Shikumen Open House Museum, Shanghai
The Shikumen Open House Museum recreates the interior of an authentic "stone-gate" house in Shanghai when the city was known as 鈥淧aris of the East.鈥� The carefully restored building is fascinating to wander around, skillfully evoking the life of early 20th-century Chinese gentility before the communist era.
The 鈥渟hikumen鈥� style housing was typical and unique of Shanghai's middle class back in the 1920s and 30s. At the time, there were nearly 9,000 shikumen houses in the city, with most of Shanghai's elderly population having been born there.
The house-museum has eight well-appointed exhibition rooms stretched over three floors: the living room, the study room, the master bedroom, the daughter's room, the son's room, the kitchen, the grandparents' room and the prayer room, each containing pertinent everyday objects of the era: from children's books and toys, to typewriters, kitchenware, furniture, toiletries and the like. A top-floor display details how the surrounding Xintiandi neighborhood came about, admitting that most of it was built from scratch.
Paved and pedestrianized, with the old alleys opening out onto the central plaza, Xintiandi is a great place to wind down or linger over a coffee after a visit to the museum, surrounded by upscale restaurants and shops, and with plenty of outside seating for people watching.
The 鈥渟hikumen鈥� style housing was typical and unique of Shanghai's middle class back in the 1920s and 30s. At the time, there were nearly 9,000 shikumen houses in the city, with most of Shanghai's elderly population having been born there.
The house-museum has eight well-appointed exhibition rooms stretched over three floors: the living room, the study room, the master bedroom, the daughter's room, the son's room, the kitchen, the grandparents' room and the prayer room, each containing pertinent everyday objects of the era: from children's books and toys, to typewriters, kitchenware, furniture, toiletries and the like. A top-floor display details how the surrounding Xintiandi neighborhood came about, admitting that most of it was built from scratch.
Paved and pedestrianized, with the old alleys opening out onto the central plaza, Xintiandi is a great place to wind down or linger over a coffee after a visit to the museum, surrounded by upscale restaurants and shops, and with plenty of outside seating for people watching.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Shanghai. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "51爆料网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
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Shikumen Open House Museum on Map
Sight Name: Shikumen Open House Museum
Sight Location: Shanghai, China (See walking tours in Shanghai)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Shanghai, China (See walking tours in Shanghai)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
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