A Family Brisk Walk on Sinan Road, Shanghai

📍 Shanghai · 👁 4 reads · ❤️ 228 likes

They say travel is going from a place you’re tired of to see places others are tired of. But are you really tired of it? Especially in a metropolis like Shanghai, even after living here for decades, how many places do you truly know?

Deep travel is trendy now: experiencing local life in a place. Actually, you can simply treat yourself as a tourist in your own city and do things only tourists do!

Not long after taking my kid on a brisk walk along Yuyuan Road, we’re now tackling Sinan Road.

This shop is near Sinan Road. We booked in advance. On the day before Chinese New Year’s Eve, still a working day, we arrived and had the place to ourselves; later, another couple came. I heard it’s usually crowded on weekends.

The studio is in an old residential community downtown—these old communities are either Shikumen houses or buildings with a touch of historical architecture, though inside it’s nothing special. At the gate, you need to register, show your health code, and have your temperature taken.

The studio is tiny; luckily there were few people, as it would feel cramped with more.

The two tables in the middle seat about eight. At first, it was just our family of three and a staff member. The kalimba (thumb piano) is tiny, as small as my kid’s palm. She chose a heart shape and decided to paint it with her favorite animal—a hamster. I found a picture online for her to sketch with a pencil. In the end, both the sketch and coloring were done by me, though she helped mix colors, which was a big help. After painting, we placed the keys in order and tightened them with screws, which Dad and kid did together. So this little kalimba is truly a joint creation of our family of three.

The instructor was amazing. He tuned it at the end by tapping the keys forward and back—different lengths produce different tones. As someone tone-deaf, I really admire people who can tell notes just by listening!

The whole process took about an hour and a half. Others nearby were so skilled—fast and artistic. As for mine... well! Love your own kid! Art is truly a skill!

Just from the name, you can tell this place is utterly poetic.

From the ACG studio’s community, it’s just a few minutes’ walk to Sinan Books. Along the way, you see many artsy cafés that tempt you to step inside. But our target was Aniang Noodle House; unfortunately, the owner seemed to have gone home for the New Year, so we found it closed. We had to move up our plan, turned a corner, and went to Sinan Books.

Shanghai has many Sinan Books branches, all requiring reservations. Last time I booked the Cloud one; even with a reservation we had to queue for an hour, so we gave up. Lucky this branch had no one! We arrived earlier than booked and still got in.

This place was originally St. Nicholas Church, so hints of that remain both outside and inside. It’s not big and has a small collection. If divided into four areas, the cultural creative section takes ¼ and the children’s reading area another ¼, making both areas really great! Books in the children’s area can be borrowed—envy the kids living nearby! All books I’d never seen before! Our family picked up a picture book; it was so interesting, we read it with delight.

The cultural creative area has postcards, and you can stamp with the Poetry Store’s seal and put on special stamps—such meaningful souvenirs are definitely worth keeping. After paying at the front desk, they can even mail them for you!

Through the cultural creative area, you reach another large dining area offering coffee, drinks, tea, and desserts. Indoors is a bit dim; there’s an outdoor area, but with the cold weather, nobody went out. Probably because it was a workday, it wasn’t crowded.

We ordered a set (tea + cake) and an extra drink as lunch! The staff warned that the ‘Chocolate Banana Cream Planet Cup’ was cold and might be chilly for a kid in winter. In fact, it was just room temperature, with cream and milk, quite suitable for children. The cake and drink were both chosen by Little Lulu herself, and both felt very summery.

This was the most surprising spot of our mini trip.

Originally, because you need to pay an entrance fee, I didn’t plan on it as a must-visit when researching—I’d see on the spot. I thought, how odd that a former residence still charges admission! But it was really worth the money. Besides, it’s only 20 yuan. Children under 1.3 meters are free, though you still need to register on site. You get a paper ticket that’s also a collectible souvenir!

There are many staff at Sun Yat-sen’s Former Residence; from the entrance, you can feel their warmth and politeness.

Entering, you see a small villa with text and photo introductions about Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching-ling—like reading a book, slowly savoring, very flavorful. There are also artifact displays and recreated scenes. I really wanted to read every word; even though I skipped this time, I learned many events I never knew. As age and experience grow, China’s modern history, which once uninterested me, now seems quite interesting. Coincidentally, I recently visited Chuansha and saw the house where Soong Ching-ling was born. If only I could also visit Songyuan Road, it would be perfect.

Because my kid wasn’t interested (so I suggest: could that room with a TV play some video materials?), she kept pulling me along, so I couldn’t read every sentence carefully (why do I picture my old self?...). Then, after leaving this historical exhibition hall, we realized the actual former residence is the building next door! You need shoe covers to enter. All furniture is preserved, allowing you to imagine past life moments. I never expected so many bookcases!

In front of the residence is a well-kept lawn, delightfully green even in winter! It was the season of wintersweet blooming; I captured wintersweet with the residence as background for the first time!

Oh, after the historical exhibition, downstairs there’s a small souvenir shop. I only wanted a fridge magnet, but they happened to offer a lucky bag with rich contents at great value, so I bought it without hesitation.

In short, clean, warm, polite, and with rich and varied exhibits, Sun Yat-sen’s Former Residence is definitely worth a visit!

I had been looking forward to Zhou Enlai’s Former Residence, but compared to Sun Yat-sen’s, it quickly paled.

You can’t enter after 4 p.m., so if you plan to visit, mind the time!

Worried I couldn’t book on the day, I reserved in advance for Zhou Enlai’s Former Residence—it’s free anyway! After checking at the gate, we went up a platform and started the tour from the 2nd floor. Although called ‘Zhou’s Residence,’ Premier Zhou actually lived in just one room. The many other rooms upstairs and downstairs were for other comrades to work and rest; each room’s layout is similar—a bed and a desk. Two floors plus an attic can house many people. There’s even a garage on the ground floor! There’s also a small garden at the entrance. The historical introduction is in a neighboring building. In winter, the ivy on the walls is just withered branches and leaves.

We strolled around casually and left.

Actually, it was almost 4:30, and my kid was getting tired, so we decided to sit down at the nearby Sinan Mansions.

There are too many complaints about this place! Its only merit is that it occupies a standalone villa, with an ambiance unmatched by any mall store I’ve visited.

It seems you can also order on the 2nd floor. We ordered directly on the 1st floor. The young cashier wasn’t very skilled, looked flustered, and didn’t ask if I wanted to upgrade my cup size...

The villa has three floors, with seats scattered on each level, even on stair landings and the balcony. The 3rd floor has a large long table, suitable for working on a laptop.

My main complaint is the only restroom on the 3rd floor. Possibly because other stores lack restrooms, Starbucks never thought to hire a cleaner. Staff are at the counter or making coffee; customers take their food and drinks, sit down, and afterward, if not considerate, leave trash on tables that goes uncleared for ages. The worst is that restroom—dirty and smelly! Since it’s unisex with just one toilet, queuing is necessary.

Once, Tianzifang was packed with tourists shoulder to shoulder, shops filled with dazzling goods that made you linger.

Although living in Shanghai, visiting places like Tianzifang is much like being a tourist; you just have the convenience of going whenever you want, but because it’s so close, you actually consider it less often.

So, my memory of it is just one visit with college classmates, and I only remember the dinner we had, the rest is vague.

This time, bringing my kid, we arrived at dinner time. After eating, we strolled through Tianzifang. Even though it was the Spring Festival period, there wasn’t much festive atmosphere, plus few tourists and many shops closed; the open ones didn’t spark much browsing desire. In the past, wandering through small goods markets was delightful; now, maybe with a more practical mindset, I’m not interested in things that are merely pretty but useless. However, for my kid, it was still attractive. She memorized the subway route and plans to bring her grandparents next time.

It’s not easy for a restaurant to stay open so many years. This visit felt a bit different from my memory. The layout: an outer area with regular tables and chairs, and an inner area where you need to remove shoes. When we arrived, there happened to be one unreserved table.

Grilled bread and curry are must-orders; we also got pulled tea, brown rice pudding, and Lotus Pond fried rice.

The brown rice pudding was originally for my kid, but it’s totally different from the puddings we usually eat—it’s brown rice soaked in milk. My kid didn’t like the small, slightly hard rice grains, so I ended up eating it all.

Curry is so versatile—you can dip bread in it or mix it with fried rice. We ordered cheese naan, which wasn’t very big; for three people, it felt a bit insufficient. Luckily, the fried rice portion was large, but I prefer naan... Because my kid didn’t like the brown rice pudding and also loved dipping naan in curry, I had to reluctantly give up my share.

An Indian server who spoke Chinese was very enthusiastic and came specially to chat, but met our shy, introverted little one, who rarely has a chance for close contact with foreigners but didn’t seize it!

Table of Contents

1. First Stop: ACG Creative DIY

2. Second Stop: Sinan Books (Poetry Store)

3. Third Stop: Sun Yat-sen’s Former Residence

4. Fourth Stop: Zhou Enlai’s Former Residence

5. Fifth Stop: Starbucks Reserve (Sinan Mansions)

6. Sixth Stop: Tianzifang

7. Seventh Stop: Lotus Pond Indian Restaurant

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