Learn about Jingan's historic buildings with these free tours

Photograph: 上海静安

For those interested in China's history, Jingan district is worth a visit, as it just unveiled three historical walking routes on Sunday, according to SHINE.

The first route mostly showcases the history of the Communist Party of China as a prequel to the approaching 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The route extends from the memorial of the Second National Congress of the Party on Laochengdu Bei Lu and leads to the New Fourth Army’s and Eighth Route Army’s office on Yanan Zhong Lu (where the Shanghai Exhibition Centre is). The former residence of Mao Zedong, where he and his family lived together in the latter half of 1924, is situated nearby at 120 Maoming Bei Lu, near Weihai Lu.

Another route follows along Shaanxi Bei Lu and has buildings of varying architecture, with some accessible to the public like Chongde Girls' School, now Qiyi High School (Yuyao Lu, near Kangding Lu). The school was where actress Ruan Lingyu, one of the most famous Chinese actresses of the 1930s, studied. The route also includes the residence of influential Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist Ho Tung (457 Shaanxi Bei Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu), as well as a Greek revival-style Ohel Rachel Synagogue (500 Shaanxi Bei Lu, near Xinzha Lu) built by Sir Jacob Elias Sassoon.

The last route follows along Yuyuan Lu and showcases buildings such as Paramount Hall (218 Yuyuan Lu, near Huashan Lu), once the largest ballroom in Shanghai, and Yugucun (361 Yugu Lu, near Yongyuan Lu), a residential area filled with shikumen houses built during the 1920s and 1930s.

Most of the protected buildings, if not all, have QR codes on site to provide historical information in both English and Mandarin. As there's no specific map for any of the routes, a casual stroll in the area could be a worthwhile experience for all you history buffs.

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