Shanghai shopping and walking guide to the French Concession area

This guide to Shanghai's French Concession will introduce you to the sights, boutique shopping and restaurants in one of Shanghai's most interesting areas.This guide was updated in February 2008.

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Introduction

Shanghai is a city of districts, each with its own distinct style. One of the most rewarding districts to explore is the old French Concession, where the combination of leafy, tree-lined streets, European-blended-with-Chinese architecture and shopping in independent designer boutiques is unique in the city.

Shaping Influences

The French Concession came into being in the mid-19^th century, but most of the buildings that define the area today were built with European money in the 1920s-1940s. The style is an international one, blending European influence with Chinese living habits. The area is interesting because it is well-preserved, historic, but as yet only partly (re-)gentrified. You can see some fine examples of traditional architecture set in a bustling and thriving Chinese neighborhood, including ultra-functional Bauhaus, 1930s "Streamline" style and more classically influenced Deco styles. A mildly Bohemian atmosphere is attracting cafes, galleries and restaurants, making for plenty of interesting discoveries along the way. Something new seems to open up every week.

Orientation

Broadly speaking the most interesting part of the French Concession for visitors is the area is the area between Huai Hai Lu on the southern side and the modern Yan An Expressway to the north (marked in orange on the map: "Lu" = "Road" in Chinese). Huai Hai Lu is now a major shopping street running E-W, with plenty of brand names but little character.

The area is easy to navigate at the eastern end since the streets are roughly in an E-W in a grid, but becomes a littlel more complicated west of Wu Lu Mu Qi Lu, where an ancient street plan is preserved in the layout of the streets. I'll begin in the east of the district and work westwards, though you can stroll around these locations in any order. The area is worth a day of gentle strolling, and there are plenty of good restaurants and cafes along the way for refueling.

Mao Ming Lu: Hotels in the Grand Style

High on any architecture buff''s list is the old Jin Jiang Hotel, on Mao Ming Lu, a N-S street. The Jin Jiang is housed in a beautiful building that is also the textbook example of the Shanghai Deco style, completed in 1928. The hotel grounds are also beautifully maintained. Facing onto Mao Ming Lu there is a row of fancy designer shops, including Shanghai Tang (actually a Hong Kong based chain).

“Qi Pao Street” (Chang Le Lu)

Just over the junction with Shan Xi Nan Lu is “Qi Pao Street”, a row of small stores selling this traditional Chinese dress. The quality of the fabrics and designs seems to be improving of late and most of the stores will make a Qi Pao to your size.

Xin Le Lu: fashion boutiques and bars

The most distinctive building in this area is at the junction of Xiang Yang and Xin Le Lu, a former Russian Orthodox church dating from 1934 (pictured at right).

Opposite the former church is the Mansion hotel, a newly renovated building from the 1930s. The owner is an enthusiastic collector of memorabilia from pre-revolutionary times, and the lobby features an old plate camera, wax cylinder gramophone and many other items. The rooftop bar is a pleasant place to watch the sun go down with a cocktail on hand.

There are also many trendy cafes and bars. Epicure, a wine bar on Xin Le Lu makes nice croque monsieur and is a great stop both for lunch and in the evening. Its French owner is a knowledgeable wine enthusiast. The Dong Hu Hotel, between Fumin Lu and Xiang Yang Lu, has fine deco architecture and an interesting tea shop. It's also a decent hotel option if you feel like staying in this part of town. Ask for the old part (somewhat more expensive) in preference to the new annexe.

Chang Le Lu: food and books

Nearby Chang Le Lu is another boutique shopping street that is well-known amongst local residents.

Near the junction with Shan Xi Nan Lu you will find Garden Books: a good place to drink a coffee and pick up China and Asia guides. The Secret Garden restaurant serves above average Chinese food. Robarts Interior Designers are located in a smart new office in the same garden complex.

The small French restaurant Saleya successfully manages to recreate traditional bistro food in the heart of Shanghai. Lunch on the terrace outside is especially pleasant on a fine day.

Further west at 637 Chang Le Lu is the “Blue Nankeen” workshop and museum, selling traditional indigo dyed batik. The fabric is lovely and the small museum there interesting, but the workshop is also worth visiting for the chance to see how traditional French Concession lane house architecture works from the inside.

Lane House Life

The “lane houses” are the basic residential units for much of this area, usually with a gate onto the street, typically manned by a guy in a string vest lying on a bamboo recliner, usually accompanied by his trusty sidekicks: an old man and a baby. 

Behind the main gate of each group of houses a narrow lane leads to rows of terraced houses of 4 or 5 stories. The style is a blend of European construction adapted to the Chinese preference for enclosed living in small communities, and provided more affordable living than the large villas that line the main streets.

The lane houses still function in the way that was intended throughout much of the French Concession, which is part of the area’s charm.

Northern edge: Julu Lu

Along the northern edge of the district, the long E-W road Julu Lu has many interesting discoveries, including some fine restaurants, outstanding ceramics, ethnic minority textiles and interior furnishings.

Restaurants in Ju Lu Lu

Near to where Fumin Lu joins Julu Lu you will find Shintori Japanese restaurant, with an interesting modern Chinese bar/restaurant next to it. Beyond the junction with Fumin Lu there is the Nepali Kitchen, with the iLife interior furnishings store almost opposite. My favorite Italian restaurant Casanova is another five minutes walk east to the junction with Chang Shu Lu.

Mesa restaurant at 748, is famous amongst expats for its leisurely brunch menu and pleasant balcony (and equally pleasant air conditioning inside in the height of summer). Nearby on the same side is the excellent Spin Ceramics, selling Chinese-made JingDeZhen ceramics with a Japanese tea-ceremony flavor.

Brocade Country, by the junction with Xiang Yang Lu, sells beautiful textiles from Guizhou and other western provinces.

In nearby Fumin Lu (Fumin Road) that heads south from Ju Lu Lu, stop by at Madame Mao's Dowry, a small shop specializing in Shanghai memorabilia from the 1920s through to the Cultural Revolution era of the 1970s. The shop has a fine selection of posters from this period.

An Fu Lu: wine bars and home deco

West of Chang Shu Lu, the most interesting street is An Fu Lu, which begins where Chang Le Lu crosses Chang Shu Lu. The street begins with a row of boutique shops together with cafes and bars. The highlight of the latter is probably Enoteca, a wine bar specializing in Argentinian and French wines. This is an excellent evening stop, with simple food and outstanding wine.

The French Concession's best handmade rug store

Further on, An Fu Lu crosses Wu Lu Mu Qi Lu and there is another row of interesting boutiques, including silk embroidery and ethnic minority textiles, plus more food and drink options. Our own Torana Carpets, featuring fine new and antique handmade area rugs is on the north side, just over the junction. We modestly think that this is a highlight of the street.

In the same group of shops as Torana there is a useful group of stores (particularly for Shanghai residents searching for interior furnishings), including Homestore, Blue Heaven Crystal Lighting, A’lu Deco and Scavolini kitchens.

Pit Stops near An Fu Lu

A little further west along An Fu Lu, Amokka is a fine lunch stop and café. For a quick Starbucks-style cup try Jamaica Blue Coffee, just back and around the corner in Wu Lu Mu Qi Lu. The Café Montmartre, just north at the junction of Wu Lu Mu Qi Lu and Chang Le Lu also has a good reputation for bistro-style food. Hu&Hu, well known for furniture amongst Shanghai residents, are just a little further along beyond Amokka.

Continuing west, An Fu Lu meets Wu Kang Lu. At this point architecture buffs should turn right, while dedicated shoppers, should bear left in the direction of Ferguson Lane (of which more below).

Hua Shan Lu Architectural highlights

Wu Kang Lu meets Hua Shan Lu a short distance further on. Turning left at the junction, you will pass a small store selling indigo batik, then find the charming grounds of Ding Shan Gardens on your left. The building at the center of the gardens is one of the oldest in the French Concession area, dating from the late 19th century. It is in a Colonialist villa style, relatively uncommon in the area. Ding Shan is now used mainly for weddings and functions. It has a large Deco-style extension at the rear.

Ferguson Lane

A fine spot to finish your day in the French Concession, this converted building from the 1930s is down a small lane, at 374-376 Wu Kang Lu. There are a group of stores featuring designer clothing, wine, home furnishings, ceramics and gifts, including some imaginative offerings (my favorite purchase is a classic Chinese thermos flask with cherry blossom decoration). And decent food and coffee to boot.

Conclusion

In many parts of China it is difficult to resist the impression that history is being made before your eyes. Nowhere more so than in Shanghai’s French Concession area, which is in the process of transformation from a traditional Chinese neighborhood into an upscale, gentrified area.

I am reminded of living in New York for a brief period in the mid 1980s, then returning two decades later to find the transformation from “street” to “chic” that I had barely noticed the beginning of when I lived there was complete. With the benefit of hindsight it is possible to see Shanghai’s French Concession today in a similar light. See it now, so that in 2020 you can raise a glass and say “you know, I visited the area when all that cool stuff was just beginning...”