The elegant Shanghai street’s quiet architects of history
Print Edition
BEHIND the plane trees and storefronts of Huaihai Road M. and its surrounding streets lies Shanghai’s modern history of revolutionary leaders, writers, artists, scientists, diplomats and industrial tycoons.
This tour takes you through some of Shanghai’s most famous homes, revealing the hidden lives behind Huaihai Road’s elegant facades.
Start Point: Former Mansion of Sun Yat-sen in Shanghai
Begin at the quiet lane just north of the main road. In December 1911, shortly after the Xinhai Revolution, Sun Yat-sen stayed in this elegant three-story garden residence. The house exemplifies the early 20th-century verandah-style villa, characterized by deep arcades and a serene courtyard atmosphere, illustrating the emergence of modern garden residences in Shanghai.
Address: No. 3, Lane 650, Huaihai Rd M.
Stop 1: Former Residence of Ba Jin
Enter Huaihai Lane, one of the most culturally important lilong communities in the city. Built in the mid-1920s by a Belgian Catholic charity, it was named Joffre Lane when Huaihai Road was known as Avenue Joffre.
Huaihai Lane was home to Ba Jin, one of China’s greatest modern novelists. He moved into this apartment in July 1937, entering one of the most productive periods of his literary career. The novel Spring, which he conceived in an attic room of his previous residence, was completed here, and in 1939, he finished Autumn. In the preface to Autumn, he recalled writing every night from 9pm until 3am, living in near seclusion.
Address: No. 59, Lane 927, Huaihai Rd M.
Stop 2: Former Residence of Hu Die
Another household name who once lived in Huaihai Lane was the actress Hu Die. Born in Shanghai in 1908, Hu was celebrated as “China’s Greta Garbo.” From her early training at the Shanghai China Film School to starring in classics such as “Songstress Red Peony,” China’s first sound film, she became the face of Chinese cinema in the 1930s. Her residence here connects Huaihai Lane not only with literature and painting but also with the golden age of Chinese film.
Address: No. 33, Lane 927, Huaihai Rd M.
Stop 3: Former Residence of Nie Er
Nie Er, composer of the national anthem March of the Volunteers, lived in this 1933 three-story Shanghai apartment. The brick-and-concrete building has decorative gables and carved reliefs under the eaves. It is now a residential property but is still listed as a Shanghai Revolutionary Heritage Site, marking the place where the anthem’s creation took shape.
Address: 3F, 1258 Huaihai Rd M.
Stop 4: Villa Basset
Villa Basset was built by a Frenchman in 1921. French business Crédit Foncier Compagnie designed the brick-concrete, three-story Spanish-style garden villa. A magnificent arched doorway with Ionic-style pilasters, a second-floor terrace with vase balustrades, colorful glazed-brick decoration beneath the eaves, and red Spanish roof tiles top the symmetrical south façade.
Address: 1431 Huaihai Rd M.
Stop 5: Former Residence of Zhang Leping
This English-style garden villa was the residence of Zhang Leping, the cartoonist famously known as the “Father of Sanmao.” He lived here from 1950 until 1992, during which time he created numerous works, including “Sanmao the Orphan” and “Sanmao Joins the Army.” The restored interior showcases his studio, bedroom and original furnishings, allowing visitors to gain insight into the everyday life of the man behind China’s most famous comic character.
Address: No. 3, Lane 288, Wuyuan Rd
Stop 6: Former Residence of Sheng Xuanhuai
This magnificent neoclassical mansion was home to Sheng Xuanhuai, the Qing Dynasty’s industrial tycoon who created many of China’s “firsts” in industry, education, and philanthropy. Built in 1900, it originally stood amid vast gardens, traces of which survive in the marble fountain and rockery.
Address: 1517 Huaihai Rd M.
Stop 7: Former Residence of Zhou Xuan
From 1943 to 1946, the legendary singer and actress Zhou Xuan, known as the “Golden Voice of Shanghai,” lived in this corner garden house. The years marked her triumphant return to the screen, starring in classics such as “Street Angel,” “Dream of the Red Chamber” and “Phoenixes in Love.” Her songs — “Wandering Songstress” and later “Night Shanghai” — still echo the romance of old Shanghai.
Address: No.1, Lane 391, Wukang Rd
Stop 8: Soong Ching Ling Memorial Residence
Built in 1920, this red-tiled French rural-style garden villa was one of the most important Shanghai homes of Soong Ching Ling, Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China. From the spring of 1949 to 1963, she lived and worked here and continued to stay in the house whenever she returned to Shanghai after moving to Beijing. The property covers about 4,330 square meters and is arranged around front and rear gardens shaded by century-old camphor trees.
Address: 1843 Huaihai Rd M.
End Point: Former Residence of J.G. Ballard
This historic Shanghai-style villa on Panyu Road is widely recognized as the former residence of British science fiction writer J.G. Ballard. Ballard was born in Shanghai and was interned here in a prison camp by Japanese troops in 1941 — which he drew upon in his 1984 novel “Empire of The Sun,” adapted as a film by Steven Spielberg.
Address: 508 Panyu Rd
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