Increasingly elegant but undeniably scrappy, resolutely glamorous yet charming and low key –Shanghai’s former French Concession represents every aspect of the city’s short but tumultuous story. This guided walk is your chance to dip in and out of its modern boutiques and chic cafes – and witness the local bike fixers, propaganda art, street tailors and dumpling hawkers that have been there much longer.
Founded in 1849, and reaching its peak in the 1920s and 1930s, the area was governed by France but was populated by a cosmopolitan mix of Russians, Brits, Americans, Chinese. Famed as the residential area of the city’s wealthy political elites (not to mention the shady gangsters associated with them), your local guide will lead you through old lanes still lined with Russian Churches, British townhouses and even French chateaus!