Shanghai Sichuan Middle Road｜A Century-Old Architectural Poem and Artistic Code

✨🚶‍♂️While tourists on Zhongshan East 1st Road at the Bund flood towards the international architectural complex, those who truly understand Shanghai have long turned into this north-south "treasure street." It lacks the hustle and bustle of Nanjing Road but hides a denser cluster of historic buildings than the Bund—ranging from Art Deco to Neoclassicism, from Michelin-starred restaurants to avant-garde galleries, every brick and tile tells the legendary story of Shanghai since its opening as a port.
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🏛️【Must-Visit List for Architecture Enthusiasts】
1️⃣ Entrepreneur Building (No. 33 Sichuan Middle Road)
Built in 1931 by industrialist Liu Hongsheng, the former site of the China Enterprise Bank features a facade with vertical lines cut like piano keys, elegant and refined. The yellow-brown glazed bricks shimmer with a warm golden hue under the sunlight. The gently arched windows on the ground floor were once the bank’s VIP passage and now serve as a perfect photo spot for a café.
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2️⃣ Yuanfang Apartment (Lane 126, Sichuan Middle Road)
An Anne-style residence built in 1911 by Yuanfang Trading Company, with millimeter-precise carved lines on the exposed red brick walls. The southeast corner tower once housed the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway Bureau office and now is home to an artist who has collected 3,000 vintage Shanghai postcards.
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🎨【Artistic Youth Secret Map】
▪️ Gallery Vacancy (5F, No. 660 Sichuan Middle Road)
An industrial-style gallery hidden behind a pharmacy, currently exhibiting "Idle People on Business Trips," which uses scrap metal collages to create a cyberpunk Shanghai. The mechanical installations in the window rhythmically respond to voices.
▪️ Bluerider Art (No. 133 Sichuan Middle Road)
A German avant-garde gallery presenting the "New Luxury" exhibition, featuring futuristic installations made of liquid metal and fiber optics. Artist-led tours are often held on weekends—remember to wear solid-colored clothes for stunning light and shadow photos.
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✨🏙️On Sichuan Middle Road, every step is a dialogue with history, and every glance is a collision with the future.

Post by LUCIA WEBER | Oct 21, 2025