DISTANCE: 5km (3 miles)
TIME: A full day
START: Junction of Nanjing Road and Taixing Road
END: Hengshan Moller Villa
POINTS TO NOTE: Take the metro (line 2) to Nanjing Road West station, or a taxi to the start point. Avoid the weekend crowds. This walk is mostly outdoors, so save it for a dry day.
Nanjing Road’s westernmost flank dominates the Jing An area. Much has changed since the time it was called Bubbling Well Road and a 1930s guidebook claimed it was ‘one of the seven most interesting streets in the world’. Nowadays, the faded grandeur of its early 20th-century buildings yields to café society, where Shanghai’s smart set flock to sip lattes and slurp on sundaes, before heading for the designer malls that form the bustling heart of this shopping district.
At the intersection of Nanjing Road and Taixing Road, head south on the latter and through the black ironwork gates you see ahead of you, leaving the bustle behind as you enter a Shanghai lane neighbourhood 1 [map] (lilong). Stroll down the lanes between the shikumen (stone gate) houses, where neighbours chat on doorsteps and children play. Return the way you came, pausing to admire the profile of the 1934 Medhurst Building on the corner of Nanjing Road and Taixing Road.
Head west along the south side of Nanjing Road, where the latest, hippest brands entice with eye-catching window displays. About a block and a half down is Meilongzhen Restaurant (Lane 22, 1081 Nanjing Road West), one of the city’s most famous Shanghainese eateries. Its reputation exceeds the fare, so eat only if you’re starving. However, do admire the pink-brick mansion in which it’s housed (the Chinese entrance is a later addition).
Shopping at the Louis Vuitton flagship
David Shen Kai/Apa Publications
Elegant ties
Ryan Pyle/Apa Publications
Shoppers on pedestrianised Nanjing Road West
Ryan Pyle/Apa Publications
Designer malls
Cross Nanjing Road to the north side, where a row of designer malls converge: Westgate Mall, CITIC Square and Plaza 66, high-ceilinged, marble-floored edifices where Shanghai’s well-heeled flock to Burberry, Cartier and Louis Vuitton. Enter Jiangning Road, and next door to Westgate Mall you’ll see the lovely Streamline Moderne Majestic Theatre with its round facade at No. 66, built in 1941 by Chinese architect Robert Fan.
Jewish legacy
Continuing north along Jiangning Road, turn left at the end of the block on to Beijing Road, then right on to Shaanxi Road North. Pass by Grace Church, built during World War II, and continue to the former Ohel Rachel Synagogue 2 [map] (Youtai Jiaotang; 500 Shaanxi Road (N); closed to public). This grand Greek Revival temple was built in 1920 by Jacob Sassoon in memory of his wife, Rachel. The synagogue, facing Jerusalem, served as the spiritual home for the city’s wealthy Sephardic Jewish community until 1952. Judaism is not one of Shanghai’s five official religions (which are Taoism, Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism and Islam), so while the synagogue is sometimes opened up for Jewish community events, it cannot be used for religious worship.
Pei Mansion Hotel
Lynn, see 1, on Xikang Road, a block parallel to Shaanxi, serves excellent Shanghainese fare. After lunch here, turn left on Xikang Road and then left into Nanyang Road. Past the Big Bamboo sports bar you’ll find the gorgeous Pei Mansion Hotel 3 [map] (170 Nanyang Road), a Shanghai Art Deco gem built as the home of banker Pei Zuyi, whose nephew would become the renowned architect IM Pei. This is a lovely, quiet spot for a short break – take a seat in the pretty gazebo. If you have a drink at the restaurant you can explore the interior, which features a stunning staircase spiralling towards a glass dome.
Posing outside the Shanghai Exhibition Centre
David Shen Kai/Apa Publications
The Exhibition Centre’s fountains
David Shen Kai/Apa Publications
Shanghai Exhibition Centre
Exit the Pei Mansion and head west to Tongren Road to find the former Woo House at No. 33. Built by László Hudec in 1938 as a private home for a dyeworks magnate, its distinctive architecture, with a round tower, is enhanced by green glazed tiles on the exterior. The interior was briefly open to the public as a restaurant, but now what was once one of the most luxurious residences in the city is closed and awaiting its next act.
Continue two blocks south on Tongren Road to its intersection with Nanjing Road West, where you’ll find the landmark Shanghai Exhibition Centre 4 [map] (Shanghai Zhanlan Zhongxin; 1000 Central Yan’an Road, entrance also on Nanjing Road; daily 9am–5pm; free). The ‘Russian wedding cake’ was built during the 1950s as an expression of common cause between China and its long-time supporter the Soviet Union. The complex sits on what was, until the revolution, the sprawling estate of Silas Hardoon, who arrived in Shanghai in the 1870s and died its richest resident in 1930.
Directly across the street is the John Portman & Associatesdesigned Shanghai Centre (Shanghai Shangcheng; 1376 Nanjing Road (W); www.shanghaicentre.com). The city’s first international residential, business and hotel complex (opened in 1989) is popular with expatriates. For lunch, homegrown franchises Element Fresh, see 2, and Baker & Spice, see 3, are both good options. The complex also includes the Shanghai Centre Theatre, home of the renowned Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe – well worth a visit.
Across the street, is the massive new Jing An Kerry Centre development, home to more high-end shopping, restaurants and a Shangri-La hotel.
Jing An Temple
David Shen Kai/Apa Publications
Jing An Temple and park
Two blocks west is the garish, newly constructed Jing An Temple 5 [map] (Jing an Si). Now more a destination for shoppers than the devout, it was known in pre-1949 Shanghai as Bubbling Well Temple, after the effervescent well in the middle of Nanjing Road, which was removed in the 1970s. There has been a temple on this site for hundreds of years, but almost nothing from previous versions survived the 2002 construction of the present structure with its golden roofline. Especially over-the-top is the lion-topped gilded column in front of the temple, which is meant to recreate a much more pleasantly proportioned column that didn’t survive the Cultural Revolution.
Now cross to the south side of Nanjing Road and enter Jing An Park 6 [map] (Jingan Gongyuan; 1649 Nanjing Road (W); free). Elderly men sit on benches shaded by the enormous plane trees that lined the entrance to what was once the cemetery attached to the Bubbling Well Temple.
Leave Jing’an Park by the Huashan Road exit and head west along Yan’an Road to the Municipal Children’s Palace 7 [map] (Shi Shaonian Gong; 64 Central Yan’an Road; free) where children receive instruction in the performing arts, calligraphy and (more recently) computers. Originally built in 1924 as a residence for the Kadoorie family (current owners of the Peninsula Shanghai), it was nicknamed ‘Marble Hall’ because of the extensive use of that stone throughout. Try to talk your way in for a look around and hope that the guards are in a good mood.
Moller Villa
Exit on Yan’an Road and take a taxi to your final stop: a fairytale castle. At the intersection of Shaanxi Road, you’ll see the steeples and spires of the Hengshan Moller Villa 8 [map] (Hengshan Male Biehu; 30 Shaanxi Road South; www.mollervilla.com), a boutique hotel named after its original owner, Swedish shipping magnate Eric Moller. Wander the grounds to get a look at the house from different perspectives, and then enter the hotel: the sheer grandeur of the place – rich wood panelling, crystal chandeliers – brings alive the glamour of old Shanghai. The story goes that a fortune teller told Hengshan Moller Villa owner Eric Moller that ill fortune would befall him if he ever finished the house, so he kept adding bits for years. When he finally finished the house in 1949, he died in a plane crash.
Food and Drink
1 Lynn
99-1 Xikang Road; tel: 6247 0101; daily 11.30am–2pm, 6–10pm; $$
This chic restaurant serves up quality versions of Shanghainese classics in a stylish, upscale environment. The red-cooked pork and xiaolongbao are not to be missed.
2 Element Fresh
Shanghai Centre, 1376 Nanjing Road (W); tel: 6385 8752; www.elementfresh.com; daily 7am–11pm; $$
This light-filled California-style eatery has terrace seating overlooking Nanjing Road. Good options include pastas, wraps, sandwiches and smoothies.
3 Baker & Spice
Shanghai Centre, 1376 Nanjing Road (W); tel: 5404 2733; daily 7am–9pm; $$
A great spot for a break on Nanjing Road – both because of its outdoor terrace seating and its tempting array of freshly baked goods. The cupcakes and tarts are highly recommended.