When Andrew and Alvina asked me where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do, I said something local. Not knowing how “local” I wanted to go, their good suggestion was to head to Tian Zi Fang also known as Tai Kang Lu.

Tian Zi Fang is a charming neighbourhood characterised by its narrow alleys and shikumen-styled architecture. Trendy bars, cafes, craft shops, galleries and boutiques co-exist with local residents.

Shikumen (simplified Chinese: 石库门; pinyin: shíkùmén), literally “stone gate”, is an architectural style for residential buildings in Shanghai, China combining Western and Chinese 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 Shanghai people live in large apartment blocks.
Credit: Wikipedia

Because of the growing popularity from tourists like me who want to get a more local flavour of Shanghai, residents have unwittingly witness the transformation on their little neighbourhood door by door. Right now, most of the places on the ground level have been converted to retail and dining spaces.

The only upside for residents (or downside for store owners) is the slight inconvenience to get there. My regret is not visiting the place in the day, by night the atmosphere is more mellow and quiet. If you make too much noise in the restaurant, you WILL be told off by the residents upstairs.

The place is still very much residential, so expect to see lines of dirty laundry while you sip on your merlot.