Wukang Building

Stand at the junction of Wukang Road and Huaihai Middle Road on any weekend and you'll see them: hundreds of people, phones raised, photographing the same building. The Wukang Building (武康大楼) — that magnificent flatiron-shaped prow of brick and concrete — has become Shanghai's most photographed address, the face of the entire Former French Concession. Our office sits a few minutes up Wukang...

There is a specific corner in Shanghai that has become something of a pilgrimage site. At the intersection of Huaihai Middle Road and Wukang Road, a wedge-shaped building shaped like a ship's bow slices through the traffic. Tourists crowd the opposite sidewalk, phones held high, all trying to capture the same perfect shot. This is the Wukang Building. And it is the gateway to one of the most...