WANDER SHANGHAI

上海市徐汇区五原路288弄3号

Zhang Leping’s Former Home

张乐平故居

At home with the creator of Sanmao

Cartoonist Zhang Leping (1910–1992) created Sanmao, observing poverty, war and daily life through a child’s eyes. He lived here from 1950 until 1992. Sanmao had appeared in 1935, so this home records later work and a long domestic life, not the character’s original creation.

Follow its history through photographs
The south façade after restoration, as identified by the conservation team. Published in its 2016 project account; precise capture date unrecorded.

Capture date unknown

The south façade after restoration, as identified by the conservation team. Published in its 2016 project account; precise capture date unrecorded.

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

At a glance

Construction / use dates
Construction dates differ between sources
Architect
Not established in the reviewed sources
Character
Lane-style garden residence
Original use
Garden residence
Use and access
Former-residence exhibition
Address
上海市徐汇区五原路288弄3号Wuyuan Road

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

The beginning

Why was it built here?

Cartoonist Zhang Leping (1910–1992) created Sanmao, observing poverty, war and daily life through a child’s eyes. He lived here from 1950 until 1992. Sanmao had appeared in 1935, so this home records later work and a long domestic life, not the character’s original creation.[1] [2] [3]

Restoration made the ground floor exhibition space while preserving and reinstating the upstairs domestic and working setting. Sources give the 1930s and 1947 for construction; this page retains the discrepancy rather than forcing the conservation record and tourism summary into one exact year.[1] [2] [3]

Look up, then look closer

Details worth a closer look

Read from the street

The house’s value does not depend on a monumental façade. Compare room, window and garden scales and consider how a family and a drawing desk shared space; a small home can sustain widely influential culture.[1] [2] [3]

A closer detail

The conservation record focuses on damaged timber, floors and the placement of original objects. Preservation need not make an exterior grander: essential work can make familiar rooms safe while keeping recognizable traces of life.[1] [2] [3]

One building, changing roles

History unfolds between the photographs

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

  1. 1935

    Sanmao appears before the move here

    The creative history predates residence here; the two should not be conflated.[1] [2] [3]

  2. 1950–1992

    Decades of family life and work

    The upper floor preserves the domestic setting of decades of living and drawing.[1] [2] [3]

    Zhang Leping’s family indoors; the conservation article explicitly dates the photograph to 1959. Photographer not individually credited.

    1959, source caption

    Zhang Leping’s family indoors; the conservation article explicitly dates the photograph to 1959. Photographer not individually credited.

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

  3. 2016

    Restoration and exhibition share the home’s history

    Conservation addressed structural safety and the preservation of domestic settings together.[1] [2] [3]

Today and visiting

Discover the building from the street

Former-residence exhibition[1] [2] [3]

Address
上海市徐汇区五原路288弄3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

The child in the cartoons often lacks a secure home; the artist’s home now helps visitors understand those works. Read images alongside domestic space to encounter the observation and compassion behind them.[1] [2] [3]

Back to the street guide

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.

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.