Tianzifang

If Xintiandi is the government's orderly, sanitized shikumen restoration project, Tianzifang is the opposite. The former residential district is a labyrinth of alleyways between red brick lanehouses. Shops, restaurants, cafés, and a few galleries fill the spaces today. There are shops selling everything from the now-ubiquitous Obamao T-shirts to leather journals and shoes, tea, and qipao dresses. You can also enter Tianzifang from the back side, at 155 Jianguo Zhong Lu.

BACK TO FORMER FRENCH CONCESSION