WANDER SHANGHAI

上海市徐汇区湖南路8号

Zhao Dan’s Former Residence

赵丹旧居

A life in film behind curved balconies

Actor Zhao Dan and his family lived on the third floor of 8 Hunan Road from 1962 to 1979. Zhao (1915–1980) is remembered for films including Nie Er and Living Forever in Burning Flames. This address connects his screen career with domestic life.

Explore the historical timeline
Entrance and wall at 8 Hunan Road, published by Leyou Shanghai in 2017; capture date unknown.

Capture date unknown

Entrance and wall at 8 Hunan Road, published by Leyou Shanghai in 2017; capture date unknown.

Photographer not individually credited; see source · Image source · Rights retained by original creators and source

At a glance

Construction / use dates
1930 on the heritage plaque; a conflicting 1948 date remains unresolved
Architect
Not established in the reviewed sources
Character
Modern-style three-storey house with curved balconies
Original use
Garden residence
Use and access
Still residential; the tourism directory lists no public access
Address
上海市徐汇区湖南路8号Hunan Road

Architecture and use: sources[1] [2] [3]

The people behind the address

A life in brief

Zhao Dan (1915–1980) was a Chinese film actor. Active in theatre and cinema from the 1930s, he and his family lived on the third floor here from 1962 to 1979.[1] [2] [3]

Contributions and influence

Films including Nie Er and Living Forever in Burning Flames made his performances part of Chinese cinema history. The home connects those public works with the everyday setting behind them.[1] [2] [3]

The beginning

Why was it built here?

Actor Zhao Dan and his family lived on the third floor of 8 Hunan Road from 1962 to 1979. Zhao (1915–1980) is remembered for films including Nie Er and Living Forever in Burning Flames. This address connects his screen career with domestic life.[1] [2] [3]

Construction dates conflict: the photographed 2011 heritage plaque says 1930, the municipal tourism directory says the 1930s, and a 2017 Leyou Shanghai article says late 1948. These accounts remain distinguished pending original building records.[1] [2] [3]

Look up, then look closer

Details worth a closer look

Read from the street

The entrance photograph shows a low wall, street number and trees, with the house set back inside. Locate number 8 and observe the distance between house and street from the public pavement.[1] [2] [3]

A closer detail

The south balconies curve around the corner; horizontal railings and broad windows give the façade its rhythm. Services and domestic additions in the photographs also show a house that remains lived in.[1] [2] [3]

Number 8 beside the 2011 heritage plaque, whose text dates construction to 1930. Published in 2017; capture date unknown.

Capture date unknown

Number 8 beside the 2011 heritage plaque, whose text dates construction to 1930. Published in 2017; capture date unknown.

Yu Bing / Shanghai Yizu, article credit · Image source · Rights retained by original creators and source

One building, changing roles

Read the building through time

Captions distinguish photographic dates from publication dates; periods without reliable images are covered in the text.

  1. 1930 / 1948

    Conflicting construction dates

    The plaque and later accounts differ; original construction records remain to be checked.[1] [2] [3]

  2. 1962–1979

    Zhao Dan’s family lives upstairs

    The municipal tourism record identifies this period and the third-floor apartment.[1] [2] [3]

  3. 2011

    Designated a Xuhui protected cultural property

    Designation was announced on 30 November; the photographed plaque is dated December of that year.[1] [2] [3]

Today and visiting

Discover the building from the street

Still residential; the tourism directory lists no public access[1] [2] [3]

Address
上海市徐汇区湖南路8号
Approach
Entrances, events and access can change; follow current notices. Historic significance does not make residential stairs, gardens or living spaces public.
Find the address on a map ↗

Sources checked: 2026-10-26 · Entrances, events and access can change; follow current notices. Historic significance does not make residential stairs, gardens or living spaces public.

Shanghai and the world

Place the address in the city

Zhao Dan also lived in the Wukang Building. Walking from Hunan Road to Wukang Road connects different chapters of his life; the dates and images of the two residences should remain distinct.[1] [2] [3]

Back to the street guide

More photographs

Curved balconies of Zhao Dan’s former home. The source uses a monochrome image without a capture date; it is not a dated archival photograph.

Capture date unknown

Curved balconies of Zhao Dan’s former home. The source uses a monochrome image without a capture date; it is not a dated archival photograph.

Photographer not individually credited; see source · Image source · Rights retained by original creators and source

Text and image sources

This account is based on the sources below. Unverified details are identified as such. Where photographs are included, sources and licences are listed beneath each image.

  1. Building and local-history source ↗

    Used to check dates, uses and architectural descriptions; photo dates are separately identified.

  2. Further research and biography ↗

    Used to check dates, uses and architectural descriptions; photo dates are separately identified.

  3. Further research and biography ↗

    Used to check dates, uses and architectural descriptions; photo dates are separately identified.

  4. Street and photograph source ↗

    Used to check dates, uses and architectural descriptions; photo dates are separately identified.

Image handling and dating

Images come from the archives or image source pages listed beneath each photograph. We resize and compress them to WebP, preserving their original proportions without colourisation or added detail. Grain, blur and scanning marks in historical photographs are retained.

Images without a documented capture date are marked undated; publication is not photography. No invented before-and-after view substitutes for a verified historic photograph.