Commercial makeover revitalizes another old residential compound
An aerial view of Zhangyuan.
Zhangyuan, a well-preserved shikumen in Jing’an, is the latest compound to be redeveloped by the commercial makeover of the Nanjing Road W. area.
Home to about 1,200 families, 97 percent of residents have agreed to move out of the area between Weihai Road in the south and Wujiang Road to the north.
As part of full-scale renovations, Zhangyuan’s drainage system will be upgraded to collect, purify and store rainwater. Also, there will be more plants in the area. There will be a smart parking system and passengers will be able to transfer directly between Metro Lines 2, 12 and 13 without leaving the stations.
Almost all the 170 historic buildings in Zhangyuan will be retained.
“We know every building, including its age, style and details like which floral embellishment is carved in which lintel,” said Chen Rujian, of Jing’an Real Estate Group.
The buildings will be repaired and restored based on original drawings, but will become commercial properties rather than housing for people.
“We will turn the area to a fashion hub and lifestyle center,” said Song Lin, from the real estate group. “We plan to make the whole area a museum of local history and culture, with theaters, showrooms, salons and other venues.”
Some of the buildings will be renovated to become boutique hotels or small guesthouses.
The project is not uncontroversial. Some have argued that residents remaining in historic buildings is the best way to preserve history and culture.
“Residents and buildings are interrelated. They make history real,” said heritage protection expert Ruan Yisan in a meeting. “We should restore the original layout and reduce the population in each building. Cramped living conditions should be improved, but we have to try to keep the original style.”
Another expert Wu Jiang said, “historical buildings are different from antiques in museums. They are built for people to use. If we don’t use them, they just die.”
Ruan Kemei, 66, has lived in Zhangyuan for her whole life.
But local residents seem happy with the relocation. Ruan Kemei, 66, has lived in Zhangyuan for her whole life.
She and her husband live in 18.2 square meters in a building built in the 1920s.
The building originally belonged to a rich businessman. Ruan’s father was his adopted son and he obtained part of the property. Over years, she inherited the room where she now stays. The windows and lintel remain, but the fireplace has been removed. “It was gorgeous, but I had to pull it down because we needed more space,” she said.
“My happiest time in Zhangyuan was playing with my friends in the alleyway. My uncles and aunts often held dance parties in the grand living room under the chandeliers,” she said.
But now, the living room is shared by the nine families and piled with tables, cabinets and other belongings. She built a toilet in the courtyard for her family, but shares a kitchen with others.
“I love this place, but I always wanted to move out,” she said. “I don’t have enough money to buy a new house, but now my chance has finally come.”
Eighty-year-old Shi Lejian has been sharing a 31-square-meter room with her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in Zhangyuan.
Shi Lejian, 80, feels the same.
“I am so happy but I am also worried,” she said. “Finally, I can live in modern apartment but I have to say goodbye to all my old friends.”
Shi, her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter share a 31-square-meter room on the first floor. It’s not very small, but they don’t have any privacy.
“We share a kitchen with four families. We sleep in a room without dividers,” she said. “Luckily, we have our own toilet but it is not in our room. We have to cross the corridor, go through the kitchen to reach the toilet. Over years, all I have come to want is just a single room filled with sunshine.”
Zhangyuan has many different styles of architecture. It is a living museum, according to Shi Yunlun, of Jing’an Real Estate.
“The history of Zhangyuan is one of cultural and social vicissitudes,” he said. “It is a mixture of different styles, from shikumen to garden villas with Western elements like art deco lines and traditional Chinese interior layouts seen in one house.”
Zhangyuan dates back to 1872 when a British merchant bought a plot of farmland and built garden villas.
In 1882, it came under the ownership of Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Shuhe, who expanded it and made it into a modern public gathering spot. It was where Shanghai’s first electric light bulb shone and first entertainment park opened, offering Chinese opera, magic shows, gambling and dining.
It lost its popularity as indoor entertainment venues such as cinemas sprang up. In 1919, the property was turned into private residences, and much of it was replaced by lines of shikumen buildings.
One unit was partitioned into smaller flats occupied by several families, which led to squalid living conditions.
The residences in Zhangyuan.
