Shanghai/French Concession

The French Concession is the area of Shanghai that the French government administered from 1849 until 1946. The tree-lined avenues and the many fine old houses in the area still retain an air of the "Paris of the East". In particular, the many wrought iron fences and stair railings will look familiar to anyone who knows Paris or Montreal.

This has been a fashionable area for well over a century and is now very developed as well. There are plenty of large buildings, mainly upmarket residential and office towers, quite a few hotels and a number of enormous shopping malls. At the same time, many of the picturesque older buildings &mdash; even whole neighbourhoods &mdash; have been renovated. There are a huge number of boutiques, galleries, bars and cafes scattered through the area.

For many years after the French left, the area was administered by the Chinese as two districts,Xuhui (徐汇区 Xúhuì Qū) to the west and Luwan (卢湾区 Lúwān Qū) to the east. Luwan is now administered as part of the Huangpu district, but we cover it here because for the traveller it has more in common with the rest of the old French Concession.

Orientation
In addition to the official administrative districts Xuhui and Luwan, the French concession area has some well-known streets and neighborhoods.

Xujiahui
Xujuahui (old spelling Zi-ka-wei or Siccawei) is an area to the south-west of the French Concession. It was largely owned by the Catholic Church and was effectively an extension of the concession, though it was not part of it.

The area has many buildings built by the Church during the French period and thereafter. The most prominent of these is St. Ignatius Cathedral, the neighbouring Bibliotheca Zi-ka-wei, a library built by the Jesuits; a number of preserved convent and school buildings; the Jesuit observatory; the T'ou-se-we Museum, housed in part of a former Jesuit orphanage with interesting displays on the history of Xujiahui, the orphanage and its workshop famed for producing works of Chinese and Western art; and the tomb of Xu Guangqi, an imperial official and famous Catholic convert whose family donated much of the land in Xujiahui to the church. This collection of buildings from Xujiahui's Catholic past is promoted as a themed walking tour called "Origin of Xujiahui", and boards with maps can be found near any of them with directions to visit the others.

Today, its central area is an enormous road intersection with a metro station (lines, and ) under it and much shopping around it. There is a large underground shopping area right in the station and at least half a dozen large malls or department stores nearby. From the station, you can get to most of them without going outdoors. Among other things, Xujiahui has Shanghai's largest cluster of consumer electronics vendors. It also has a lot of high-end residential and office space, and many restaurants.

There is a large road which starts by the cathedral and becomes an elevated road just beyond it. It leads to the Xinzhuang interchange and beyond that to Humin Road, the main route south into Minhang District for cars and buses.

Huaihai Road
When the French controlled the area, this street was Avenue Joffre. Today it is the main street of the Luwan area, and one of Shanghai's main shopping streets. In fact, Shanghai people seeking upmarket goods are at least as likely to look here as on Nanjing Road, which attracts more visitors from other parts of China than locals.

Many of the smaller streets nearby are also worth a look, especially when you want to get away from the busy streets. Explore the area between Julu Rd to the north, Huaihai Rd running through the center, and Jianguo Rd to the south. Pleasant tree-lined streets and local Shanghainese bustle, combined with a growing number of trendy boutiques and restaurants. Changle Rd and Xinle Rd are rapidly becoming the places to find small designer clothing shops. Interesting architecture built with French and Belgian money and showing mixed Chinese-European styles.

The trendy areas Xintiandi and Sinan Mansions described below are both near Huaihai Road (5–10 minutes walk away); Tianzifang is further afield, about 30 minutes walk, or a 15-minute taxi ride in normal traffic conditions.

Metro line runs under Huaihai Road through the main shopping area &mdash; stations, listed east-to-west, are South Huangpi Road, South Shaanxi Road and Changshu Road. Line also comes to Changshu Road, and lines  and  to South Shaanxi Road.

Further west, Huaihai Road becomes mainly residential. Line 's Shanghai Library and Jiaotong University stations are on the street and in this area.

Hengshan Road
Hengshan Road (old name Avenue Pétain) and nearby streets have what used to be Shanghai's largest cluster of dining and nightlife spots. It has since been surpassed by areas like Found 158 and Xintiandi. It is an upmarket area with few real bargains, but food and drink here are generally somewhat cheaper than in trendier and more touristy areas like Xintiandi. There are also a number of hotels and quite a bit of boutique shopping. For those interested in the history, the main points of interest are the former American College (no. 10), and the (still active) Community Church (no. 53), reminders of the large English-speaking community that also lived in the French Concession.

From Changshu Road, line swings south; the next two stops are Hengshan Road and Xujiahui. Hengshan Road and the smaller streets off it have mainly older two-storey buildings, many of them now bars and restaurants, though nearby areas such as Xujiahui and Zhoajiabang Road are largely highrise.

You can reach this area on foot starting from Changshu Road station (line  or ). At the cross street on the west side of the station, head south past the Starbucks. The first couple of blocks of this street are called Baoqing Road, but the name soon changes to Hengshan Road. Oscar's Pub, a block along on the left (corner of Fuxing Road) is a popular expat hangout.

Turning right at Hengshan Lu / Dongping Lu junction brings you to the terminus for the #816 bus to Minhang. Dongping Lu ends in a T junction; the US Consulate is across the top of the T. If you turn left instead of right at Hengshan Lu / Dongping Lu, you will pass a popular restaurant / upmarket grocery called Green & Safe. If you continue along Dongping Lu, you will reach a mostly-expats sports bar called The Camel. Continuing beyond those leads onto the west end of Fuxing Road, and into the area of smaller streets described under above. Staying on Hengshan Road and walking towards Hengshan Road Metro Station, you will get to a large complex of restaurants on the south side of the street, mostly quite good food at mid-to-high prices with Western, Chinese and mid-Eastern styles on offer. The Brazilian all-you-can-eat barbeque is excellent if you are hungry and carnivorous. Some have patios out front which are quite pleasant. There are no bars in that complex but most of the restaurants serve drinks.

There are some large disco-style bars and nightclubs on the north side of the street. Phebe is probably the biggest club. There is also a busy bowling alley next to Phebe nightclub. Going south from Phebe brings you to another cluster of bars near the junction of Hengshan Lu and Gao'an Lu. These bars are quite tacky and are best avoided. Continuing south, there are also at least two high-class hotels within a few blocks.

Continuing several blocks south on Hengshan Road gets you to Xujiahui.

Xintiandi
Xintiandi is an area of old shikumen houses, two-storey buildings on narrow lanes. It has been extensively redeveloped and now has new shopping malls, trendy bars and restaurants, and much tourism. It is sometimes considered a sanitized, touristy and upscale "Disneyland" version of the original old neighborhoods it displaced. It is certainly rather pretty, worth at least a look for any first-time visitor to Shanghai. Prices are generally on the high side, but there are some good deals to be had at off-peak times such as lunch specials in some restaurants and happy hour in bars. Although there are many shops here, most are international or Hong Kong-based chains.

Attitudes to Xintiandi among Shanghai's large expatriate community are quite mixed. The area certainly has many expat customers, and many consider some of its live music venues and dance clubs as among the best in the city. Others dismiss most or all of them as "poseurs' pubs", suitable only for a more-money-than-sense crowd.

There is a Xintiandi station on metro lines and ; walk north from there to reach the center of the area. Walking south from South Huangpi Road station on line is roughly the same distance.

Tianzifang
Tianzifang (The web site has links for pages in English, but as of September 2023 none of them work.) is another area of shikumen housing that has been redeveloped. It is newer than Xintiandi and emphasizes arts, crafts and boutique shopping where Xintiandi has more stress on brand-name goods and entertainment. Unlike Xintiandi, the shikumen residences in Tianzifang have been preserved, rather than knocked down and rebuilt. Slightly further from the central part of the French Concession, Tianzifang first gained fame when several prominent artists took up residence there, taking advantage of the cheap rent. There are still galleries and artists' studios here, although handicraft, souvenirs and cafes now dominate.

The number one exit of Dapuqiao Station (line ) is just across the street from Tianzifang.

Sinan Mansions
Sinan Mansions is another redeveloped quarter, based around a dozen European-style villas dating from the early 20th century. This area is bounded by Fuxing Road to the north, Si'nan Road to the west, and Chongqing Road to the east. The villas have been renovated, and their front and back yards knocked through and paved over to become paths. The revamped villas now mostly house restaurants and bars. Shaded by tall plane trees planted by the French authorities 100 years ago, this is a pleasant area to stroll and perhaps stop for a coffee and some cake.

A group of buildings once belonging to the Catholic Church are near the Chongqing Road end, the largest of which is now an upmarket restaurant (Aux Jardins Massenet). Some of the villas in the same group are now an upmarket hotel (Hotel Massenet). (Sinan Road was Route Massenet in the French period.)

Only one villa, the former residence of Zhou Enlai, is preserved (as a museum) in a form which shows what these villas might have looked like when they were in residential use.

Wukang Road
Wukang Road (old name Route Ferguson) is one of the best preserved residential streets of the French Concession. Still lined by ornate villas and grand apartment buildings, it is a favourite for visitors interested in Shanghai's diverse architectural heritage. The road connects Huashan Road to the north with the western part of Huaihai Road in the south. The narrow road is lined with plane trees, and is popular in autumn when the golden leaves cover the ground. Unfortunately, very few of the historic houses can be visited. There is one small area of the road which has been developed to house cafes, bars and restaurants, and is popular with expatriate residents of the area.

Longhua
Longhua, formerly a suburban township and now part of urban Shanghai, was not part of the French Concession and is about a 30-minute walk or 10-minute cab ride further out from Xujiahui. Although close to the French and Catholic areas, until the early 2010s Longhua retained the look of a Chinese town. Much of the area has now been rebuilt in a fantasy-Chinese style.

By metro
Metro line runs through the area. along Huaihai and Hengshan Roads. Stations along Huaihai Road are S. Huangpi Road, S. Shaanxi Road, which is fairly central, and Changshu Road. Along Hengshan Road are Hengshan Road Station and Xujiahui, which is one of the biggest metro stations in Shanghai. Further north, this line goes past People's Park and on to Zhabei. Going South, it leads into Minhang.

Line comes in from the north, crosses line  at Jing'an Temple, intersects line  at Changshu Road, makes three more stops further south in the Concession, then heads east and crosses the river into Pudong.

Line runs west from Laoximen (the 'Old West Gate' of the old town), stopping in the French Concession at Xintiandi, S. Shaanxi Road, Shanghai Library and Jiaotong university. Further west, it goes to Changning and Hongqiao Airport. Going east, it crosses the Old Town, swings north via Nanjing Road East, and ends up in Yangpu.

Line runs along the southern edge of the French Concession, stopping at Dapuqiao (near Tianzifang), Zhaojianbang Road and Xujiahui along the way. Further west, it goes to Songjiang. Further east, it leads into the center of Pudong.

Line comes in from Nanhui across the river, goes to several stations in the French Concession, intersects lines  and  at Xujiahui, and goes off to Changning, Putuo and Jiading to the north. At its western extreme it already (late 2017) extends outside Shanghai as far as Kunshan, and plans call for it to eventually link up to the metro systems of Suzhou and Wuxi.

See
In general this is a pleasant area to wander about in. Explore the sylvan streets and admire Shanghai's Art Deco residential architecture, reputedly the world's largest group of such homes, although not the most well-kept. Most historic buildings have a bronze plaque that details their original use. The area sandwiched between Fuxing and Huaihai Roads is particularly interesting with a sprinkling of tucked-away shops and discreet cafes, a refreshing alternative to the city's generally manic streetscape.

Around Huaihai Road
Besides the large shopping area on the east of Huaihai Road, there are other attractions on and around the road:

Many of the consulates of foreign governments are also in this area; see the list in the main Shanghai article.

Political history
It seems a bit ironic that various militantly anti-imperialist Chinese lived in the French Concession and the Communist Party had its first national meeting here, but there were good reasons for this. For one thing, this area has always been one of the most pleasant and prestigious in Shanghai. Also, for revolutionaries &mdash; whether republicans opposing the Qing Dynasty before 1911 or Communists opposing the Kuomintang government later &mdash; an area under foreign law was considerably safer than one with Chinese law and police.

Chairman Mao's Shanghai house is now also a museum; it is outside this area, in Jing'an District in what was the British concession. The Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai Shek, who lost the civil war in 1949 and was driven off to Taiwan, also had a house in the French Concession (9 Dongping Road) but that has not been made a museum; it is now used as a Middle School attached to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

In Longhua
Longhua Cemetery and Temple are at the southern edge of the former French Concession, about a half hour walk or a CN¥20 taxi ride from Xujiahui. The easiest way to reach them is by metro.

West Bund
The West Bund (西岸) is an arts precinct on the banks of the Huangpu River.



Learn
The original campus of Shanghai Jiaotong University (Jiaoda) is in this area, though there are now several other campuses and the new main campus is in Minhang. The old campus has Chinese language courses for foreigners and an MBA program that is taught in the evenings, mainly for Chinese business people.

There are several schools offering Chinese cooking courses for visitors:

Buy
Lots of additions to this district, on a seemingly weekly basis. Check out the entire Xujiahui area and Times Square Huaihai Road for some of the larger malls. Creative boutiques can be found on Julu, Changle, Anfu and Xinle Roads throughout the French Concession, in addition to a high concentration of one-of-a-kind buys for sale in Tian Zi Fang northwest of the Luwan Stadium.

If you are looking for anything electronic, Xujiahui is the place to start. The Metro station is under the intersection of five roads (see photo). It has shops (mostly food or clothing) and there is at least one shopping mall on each of the five corners.
 * Pacific Digital Plaza Phase 2 (red building in lower right of photo, exit 10 of the metro station), has all sorts of consumer electronics &mdash; computers, digital cameras, game consoles, MP3 players, cell phones, memory cards, and computer accessories.
 * Pacific Digital Plaza Phase 1 (exit 9) is better for computer parts and for repairs or services like printer cartridge refills. The idea of shopping at "PDP-1" may appeal to hackers; that was the model designation of DEC's first computer. If you look like a foreigner then at quiet times you will probably find you are constantly called out to by shop owners, which makes browsing quite challenging.
 * Grand Gateway Mall (green dome between office towers, back and left in photo, exit 12) is the most upscale of these malls, and also the best-air conditioned in the summertime. The 5th and 6th floors offer a good selection of restaurants, and there are several more at ground level behind the mall. The 5th floor also has a large bookstore with a good selection of books in English. This mall is a lot larger than it looks in the photo; that dome starts above the sixth floor, and everything below it plus corresponding floors of both towers is shopping. The basement level has more shops including a large supermarket with a good, though pricey, selection of Western groceries.

Ruijin Second Road is a tree-lined boulevard in the heart of the French Concession, where you can experience the real Shanghai longtang (a narrow alley from house to house, which is a distinctive Shanghai architecture style). Don't forget to walk down Taikang Lu into Tian Zi Fang and burrow your way into the in process gentrification of the back alleys here. Old men air their magpies in spotless, tiny cages next to top flight restaurants and cafes. Shanghai T is a great place to buy a high quality T-shirt with a smart logo, "What recession?" Tian Zi Fang's renovation is still evolving and interesting shops and restaurants are opening and closing every day. The trendy stores exist side by side with the rhythms of "old school" Shanghai life—and any time you can catch a glimpse of that, you should feel lucky.

Other nearby areas:

Along Maoming South Road by the Jin Jiang Hotel there are designer shops and art galleries. Don't forget your platinum credit card.

Drink
Many bars, restaurants and nightclubs are clustered together in the Found 158 complex on Julu Lu. Xintiandi is another large bar anr dining complex. It's possible to find good bars throughout the French Concession area.