![Ruin'd](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Ruin%27d..jpg)
Shikumen (,
Shanghainese
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the Districts of Shanghai, central districts of the Shanghai, City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as ...
: ''zaq⁸ khu¹ men⁶,''
IPA
IPA commonly refers to:
* India pale ale, a style of beer
* International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation
* Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound
IPA may also refer to:
Organizations International
* Insolvency Practitioners ...
:
">ᴀʔ¹¹ kʰu¹¹ mən²⁴ is a traditional
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
nese
architectural style
An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...
combining
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
elements that first appeared in the 1860s.
At the height of their popularity, there were 9000 shikumen-style buildings in Shanghai, comprising 60% of the total housing stock of the city,
but today the proportion is much lower as most
Shanghainese
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the Districts of Shanghai, central districts of the Shanghai, City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as ...
live in large apartment buildings. Shikumen is classified as one type of ''
lilong
A longtang (, Shanghainese: ''longdhang'') is a lane in Shanghai and, by extension, a community centred on a lane or several interconnected lanes. It is sometimes called lilong (); the latter name incorporates the ''-li'' suffix often used in t ...
'' residences, sometimes translated as "lane houses" in English.
In 2010, "construction techniques of shikumen ''lilong'' architecture" was recognised by the Chinese government on the national non-physical cultural heritage register (no. VIII-210).
Shikumen houses were also introduced to other port cities in China. For example, many were built in the foreign concessions of
Hankou
Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers wher ...
(now part of
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
), and some can still be seen there today. Shikumen terraces can even be found as far afield as Beijing, where the two shikumen lanes Huakang Li and Tai’an Li, dating from the 1920s, are undergoing restoration.
Structure
Shikumens are two or three-story structures resembling Western
terrace house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
s or
townhouse
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
s, distinguished by high brick walls enclosing a narrow front yard. The name "stone gate" references these strong gateways.
Each residence abuts another and all are arranged in straight side alleys called
longtang
A longtang (, Shanghainese: ''longdhang'') is a lane in Shanghai and, by extension, a community centred on a lane or several interconnected lanes. It is sometimes called lilong (); the latter name incorporates the ''-li'' suffix often used in t ...
(,
Shanghainese
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the Districts of Shanghai, central districts of the Shanghai, City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as ...
: ''lon⁶ daon⁶'',
IPA
IPA commonly refers to:
* India pale ale, a style of beer
* International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation
* Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound
IPA may also refer to:
Organizations International
* Insolvency Practitioners ...
:
">oŋ¹¹ dɑ̃²⁴ sometimes written as 衖堂). The entrance to each alley is usually surmounted by a stylistic
stone arch.
The shikumen is a cultural blend of the elements found in Western architecture with traditional
Lower Yangtze
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...
architecture and social behavior.
Traditional Chinese dwellings had a courtyard, and the Shikumen was no exception. Yet, to compromise with its urban nature, it was much smaller and provided an interior haven to the commotions in the streets, allowing for raindrops to fall and vegetation to grow freely within a residence.
[文汇报:从石库门走入上海城市文化](_blank)
(''Wen Wei Po'': Stepping into Shanghai's urban culture through the Shikumen), ''Wen Wei Po'' 18 January 2010 The courtyard also allowed sunlight and improved ventilation into the rooms.
History
Origin
![An old pic of an entrance to a Longtang in Shanghai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/An_old_pic_of_an_entrance_to_a_Longtang_in_Shanghai.jpg)
This style of housing originally developed when local developers adapted Western-style terrace houses to Chinese conditions. Migrant labourers from surrounding provinces entered Shanghai in large numbers with the establishment of Shanghai as a
treaty port
Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire.
...
in 1843. The 1853
Small Swords Rebellion and the
Taiping Revolution
The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han Chinese, Han, Hakka people, Hakka- ...
drove more migrants and refugees into Shanghai. With the upsurge in demand, property developers began to build a large number of residential buildings for the new Chinese residents of the city. At first, these tended to be wooden buildings that were cheap and quick to build.
These wooden buildings were built as terraces, and usually name with "''Li''" (,
Shanghainese
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the Districts of Shanghai, central districts of the Shanghai, City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as ...
: ''li⁶'') as suffix. These were the first "''
lilong
A longtang (, Shanghainese: ''longdhang'') is a lane in Shanghai and, by extension, a community centred on a lane or several interconnected lanes. It is sometimes called lilong (); the latter name incorporates the ''-li'' suffix often used in t ...
''" buildings in Shanghai. Within 10 months from 1853, 800 dwellings of this type were built.
Because of their flammability, this type of construction was banned by
concession
Concession may refer to:
General
* Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...
authorities in Shanghai. However, with a burgeoning property development market in Shanghai, developers adapted these wooden terraces into the Shikumen. They used the traditional Chinese "''litie''" technique of wooden frame and load-bearing brick veneer construction,
and for each residence used the traditional three-sided courtyard or
four-sided courtyard layouts commonly found in the
Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
region.
Development
Shikumen residences had a much smaller footprint than traditional courtyard residences, and were accessed by narrow lanes. They were also cheaper to build than Western-style houses.
Although more expensive to build than the wooden terraces they replaced, they were sturdier and so attracted higher rents. They were first built in the
British concession (later part of the International Settlement; and still later, the pre-merger
Huangpu District), but quickly became popular throughout the
Old City and Chinese zones, and came to become the predominant form of residential construction in Shanghai.
The high profit attracted a whole swathe of property companies to enter the shikumen market.
From the 1910s, various innovations were made to the shikumen in response to social change. With a burgeoning
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
, designers increased the width of lanes between terraces, but the width of each dwelling decreased - from a three-bay hall and two side wings (as was standard in the 19th century) to a two-bay or one-bay hall, and one side wing.
Decorations became more elaborate: the main doors of the houses acquired the characteristic elaborate lintels, featuring
architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can ...
s,
archivolt
An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch.
It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the ...
s and
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
s. By around 1919, increasing population pressures and an increasing wealth gap encouraged the development of smaller, but better equipped, "new type" shikumen.
"New type" shikumen were three storeys tall instead of two, and were equipped with modern sanitary equipment. Great emphasis was placed on natural lighting, with most shikumen orientated towards the south, and an internal staircase skylight or atrium to supplement the front and back courtyards. Developments became larger, with a trunk lane leading off the street, and branch lanes leading off the trunk lane. Cars became more popular, so the trunk lanes were typically designed to accommodate cars.
Later history
The heyday of the "new type" shikumen was in the 1920s. From the 1930s they were replaced by newer building types, including newer types of ''lilong'' residences, as well as larger modern apartment buildings, before the civil war and the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
completely disrupted the property market in Shanghai.
It was common for families who could not afford the rent on a whole house to sub-let some of the rooms. They were known as "second landlords" (, ''èr fángdōng'') (as opposed to the head-landlord (, ''dà fángdōng'')). "Second landlords" often lived in the same shikumen residence with their tenants.
[区县志 >> 区志 >> 黄浦区志 >> 第十一编特色建筑 >> 第三章石库门房屋 >> 第三节 使用状况](_blank)
上海地方志办公室. The phenomenon blossomed after the start of the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
: with refugees rushing into the unoccupied concessions from the Chinese zones in
Hongkou
, formerly spelled Hongkew, is a district of Shanghai, forming part of the northern urban core. It has a land area of and a population of 852,476 as of 2010.
It is the location of the Astor House Hotel, Broadway Mansions, Lu Xun Park, and H ...
and
Zhabei
Zhabei, formerly romanized as Chapei, is a neighborhood and a former district of Shanghai with a land area of and a resident population of 847,300 as of 2013. It is the location of the Shanghai railway station, one of the main railway stations ...
, and further afield, there was dramatically increased demand for housing in the concessions. "Second landlords" used increasingly creative ways to sub-divide rooms and build add-ons and lean-tos in the courtyards and on the terraces. Shikumen residences became known for being crowded and disorderly. It was not uncommon for a single shikumen residence to be inhabited by dozens of families. A famous satirical comedy of the time, set in one of these houses, was called "''The 72 Tenant Families''" ().
Use
Although designed to be residential, other types of enterprises often operated from shikumen buildings as well, hidden within ''
longtang
A longtang (, Shanghainese: ''longdhang'') is a lane in Shanghai and, by extension, a community centred on a lane or several interconnected lanes. It is sometimes called lilong (); the latter name incorporates the ''-li'' suffix often used in t ...
'' developments. These include money lenders, traders, scribes, factories, entertainment venues and even schools.
For example, one larger shikumen development, ''Xingren Li'', featured more than 20 money lenders.
Often, traders would use the ground floor rooms for storage, and live in the upper floors. Chemical and dye dealers were common. Even light industry was found within shikumen communities, such as sock factories and cosmetics factories. Even more common (and common even today in surviving and renovated shikumen lanes) are grocers, restaurants, inns and bath houses.
Densely populated shikumen neighbourhoods provided camouflage for revolutionaries. The
Communist Party of China
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
held its first conference in a shikumen residence in ''Shude Li'', and its second conference in another shikumen residence in the
French Concession
The Shanghai French Concession; ; Shanghainese pronunciation: ''Zånhae Fah Tsuka'', group=lower-alpha was a foreign concession in Shanghai, China from 1849 until 1943, which progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Th ...
. The
Communist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by the ...
first operated out of a shikumen residence on
Avenue Joffre
Huaihai Road or Huaihai Lu (; Shanghainese: ''Wahae Lu'') is a road in Shanghai, China. The central section of Huaihai Road is one of the two major shopping streets in central Shanghai; the other is Nanjing Road. Compared with the more touristy Na ...
.
Shikumen neighbourhoods were also often used for less salubrious trades. The lanes ''Huile Li'' and ''Qunyu Fang'', on Foochow Road (now Fuzhou Road), formed the epicentre of Shanghai's
red light district
A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...
before 1949.
Gambling and opium dens commonly appeared in shikumen neighbourhoods, along with fortune tellers.
Demise
By the late 1930s, shikumen buildings were already on their way out, overtaken by newer styles of ''lilong'' residences, and large apartment buildings. Commercial property development in Shanghai virtually ceased during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
that followed it. After the end of the war 1949, shikumen construction ceased completely, replaced with planned construction of residential buildings on collectivist principles.
[区县志 >> 区志 >> 静安区志 >> 第八编房屋建筑 >> 第三章旧有住宅 >> 第四节 旧式里弄住宅](_blank)
上海地方志办公室. In the early 1950s, it was calculated that there were more than 9000 shikumen buildings, comprising 65% of residential housing stock by area in Shanghai.
While constructions of new residential buildings decreased this percentage over time, most shikumen neighbourhoods remained unchanged in their crowded state until economic reforms in the 1980s and 90s began the wave of demolition and reconstruction which, by the early 21st century, has left only a few shikumen developments intact. In
Xuhui District
Xuhui District is a core urban district of Shanghai. It has a land area of and a population of 982,200 as of 2008.
The Xuhui District is named after its namesake, the historic area of Xujiahui. Xujiahui was historically land owned by Ming dyna ...
alone, it has been calculated that shikumen residences had decreased from 2.68 million square metres in 1949, to 0.25 million square metres by the late 1990s.
[区县志 >> 区志 >> 徐汇区志 >> 第十四篇房屋建筑 >> 第二章里弄住宅 >> 第一节 旧式里弄](_blank)
上海地方志办公室. The forced demolition of crowded and stable shikumen communities gave rise to controversies, such as a 2005 incident where a developer resorted to arson to persuade residents to leave, resulting in the death of two elderly residents.
Classification and architecture
![Entrance of a Shikumen Lilong on Shanhaiguan Rd](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Entrance_of_a_Shikumen_Lilong_on_Shanhaiguan_Rd..JPG)
Architectural historians classify shikumen into two types, the "old type" and the "new type". The old type was predominantly built from the 1860s until the end of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, while the new type prevailed from after the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
until the development of shikumen ceased after 1949. Old type shikumen is further divided into an early period and a late period.
The defining characteristic of a shikumen building is the prominent main gate - which also gives rise to the name "shikumen". Typically, this gate is located on the central axis of each dwelling, with twin doors made of heavy wood, painted glossy black. Typical width is around 1.4 metres, with a height of around 2.8 metres. The doors usually possess brass or iron knockers.
[典雅幽深的石库门和江南民居](_blank)
(Sikumen and Jiangnan residential architecture), ''Local History Office of Shanghai'' The original documented name for such buildings was "''shigumen''" (,
Shanghainese
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the Districts of Shanghai, central districts of the Shanghai, City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as ...
: ''zaq⁸ ku¹ men⁶''), which in
Shanghainese Wu meant "gate framed with stone", but over time corrupted into the similar-sounding "''shikumen''".
Each individual dwelling displays typical characteristics of traditional
Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
architecture, while the layout of the development as a whole is adopted from Western
terrace house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
s.
Old type
Early period
![Gable of a Buling in Jianye Li](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Gable_of_a_Buling_in_Jianye_Li.JPG)
Early period old type shikumen were built between 1869 and 1910. They retained more of the style of traditional Chinese houses, but with a much condensed footprint. There are typically 3 to 5 bays to each dwelling, and two storeys. They used the traditional ''litie'' () (or "brick nogging") style of
brick veneer
Masonry veneer walls consist of a single non-structural external layer of masonry, typically made of brick, stone or manufactured stone. Masonry veneer can have an air space behind it and is technically called "anchored veneer". A masonry veneer ...
for load-bearing walls. The houses possessed walls of equal height at the front and back, so that each dwelling (despite being part of a terrace) was an enclosed whole, separated from the outside world. This made them popular with the upper end of the residential property market.
The early period shikumen also possessed more features of traditional Chinese architecture: on the external façade of the terrace there are often typically Chinese ''matou'' ("horse head") style or ''Guanyin dou'' ("
Guanyin
Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...
hood") style
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
s; the main hall uses floor-to-ceiling windows; decorative boards below eaves; and grid windows on the side wings. However, in contrast to later shikumen buildings, the gates of early period shikumen were not elaborately decorated, and were simply framed in stone. In terms of layout, the shikumen of this period were arranged in lanes of about 3 metres wide - narrower than later buildings - and the attention to orientation, and organization of trunk lanes and branch lanes, both features of later shikumen, were also absent.
In terms of internal lay-out, immediately within the main gate is the front courtyard (''tianjing'' ), flanked by wings (''xiangfang'' ) of the house on the left and right. At the centre, facing the courtyard is the hall, or ''ketang jian'' (). This large room typically has an area of about 12 square metres, and is used like a modern sitting room or living room. On either side of the hall are the ''cijian'' () or "secondary rooms". Stairs to reach the first floor are located behind the ''cijian''. Behind the hall and the ''cijian'' is the back courtyard (''houtianjing'' ), which is about half the size of the front courtyard. The well, which provided water for the house, was located here (though later houses were connected to
tap water
Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...
instead). At the back of the back courtyard are back buildings, usually used as the kitchen, toilet and storage room. On the whole, each dwelling preserved the main features required for traditional Chinese day-to-day living, while saving the land required.
Most early period old style shikumen have been demolished or rebuilt. Representative examples include the ''Xingren Li'', built in 1872 (demolished 1980), and ''Mianyang Li'' and ''Jixiang Li'', both located near the ''Shiliupu'' dock area.
Late period
![A Shikumen Lane in East Siwenli before demolished](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/A_Shikumen_Lane_in_East_Siwenli_before_demolished.JPG)
Late period shikumen were mostly built between 1910 and 1919. The three-bay wide frontage with two side wings was reduced to one- or two-bay wide, with one side wing. The back courtyard was reduced, but more attention was paid to natural lighting, and the laneways were widened. More Western architectural details found favour: bannisters, doors and windows, staircase, pillar capitals and arch buttresses all used Western decorative styles.
The
lintel
A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...
of the main gate also became increasingly elaborate, decorated with semicircular
archivolt
An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch.
It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the ...
s, triangular
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
s or rectangular
architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can ...
s.
Late period old type shikumen are far better preserved than early period examples. Representative examples include the west and east ''Siwen Li'' (in the process of being demolished), north ''Shude Li'', and ''Daqing Li'', built in 1915. One of the few old type shikumen developments to be preserved largely intact is ''Bugao Li'', or ''Cité Bourgogne'' (built in the 1930s), in the former
French Concession
The Shanghai French Concession; ; Shanghainese pronunciation: ''Zånhae Fah Tsuka'', group=lower-alpha was a foreign concession in Shanghai, China from 1849 until 1943, which progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Th ...
.
New type
![The Main Lane of Siming Cun Shanghai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/The_Main_Lane_of_Siming_Cun_Shanghai.JPG)
New type shikumen were typically built from 1919 to the 1930s. They were also called "reformed style" shikumen residences. The main structural difference between new type and old type shikumen is that new style buildings are three storeys high. They were built of
reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
, rather than brick veneer. Some were equipped with modern sanitary equipment, and natural lighting became a key concern. Developments are typically laid out with a main, trunk lane, with houses arranged along branch lanes leading from the trunk lane. With the advent of motor cars, the trunk lanes were usually built wide enough to accommodate cars. Instead of one lane with one or two rows of houses, new style shikumen were typically developed in large blocks. Standard triangular gables and party walls replaced the more elaborate ''matou'' or ''Guanyin dou'' styles, with concrete tops. Exposed brick was used for external walls. The main gate frame also switched from stone to brick and painted stone cladding.
The architectural style became far more Westernised overall.
Each dwelling was one to two bays wide. Two-bay wide houses "inherited" only one side wing, while one-bay wide houses discarded wings completely. Stairs became less steep. The new second floor typically contained bedrooms, along with a front and a back terrace (''shaitai'', ). The ground floor were equipped with kitchens (''zaopi jian'' ). At the back of the house, a "back wing" was added, as well as the ''tingzi jian'' () or "pergola room", located above the kitchen and below the terrace. This was typically small, with low ceilings, and faced north, making it the least attractive room in the house. They were usually used for storage, or as living quarters for servants.
Numerous new type shikumen have survived. Some well known examples include ''Jianye Li'' (now revamped into an upmarket hotel, commercial and residential complex), ''Siming Cun'', and ''Mingde Li'' located on
Avenue Joffre
Huaihai Road or Huaihai Lu (; Shanghainese: ''Wahae Lu'') is a road in Shanghai, China. The central section of Huaihai Road is one of the two major shopping streets in central Shanghai; the other is Nanjing Road. Compared with the more touristy Na ...
.
Names
In Chinese, shikumen developments are typically named with a suffix of ''Li'' (, "neighbourhood"), ''Fang'' (, "ward"), ''Long'' (, "lane") or ''Cun'' (, "village"). The first two are traditional suffixes for names of urban precincts, in common use since at least the
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
. Where an English name was used, "
Terrace
Terrace may refer to:
Landforms and construction
* Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river
* Terrace, a street suffix
* Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
" was a common suffix.
The first part of the name typically derives from one of three sources.
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上海地方志办公室. The first kind takes the name of the freeholder or related party: for example ''Siming Cun'' is named after the Chinese name ("Siming Bank") of the project's main sponsor, the
Ningpo Commercial & Savings Bank; similarly, ''Meilan Fang'' takes one syllable from each of the two owners' names - brothers Wu ''Mei''xi and Wu Si''lan''. The second kind takes the name of a nearby road or landmark, for example ''Bao'an Fang'' is named after the nearby Temple to the Bao'an Situ.
The third type uses an auspicious words: such as ''Jixiang Li'' ("auspicious"), ''Ruyi Li'' ("happiness") and ''Ping'an Li'' ("safety"). The Chinese name for ''Cité Bourgogne'', ''Bugao Li'', is both phonetically similar to the French name and has an auspicious meaning of "stepping upwards".
The names are typically inscribed, along with the year of construction, on the arch above the lane entrance.
Notable shikumen neighbourhoods today
![A Lane in Shangxianfang](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/A_Lane_in_Shangxianfang.jpg)
Few old type shikumen neighbourhoods survive. ''Xingren Li'', built in 1872, was regarded as a characteristic old type shikumen development. It was located on East Beijing Road, and composed of 24 two-storey residences, which varied in size between three-bay wide and five-bay wide styles. The main lane was 107.5 metres long, and the end walls featured ''Guanyin dou''-style gables.
It was demolished in 1980.
Another notable now-demolished development was ''Siwen Li'', located on Xinzha Road. This late period old type shikumen development occupied 4.66 hectares, with 48,000 square metres of floor space. There were a total of 706 residences of two or three storeys.
Most of these buildings were one-bay wide, without modern sanitary equipment. The house gates were noted for intricate
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style lintels.
Originally a middle-class neighbourhood, the area became dense
slum
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
s due to the influx of refugees in the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
.
The entire neighbourhood was razed progressively in 2012–2014.
''Cité Bourgogne'' (''Bugao Li''), located on South Shanxi Road, is a typical old type shikumen development despite being built in the 1930s. The neighbourhood includes 87 two-storey brick veneer residences with a red brick exterior. The trunk lane is about 2.5 wide, and there are numerous branch lanes. The lanes are noted for their main gateways, modeled after traditional Chinese ''
pailou Pailou may refer to:
*Paifang, a traditional Chinese architectural form like an archway Towns
* Pailou, Chizhou, in Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui
* Pailou, Jingmen, in Dongbao District, Jingmen, Hubei
*Pailou, Haicheng, Liaoning
Townships
* P ...
'' gates. ''Cité Bourgogne'' is well preserved ''in situ'' as a municipal heritage site, and remains mostly residential.
The largest shikumen neighbourhood which survives in a mostly original state is ''Jianye Li'' (), also heritage protected. A new type development located on West Jianguo Road and Yueyang Road, the development is composed of 260 residences, all of which are two storey red brick buildings. This development is noted for its use of traditionally Chinese ''matou'' gables, and arched doorways. In 2003, the original residents were relocated, and the buildings were somewhat controversially renovated to become
serviced apartment
Short-term rental describes furnished self-contained apartments that are rented for short periods of time, usually by the month as opposed to annual rentals in the unfurnished apartment rental market. They are seen as an alternative to hotels. "Sh ...
s and to house restaurants and other commercial uses.
''Shangxian Fang'' (), located on the site of the main hall of the
International Institute of China of
Gilbert Reid, is another heritage protected shikumen precinct, which is now being renovated to become "shikumen hotels". Other re-developed shikumen precincts include
Xintiandi
Xintiandi (, Shanghainese: ''Shinthidi'' lit. "New Heaven and Earth",Warr, Anne: ''Shanghai Architecture'', The Watermark Press, 2007, fig. "New World") is an affluent car-free shopping, eating and entertainment district of Shanghai. Xintiand ...
, where the buildings were extensively reconstructed, and
Tianzi Fang, which has been redeveloped for small businesses with an artistic bent, while largely preserving the fabric of the buildings. All of these redevelopment projects have been controversial.
Other than ''Cité Bourgogne'', ''Shangxian Fang'' and ''Jianye Li'', other heritage protected shikumen precincts are ''Siming Cun'', ''Meilan Fang'' and ''Rongkang Li''.
Gallery
Different types of end-wall gables
File:A Type of Shikumen Gable in JixiangLi Shanghai.JPG, Jixiang Li
File:A Type of Shikumen Gable in Cité Bourgogne Shanghai.JPG, Cité Bourgogne
File:Gable of a Buling in Jianye Li.JPG, Jianye Li (''matou'' style)
File:A Type of Shikumen Gable in ZhangYuan Shanghai.JPG, Chang Garden
File:The Wall with Decoration in Siming Cun Shanghai.JPG, Siming Cun
Different types of house gates
File:The Door of a Shikumen Building in East Siwenli before demolished.JPG, East Siwen Li (demolished)
File:A Shikumen Door in Cité Bourgogne.JPG, Cité Bourgogne
File:A Shikumen Door in Siming Cun Shanghai.JPG, Siming Cun
File:A Type of Shikumen Gate in Shanghai.JPG, A shikumen on Xinzha Road
File:A Type of Shikumen Gate in a Lilong on Daming Ed..JPG, A shikumen on Daming Road
File:The Door of a Shikumen Building in Rongkangli.jpg, Rongkang Li
File:A Type of Shikumen Gate in a Lilong on North Xiangyang Ed..JPG, A shikumen on North Xiangyang Road
File:Entrance of Provisional Government of ROK in Shanghai.JPG, A shikumen on Madang Road
Different types of lane entrances
File:Shangxian Fang.JPG, Shangxian Fang
File:Shanghai - Cité Bourgogne - 2.jpg, Cité Bourgogne
File:CCP Xintiandi 2209.JPG, Shude Li
File:The Entrance to East SiwenLi.JPG, East Siwen Li (demolished)
File:Xinxinli.JPG, Xinxin Li
File:XingshundongLi on Jiashan Rd..JPG, Xingshun East Li
File:Entrance of a Shikumen Lilong on Shanhaiguan Rd..JPG, A shikumen lane on Shanhaiguan Road
See also
*
Shikumen Open House Museum
*
Xintiandi
Xintiandi (, Shanghainese: ''Shinthidi'' lit. "New Heaven and Earth",Warr, Anne: ''Shanghai Architecture'', The Watermark Press, 2007, fig. "New World") is an affluent car-free shopping, eating and entertainment district of Shanghai. Xintiand ...
*
Tianzifang
Tianzifang or Tianzi Fang (; Shanghainese: ''Die Tz Fån'') is a touristic arts and crafts enclave that has developed from a renovated traditional residential area in the French Concession area of Shanghai. It is now home to boutique shops, bars ...
References
External links
The Herbert Offen Research Collection of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex MuseumHistoric Shanghai{{Shanghai
Architecture in China
Buildings and structures in Shanghai
History of Shanghai
Tourist attractions in Shanghai