The Shanghai Magic: History Lives in Harmony with Modern Street Life

The historical Wu Kang Road, where many old residential compounds are located, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Shanghai. Here, tourists and local residents blend nicely together.

Built in 1907 and known as the “Street of Former Residence”, Wu Kang Road, a mere 1.183-kilometer-long historical street in central Shanghai, is home to many celebrities and business elites, including about 30 important figures from Chinese history, such as writer Ba Jin, revolutionary Huang Xing, and politicians like Chen Guofu and Tang Shaoyi. It is lined with 37 protected historical buildings which showcase diverse architectural styles, ranging from French Renaissance, Spanish, to Mediterranean, reflecting the city’s colonial past.

Strolling along the street lined with sycamore trees, appreciating the historical buildings, former residence-turned museums, cafes, restaurants and boutiques, passing the barber shop, fruit stores, flower shops, spectacles stores, and convenient stores, and taking a glimpse at the old residential compounds at the back alleys with colorful clothes sticking out of the windows, visitors can’t help but soaking up a charming mixture of exquisite, romantic, modern, nostalgia, and yet down-to-earth atmosphere unique to Shanghai.

This unique atmosphere is also featured by Wu Kang Mansion, the most prominent old compound on Wu Kang Road. Designed by the Hungarian-Slovak architect Laszlo Hudec and completed in 1924, this eight-story building is the oldest veranda-style apartment building in Shanghai. Once home to many celebrities, this protected historical building, while being admired by hundreds and thousands of visitors around the world every day, is still fully occupied with residents and shops.

Here in Shanghai, in sharp contrast with San Fang Qi Xiang, renowned historical and cultural blocks in central Fuzhou, history lives in harmony with modern street life. The immersive feel of modern and nostalgia is in fusion with the hustle and bustle of street life, a testament to the charm of Shanghai culture –the ocean is vast because it is fed by hundreds of rivers. Here modern life and history form a delightful contrast. And this is where Shanghai magic lies.