Bugaoli–Jianguo West: shikumen as it was
Pair with Tianzifang to see what shikumen looked like before
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Stops in order
Lane 287 Shaanxi South · Bugaoli
Starting point. Built 1930 by French investors — a Sino-French shikumen hybrid. The lane entrance bears a French plate reading 'BOUGEOIS' (rendered as '步高'), the only one in the city. About 95% of the original layout is intact.
79 Bugaoli · Ba Jin's old residence
Ba Jin lived here from 1937 to 1955. A two-storey shikumen — the carved door lintel is the most textbook Shanghai shikumen ornament. Exterior only; still inhabited.
Lane 39 Shaanxi South Road
1925 Cantonese-style shikumen — uneven lane widths, coal stoves, laundry poles, bicycles piled up. This is shikumen as daily life, not as museum exhibit.
Lane 365 Jianguo West Road
1932 new-style lane. A 1947 well (iron-capped) sits at the back. Three shops — a cobbler, a key-cutter and a tailor — have all run three generations; locals know them as 'the three old masters'.
Lane 480 Jianguo West Road
Built 1936 — English-style terraced shikumen. The lane was added to Shanghai's protected historic precincts in 2019, meaning no demolition for at least 30 years. Take your time.
Ruijin No. 2 Road junction
Endpoint. This stretch of Jianguo West has had no commercial makeover — wet markets and grocery shops still serve the residents. For lunch, the beef-noodle shop on the corner has been open 25 years.
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