Discovering Shanghai's Lanes

It actually took me a while to realize there is a network of lanes in Shanghai. When we moved here in 2004, we knew we weren't compound-types. No kids, no furniture, we thought a nice cozy refurbished flat in Shanghai's former French Concession would do us just fine. We found one that suited us after a few weeks of hunting and moved in while the paint was still drying. It was located off the main street, set back with a small private garden. Still navigating using a bilingual map and a lot of hand signals, I didn't get off into unmarked territory for over a year.

Then I made a new friend, someone who'd lived in Shanghai for a lot longer than I had and knew the ropes. As we strolled our newborn sons down the Sycamore-lined streets, she introduced me to the shortcuts between main roads, the sudden quiet that engulfs the alleys, the community within the hub: Shanghai's longtangs.

It amazed me how a city I'd grown to know - or thought I knew - could surprise me in such a way. Shanghai is a city of layers. For the most part, buildings are like a lazy farmer's fence - rather than strip the paint, he just slaps on another coat. But underneath, there might be some beautiful original wood. Much of Shanghai's art deco and other grand architecture is hidden behind layers of shops-upon-shops. Small flats have been thrown up in the space between the front door of an old villa and the garden gate to house the multitudes that live in the city. Once you know what to look for, you can see the gems beneath.

Now I live in a lane house with my family. An interesting mix of East meets West architecture, the row (lane) houses were built en masse in the 1920s and 30s to house the influx of people arriving in Shanghai from the outlying provinces. Usually home to single families, the houses are narrow with small gardens, three floors with small rooms on the half-floor landings. Now they house many families, each to a floor or a room. Some houses are bought by property owners and developers (like mine) and then rented out as a whole unit.

It's a nice lifestyle. While quiet when compared to living on a main road, new sounds like neighbors playing mahjong and mynah birds chattering in mandarin now wake us instead of honks and bicycle bells. To read more about life in a lane, read Tom Doctoroff's article on the Huffington Post or Kathy Pauli's blog From my Tingzijian.

From Sara Naumann, About.com's Guide to China Travel, guest-blogger for Chinese Culture.