Old residences preserve the aura of past glories
Print Edition
Hongqiao Road dates back to 1901. The 8km thoroughfare is perhaps best known today as the road to Hongqiao International Airport.
It was first called Sheshan Road because it was planned as a connector from Xujiahui Old Street to Sheshan Hill in Songjiang District.
But funds ran out and construction stopped at Hongqiao Town, which gave its name to the new road. Hongqiao means “rainbow bridge.”
The road today crosses the Changning and Xuhui districts, passing popular destinations like the Shanghai Zoo.
In the 1930s and 1940s, villas and garden houses were built along the road in what was then a leafy suburban area.
Many of the old houses are still preserved as heritage buildings.
Here’s a guide to some places worth viewing on a tour of the historic areas around Hongqiao Road.
Former residence of H. H. Kung 孔祥熙故居
This English villa, now a medical center, was once the residence of H. H. Kung (1881-1967), a banker and politician in the Kuomintang who was reputed to be one of the wealthiest men in China in his day.
The white-colored villa with a red roof has a symmetrical structure, and verandas on both the north and south sides.
Address: 2258 Hongqiao Rd
Former residence of Anna Chennault 陈香梅故居
This Spanish-style garden house, which now is home to the Shenkang Boutique Hotel, was built in the 1930s. It was once the home of Claire Chennault, the American aviator who led the famed “Flying Tigers,” and his wife Anna.
Anna Chennault was born in Beijing as Chen Xiangmei. She was a prominent journalist and the first female reporter on the Central News Agency, which was the official news agency of the Republic of China.
She was Chennault’s second wife. The two married in this house just before Christmas in 1947. They had two daughters.
Anna moved to the US in 1960 after Chennault died of lung cancer in 1958. She was a successful politician and named one of the most influential people of the United States in 1972.
On the first floor of the garden house, the Big Windmill Private Kitchen retains the original furnishings and serves traditional Shanghai cuisine.
Address: 1440 Hongqiao Rd
Former residence of T. V. Soong 宋子文故居
This two-story mansion in a rural British style was once the home of T. V. Soong (1891-1971), a businessman and politician in the Republic of China and the brother of the famous Soong sisters.
T. V. Soong was born in Shanghai and educated at Harvard and Columbia universities in the United States. A few years after his return to China, Soong joined Sun Yat-sen, his brother-in-law, and worked in finance development.
After the Kuomintang was defeated, he moved back to the US. He died in San Francisco at the age of 79.
His 4,250-square-meter former residence features a red-brick roof and white walls. It has four sets of chimneys on different sides of the house. The original construction included two large gardens on the north and south, but both were lost to road expansions.
Address: 1430 Hongqiao Rd
Sassoon Villa 沙逊别墅
Sir Victor Sassoon (1881-1961), the real estate tycoon and founder of the landmark Peace Hotel, built this villa on Hongqiao Road in 1932.
It is also known as Rubicon Garden, named after the road next to the villa, which is now Hami Road.
This typical rural British-style villa is a two-story brick structure with an area of 800 square meters. It features a steeply sloped roof covered in flat, black tiles, red brick walls and 12 rooms. There is also a garden.
The villa was once used as a sanatorium for workers of the Shanghai Textile Industry Bureau.
Today it is a private residence not open for public viewing.
At 2409 Hongqiao Road, another villa built by Sassoon is now part of the Cypress Hotel.
Address: 2310 Hongqiao Rd
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