Shangxianfang

　　   Shangxianfang is situated at Lane 358, Middle Huaihai Road (formerly Rue Lafayette), a Shikumen lane residence constructed in 1924. The name of Shangxianfang is related to the Shangxian Hall. Shangxian Hall was an institution founded in 1897 by the American Christian missionary Gilbert Reid in Beijing to promote Christian cultural ideas. Its English translation means “China International Institute.” It was burned down by the Boxers in 1900. In 1903, Reid came to Shanghai to rebuild Shangxian Hall, selecting a site on the north side of Rue Lafayette. After fundraising, he built a lecture hall and a building for foreign language, political science, and history studies. After Reid’s death in 1927, Shangxian Hall was dissolved. In 1921, real estate developers used the prestige of Shangxian Hall to construct the lane residences.

　　   Shangxianfang 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- and double-bay row houses. The main lane and branch lanes form a “丰” (abundant) shape. The main lane features an overhead passageway along the street, with the lane entrance adorned with a cement cornice. The façade is decorated with Baroque moldings and ornaments. The branch lane entrances have arched gateways and are of brick-concrete structure. The ground floor along the street is occupied by shops, while the second and third floors house residences. Each residence within the lane is two stories high, with exposed red brick walls and a one-meter-high cement base. A black-painted front door opens into a small courtyard, and through floor-to-ceiling wooden windows lies the living room, behind which is the kitchen. The upper floor includes a front parlor, and if it is an end unit, there are also front and rear side rooms. Above the kitchen is the mezzanine room, and above that is an open-air terrace.

　　   Residents of Shangxianfang were mostly small merchants, teachers, and writers. A friend of the famous writer Yu Dafu once lived here, and Yu often visited him and gathered with other intellectuals residing in the same Shikumen residence. The culture of Shikumen was intertwined with its sentiments. In January 1927, Yu Dafu visited his friend Sun Baigang at Shangxianfang. Sun lived here, and intellectuals often gathered at his home, such as the 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 mezzanine room of Sun’s home. Yu fell head over heels in love with her at first sight and pursued her passionately, sparking a tumultuous and fateful romance.

　　   In recent years, as skyscrapers have sprung up across Shanghai and most Shikumen buildings have been demolished, Shangxianfang has been preserved as a municipal-level cultural heritage site due to its representation of lane-style Shikumen architecture. Despite being situated on bustling Middle Huaihai Road and nestled between a metro line and the North-South Elevated Road, its survival is no small feat.

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

　　   Transportation: Take Metro Line 1 to South Huangpi Road Station, or buses including Routes 42, 926, 24, 126, 320, and 911.

　　   Shangxianfang 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.