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SHANGHAI / Themes

Themes

Choose a way into Shanghai: architecture, literature and art, or migration and exile. Each theme connects places through a shared story.

Architecture

Begin with the facades and street corners. Compare Wukang Mansion and the Peace Hotel, then read how apartments, clubs and gardens changed with the city.

01France

Wukang Mansion

Normandie Apartments · 诺曼底公寓

A French name, a Hungarian architect, a Shanghai home.

Residential · view from the streetRead the story
02Jewish heritage / Britain

Fairmont Peace Hotel

Cathay Hotel / Sassoon House · 华懋饭店 / 沙逊大厦

Follow Victor Sassoon’s story to the Bund’s green roof.

Hotel · check visitor accessRead the story
04Jewish heritage / Britain

The lost Aili Garden

Aili Garden / Hardoon’s Garden · 爱俪园 / 哈同花园

Hardoon’s garden has gone. Its address still tells a story.

Former site · original no longer standsRead the story
05France / United States

Wukang Road

Route Ferguson · 福开森路

A French-concession street with an American’s name.

Public streetRead the story
07France

Anfu Road

Route Dupleix · 巨泼来斯路

A former French street name, and a living theatre district.

Public streetRead the story
08France

Wuyuan Road

Zhao Zhujiao Road · 赵主教路

Apartment experiments and artists’ homes behind the trees.

Public streetRead the story
09Architecture

Xiefa Apartments

Xiefa Apartments · 协发公寓

How a Chinese architect rethought the modern Shanghai home.

Residential · view from the streetRead the story

Writers & artists

Read the city through the people who made it a home for writing and art. Begin with Ba Jin’s former home, then explore the surrounding streets and their layers of memory.

01France / United States

Wukang Road

Route Ferguson · 福开森路

A French-concession street with an American’s name.

Public streetRead the story
02France

Anfu Road

Route Dupleix · 巨泼来斯路

A former French street name, and a living theatre district.

Public streetRead the story
03France

Wuyuan Road

Zhao Zhujiao Road · 赵主教路

Apartment experiments and artists’ homes behind the trees.

Public streetRead the story
04Writers & artists

Ba Jin’s former home

Ba Jin’s residence · 巴金寓所

A Chinese writer’s life within an international streetscape.

Memorial · check visitor informationRead the story

Migration & exile

Follow stories of arrival, refuge and political exile. Read about Jewish Shanghai, the Korean Provisional Government and the places that connect personal lives with wider history.