Xintiandi 

Introduction 

Xintiandi is located right at the middle of Shanghai Town, south of Huaihai Zhong Lu. It is a stylish pedestrian road made up of Shikumen houses and state of the art buildings blending the past with the present. Looking from outside, the traditional houses known as Shikumen look very unique with ancient tiles and walls but their interior bears the most fascinating contrast housing international brand cafes, galleries, bars, boutiques and themed cafes. Xintiandi stands out as both a cultural and entertainment complex built in reconstructed and slightly modified houses. 

The area was transformed to what it is today by an American architect, Benjamin T. Wood in conjunction with a Japanese company Nikken Sekkai in the last decade. This area has become Shanghai's most popular tourist destination with the most renowned restaurants and nightlife joints. Back in the day the area was full of Shikumen houses (residential) but it has been refurbished into a hub of culture, lifestyle, dining experience, retail and entertainment of international levels.

Shikumen buildings were first built in the 1870’s during the Revolutionary War of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Many wealthy people fled to the French Concession Area of Shanghai and built big houses with magnificent designs adopting the  design of Jiangnan with solid wooden doors framed in stone hence the name shikumen. Starting from the 1910’s these shikumen buildings started combining Western style with Jiangnan style architecture creating less extravagant residences. After the 1930’s new alleyways were set up and became popular leaving the Shikumens for middle class people but at the end of the 20th century the government rebuilt Xintiandi making it a masterpiece of fashion and culture. 

Major attractions and activities to do on a visit

Architecture 

The dominating architecture in Xintiandi are Shikumen buildings that still have antique walls, tiles and an exterior look that maintains an ancient housing style. Visitors can take their time learning about the Shikumen houses and also explore the high contrast between the exterior look and internal spaces that have been redecorated and switched up to catch up with the modern style. These ancient residences of old Shanghai clearly spell out beautiful stories about the history and culture of the city. 

Dine and eat in fine restaurants 

A tour to Xintiandi guarantees visitors an amazing dining experience with a variety of restaurants serving French, American, German, British, Brazilian, Italian, Japanese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong cuisine representing the flavors of the world and placing them on a full international dimension. Visitors can also taste noodles, dumplings and shrimp from the local menu in the middle of all these franchise restaurants. 

Nightlife

Visitors who fancy an eclectic nightlife will be satisfied by the cheerful atmosphere creating memorable nights listening to classic hits and interacting with other global trotters from all parts of the world at the many open air bars adopting European decoration styles. For drinkers, they can taste freshly brewed beer and wine to quench their thirst.

Shop

Visitors can experience the extravagant energy of Xintiandi from the wide range of high end designer stores carrying unique international pieces in addition to the best Chinese designer pieces souring up to world class international levels.