Shanghai Old Concession Areas should not be missed during your Shanghai travel because they have witnessed the decline of Old China since the Qing Dynasty. As a heavy memory of modern history for Chinese people, they prompt current re-rising of China.
Situated in the Old French Concession and built in 1925, this French-style mansion's pre-owner was M Speelman, a French businessman. In 1940's, it was taken over by Baichongxi, a considerable official of Kuomintang hence it is called Bai Mansion or the Small White House.Shanghai's idyllic existence as a walled fishing village ended in 1843 when the Nanjing Treaty forced China to cede Shanghai and four other ports to Britain, French and America such kind of western powers.
Then impressive banks, trading houses and hotels along a short stretch of the Huangpu River were built for profits. British, American and French eventually merged their concessions into a single prosperous jurisdiction, which ended on August 13, 1937 when Japan launched a full-scale invasive attack from sea, land and air, sending the city's elite into a helter-skelter rush toward the port.
However, some old concession areas in Shanghai are a kind of historic relic for travel view and recreation. The French Concession would be the most well-known one.
The French Concession is the area of Shanghai once designated for the French. The name of the French Concession now you will not find appearing on any Chinese maps. Today the area, ranged elegantly from its central Huaihai Road in Huangpu District, through the district of Luwan and Xuhui and slices of Changning and Jingan Distict, is a busy shopping, residential, retail, restaurant and bar district with atmospheric tree-lined street.
But there pleasant tree-lined avenues with a growing number of trendy boutiques and restaurants and many Tudor mansions still retain an air of the "Paris of the East".
Old French Concession Streets get away from the busy streets and explore the area between Julu Rd to the north and Huai Hai Rd running through the center, plus Mao Ming Rd and surrounding area to the south of Huai Hai Rd. Chang Le Rd and Xin Le Rd are rapidly becoming the places to find small designer clothing shops. Interesting architecture built with French and Belgian money and showing mixed Chinese-European styles.
Address: 1 Fenhe Rd. Pudong, Shanghai
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