Shikumen houses in Shanghai?

[bjornkn]

I just read a couple of very interesting crime novels by Qiu Xiaolong where there was a lot of talk about a special, old building type common in Shanghai, called Shikumen - a "cityfied" variant of a traditional rural Chinese building type with patio etc. I've been looking around the web to find out how they were actually looking, plans and/or photos/3D showing interiors, patio etc. So far I haven't found much.

As I know there are some very knowledgeable people here, even from Shanghai, maybe someone could help with a few links?

This is just out of curiosity, and not for a project.

[SandmanNinja]

I found these in google:

 

http://www.gluckman.com/ShanghaiArchGeo.html

Case in point, the Shikumen, or Longtang, stone housing tossed up by the British for a massive influx of Chinese in the early 1900s. The gray and brown tenements suggest Birmingham, but are essentially Chinese, rows of houses forming interior courtyards in the traditional style.

 

 

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shanghai/xin-tian-di.htm

The Shikumen Building appeared in the mid-1800's, and is a product of Chinese and Western architecture styles. In the early 1900's, it was the residential buildings of Shanghai citizens. The building represents modern Shanghai history and culture. However, with the development of the city, the formerly glorious Shikumen gradually faded out the historical stage as it could no longer satisfy people's demands of residence. Thus, the idea of rebuilding Shikumen buildings was launched by the developer of Shanghai Xin Tian Di in 1997

 

 

http://www.shuion.com/eng/SOL/pptdev/xin.asp

Shanghai Xintiandi features a multitude of specialist F&B, retail, entertainment, cultural, recreational, commercial and residential facilities in restored "Shikumen" houses - a special old form of building architecture only found in Shanghai - as well as state-of-the-art new buildings, catering for both residents and visitors.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai

Shikumen

Main article: Shikumen

Renovated shikumen lanes in Xintiandi, this tribute to old Shanghai is now a high end restaurant and shopping center.

 

 

One uniquely Shanghainese cultural element is the shikumen (石库门) residences, which are two or three-story townhouses, with the front yard protected by a high brick wall. Each residence is connected and arranged in straight alleys, known as a lòngtang (弄堂), pronounced longdang in Shanghainese. The entrance to each alley is usually surmounted by a stylistic stone arch. The whole resembles terrace houses or townhouses commonly seen in Anglo-American countries, but distinguished by the tall, heavy brick wall in front of each house. The name "shikumen" literally means "stone storage door", referring to the strong gateway to each house.

The shikumen is a cultural blend of elements found in Western architecture with traditional Lower Yangtze (Jiangnan) Chinese architecture and social behavior. All 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. The courtyard also allowed sunlight and adequate ventilation into the rooms.

This style of housing originally developed when local developers adapted terrace houses to Chinese conditions. The wall was added to protect against fighting and looting during the Taiping rebellion, and later burglars and vandals during the social upheavals of the early twentieth century. By World War II, more than 80% of the population in the city lived in these kinds of dwellings. Many of these were hastily built and were akin to slums, while others were of sturdier construction and featured all modern amenities such as the flush toilet.

During and after World War II, massive population increases in Shanghai led many shikumen houses to be heavily subdivided. For example, the spacious living room is often divided into three or four rooms, each lent out to a family. These cramped conditions continue to exist in many of the shikumen districts that have survived recent development.

The landlords who leased (subletted) the shikumen out to other families were called "erfangdong"(二房东), or "second landlord" as many of them acquired the shikumen buildings from its original owner ("dafangdong"大房东). These landlords families usually share the same shikumen building with the tenants.

[bjornkn]

Thanks for the links. Unfortunately it's about the same results I got from Google. Only one single image from the street, and no courtyards. It is strange that a building type that apparently housed 80% of the Shanghai citizens at one time is so poorly "documented" on the web? Obviously not very popular?

[own1221]

There really isnt that much to document, its low quality house that maybe the Chinese government is censoring