Xintiandi, Sinan Road and Fuxing Park: a walk in Shanghai

Shikumen lanes and plane-tree villas, following the official Huangpu citywalk (Madang Road - Middle Huaihai Road - Sinan Road - Middle Jianguo Road - Taikang Road): the rebuilt stone-gate houses of Xintiandi and the Site of the First CPC Congress, French-designed Fuxing Park, Sun Yat-sen's house and Sinan Mansions, ending in the alleys of Tianzifang.

Best time: Early morning in Fuxing Park for tai chi and dancers, then Sinan Road; or late afternoon into evening in Xintiandi.

The route, stop by stop

1
Memorial of the First National Congress of the CPC
Shikumen house on South Huangpi Road where the Party was founded in 1921; free museum. 30 min
The shikumen house where the Chinese Communist Party held the first session of its founding congress in July 1921, with a large memorial hall next door. One of the most visited…
2
Xintiandi Shikumen Block
Car-free blocks of rebuilt shikumen ('stone gate') houses around Madang Road, now cafes and restaurants; look at the stone door frames. 30 min
Restored shikumen (stone-gate) lane houses, completed in 2001 as one of the first projects to reuse old Shanghai housing; now upmarket restaurants and boutiques. Named a…
3
Fuxing Park
French-style park laid out in 1909; early mornings fill it with dancers, card and mahjong players and tai chi under the plane trees. 30 min
Opened in 1909 as the "French Park", it is the only classical French-style garden left in Shanghai, with more than 1,700 old plane trees, a rose garden and a Marx and Engels…
4
Former Residence of Sun Yat-sen
Former home of Sun Yat-sen, now a museum. 30 min
The European-style house where Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching Ling lived from 1918, kept with their original furniture. The Sun-Joffe Manifesto was written here in 1923.
5
Sinan Mansions
Restored villa quarter on Sinan Road with shops and restaurants. 20 min
6
Tianzifang
Labyrinth of lanes off Taikang Road with small shops, studios and cafes; busy with visitors, built in a renovated residential lane quarter. 40 min
A maze of shikumen lanes and old workshops turned into small shops, studios and cafes, cited by UN-Habitat in 2016 as a model of bottom-up old-city renewal. People still live in…

Walking directions

Xintiandi, Sinan Road and Fuxing Park

The route, stop by stop

More walks in Shanghai