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Xintiandi
Xintiandi is a pedestrian dining, shopping, and entertainment district in downtown Shanghai, built through the redevelopment of traditional Shikumen ("stone-gate") lane houses. This architectural style emerged in the mid-nineteenth century, blending European terraced housing with traditional Chinese courtyard layouts. Its defining features include narrow paved alleys, grey and red brickwork, and heavy wooden entrance doors set within carved stone frames.
Completed in 2001, the project converted a dense residential quarter into an open-air commercial precinct while preserving its architectural facades. The district is divided into two sections by Xingye Road. The North Block retains more of the historic Shikumen alleys and structures, housing international restaurants, bars, and cafes with outdoor seating. The South Block incorporates modern architecture alongside preserved buildings and includes an enclosed multi-level shopping mall.
Between the two blocks on Xingye Road stands the Site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, where the party was founded in July 1921. Visitors interested in the domestic side of Shikumen architecture can visit the Shikumen Open House Museum in the North Block, which recreates a middle-class Shanghai home of the 1920s with period furniture and household items spread across several rooms.