Wukang Road

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...

If you've spent any time apartment-hunting in the Former French Concession, you've seen the word. Hengfu (衡复). It's in listings, on heritage plaques, in the name of the area's own museum. But most people — including plenty of long-term expats — couldn't tell you exactly what it means or where its edges actually are. Here's the real answer, with the numbers checked. What Hengfu Actually...

The elevator opens directly into your apartment. No shared hallway. No neighbors walking past your door. That is the first thing you notice about Kingsville. The building sits at 198 Anfu Road, tucked back from the street behind a small courtyard. The twin towers are 29 stories each, but there are only 102 units total. Most floors have just two apartments. On some floors, there is only one. The...

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...

There is a particular kind of magic that happens when you turn off a busy Shanghai thoroughfare and duck into a quiet lane house neighborhood. The noise of the city softens. The plane trees grow thicker overhead. And suddenly, you are walking through history. Lane houses – or lilong (里弄) in Chinese – are the architectural soul of Old Shanghai. For decades, they have been the backdrop...