Cite Bourgogne
Cité Bourgogne (Bugaoli to the locals) is a unique example of the shikumen style lane house dwelling constructed across the city during its early-twentieth-century heyday. Located in the former French Concession, one can stroll through the narrow lanes of this block-sized complex completed in 1930 and get a bit of a sense of yesterday's Shanghai. A blend of European and Chinese architectural features, the shikumen (which translates as "stone gate") neatly balanced the demands of density with those of privacy, creating tightly knit communities with shared common space that still allowed residents considerable separation.
Designed to accommodate 78 families, and currently occupied by some 450 households, Cité Bourgogne provides a glimpse of a way of life that is fast disappearing as old housing stock falls before the wrecking ball to make way for high-rise developments and glitzy malls. Located on Shaanxi Nan Lu just south of Yongjia Lu, Cité Bourgogne makes for an excellent stop on a casual walking tour of the French Concession that might include nearby Fuxing Park, the cafés and small galleries on Shaoxing Lu and in Taikang Lu, as well as classic colonial-era villas along Fuxing Lu, Ruijin Lu and Shimen Yi Lu, including historic sites like Sun Yatsen's Residence, Zhou Enlai's Residence and the site of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
If you're interested in more information on the shikumen, the Shikumen Open House Museum in nearby Xintiandi is a half hour's walk away.
Admission:Free
Hours:24 Hours
How to get there:287 Long, Shanxi Nan Lu, Luwan District. Located near the intersection of Shanxi Nan Lu and Jianguo Xi Lu, south of Yongjia Lu, it takes about 10 minutes to walk down from the Shaanxi Nan Lu metro station at Huai Hai Lu.
Phone: Website: N/A
