded and renovated into a modern garden-style guesthouse. Due to the dense planting of Longbai trees on the premises, it was named Longbai Hotel. The site integrates architecture and gardens in its layout, with the main entrance situated on the west side of the main building, leaving large green spaces to the south and southeast that blend seamlessly with the existing greenery. In addition to Sassoon Villa, this garden-style hotel includes 71 other villas in various styles such as British classical countryside, Spanish, other European and American styles, and modern Japanese. The Sassoon Villa is now owned by descendants of the Li family. Before the War of Resistance, due to political instability, Sassoon sold the villa to a Chinese man named Li Shuxiong. After the liberation, it was managed by the government for a long time, and at one point by Longbai Hotel. After the reform and opening-up period, it was returned to the descendants of the Li family. It is now the largest private garden mansion in Shanghai.

The property at No. 2409 Hongqiao Road was listed as a cultural heritage site of Shanghai in 1989.