Shikumen
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Shikumen is a traditional Shanghainese architectural style combining Western and Chinese elements that first appeared in the 1860s.
A preserved longdang at the site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, showing the "stone gates" (at left) whence the name shikumen arose.
Renovated shikumen lanes in Xintiandi.
Shikumen buildings in the process of demolition in 2007 – a fate that has befallen many buildings of this type.
A historic photograph of the entrance of a shikumen lane or longdang
Shanghai French Concession
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The Shanghai French Concession was a foreign concession in Shanghai, China from 1849 until 1943, which progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The concession came to an end in 1943, when Vichy France under German pressure signed it over to the pro-Japanese Reorganized National Government of China in Nanjing. For much of the 20th century, the area covered by the former French Concession remained the premier residential and retail district of Shanghai, and was also one of the centers of Catholicism in China. Despite re-development over the last few decades, the area retains a distinct character and is a popular tourist destination.
Orthodox Cathedral of the Mother of God
This building is an example of western style architecture in the Shanghai French Concession
Clements Apartments on Rue Lafayette