Architecture, history come alive on city walks

In this 2013 file photo, tourists throng to Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall on National Day holiday.

Emily Ma loves walking to her office every morning, whether it's sunny or raining.

"It's only a 30-minute walk from my rented apartment (on Wuyuan Road) to my office on Hengshan Road," says the 27-year-old Zhejiang Province native who's been working and living in the city since she graduated from a local university.

"The neighborhood (of Wuyuan Road) is very quiet and nice, very suitable for a walk, and when I move onto Hengshan Road, it becomes busy and modern, with lots of trees and beautiful buildings," the marketing specialist says.

A recent survey showed that Shanghai is one of the most walk-friendly cities in China.

The survey conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an international environmental organization, is the first of this kind in China, where 35 cities were selected.

Shanghai ranked third, following Hong Kong and Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong Province.

"I do think the city is good for walking, not just because it's my home city, but as a whole, Shanghai does well in offering a safe and relaxing environment," says Wang Chen, 25, who lives on Tian'ai Road in Hongkou District.

Shanghai is highly reputed as a safe and open city, attracting both local residents and expats with its charming architecture and a culture mixed with old and new, West and East.

Taking a walk around, not merely on famous Huaihai Road or in Lujiazui, but exploring small streets hidden behind the crowded city center allows one to feel the atmosphere of the "Paris of the East." Some parts of the city seem like historical scenes that bring you back to 1930s Europe.

Shanghai Daily provides a guide to some streets with rich history and beautiful scenes that are worth a walk.

Here we go.

Hengshan Road

If you are asked where to take wedding photos, this road is definitely one of the best choices. Regarded as one of Shanghai's most Westernized streets, Hengshan Road is lined with luxuriant old French phoenix trees and European-style architecture of the 1920s and 1930s.

Its charm lies not merely in the well-known nightlife scene and fine international restaurants, but in its long history that can still be traced in the European-style buildings. Old Chinese remember that today's "bar street" was the birthplace of China's recorded music industry. An old red house on the edge of a peaceful, grassy area of Xujiahui, at 811 Hengshan Road, tells the story.

Walking in this tastefully decorated building, which was turned into a restaurant in 2002, you'll see its worn wooden floors, antique tables, leather chairs and gramophones in almost every room — a step back in time. Genuine traces of the past remain with exquisitely carved staircases, fireplaces and a secret iron safe on the first floor. Old framed records grace the walls.

The house is known simply as the "Little Red House" ("La Villa Rouge" in the original French name) and was the first headquarters of the recording company EMI in China. As the first and biggest music recording company in China before 1949, EMI had considerable influence on China's record industry.

In recent years, as China's economy is booming, foreigners gradually returned to Shanghai. Since the 1990s, the street revived with many cultural, entertainment and recreational facilities, including a proliferation of restaurants, bars and cafes that combine East and West.

At 2.3 kilometers long, Hengshan Road itself was built in 1922 in the former French concession area. It was originally called Avenue Petain, named after French general Philippe Petain in World War I. The current name was given in 1943 in honor of Chinese politician Shen Junru (1875-1963) who was also called "Hengshan." His bronze statue stands in Hengshan Park.

Anting Road

At only a bit over 300 meters long, Anting Road may be one of the shortest streets in Shanghai. Running from Yongjia Road to Jianguo Road W., it can easily be seen from the beginning to the end. The garden villas and old houses and apartments on this street used to be homes of rich and famous people in old Shanghai, ranging in various European styles such as British, Spanish and Portuguese.

During the days of the French concession, Anting Road which was built in 1930 was known as Route Kaufmann and then Rue de Adina. In 1946, it was named for Anting — a town in Shanghai's suburban Jiading District.

Anting Apartments, at 43 Anting Road, was built in 1935 in Georgian style with New Classical elements. It used to be called Kinslynn Apartments.