Wukang Road (), originally Route Ferguson (福开森路), is a historic road in the

Xuhui District Xuhui District is a core urban district of Shanghai. It has a land area of and a population of 982,200 as of 2008. The Xuhui District is named after its namesake, the historic area of Xujiahui. Xujiahui was historically land owned by Ming dyn ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, China, located in the western part of the former

French Concession The Shanghai French Concession; ; Shanghainese pronunciation: ''Zånhae Fah Tsuka'', group=lower-alpha was a foreign concession in Shanghai, China from 1849 until 1943, which progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...

area of the city. In 2011 Wukang Road was recognized as one of the National Historic and Cultural Streets of China.

Overview

Wukang Road is only long, but is lined with 37 officially protected historic buildings. The buildings in the road incorporate a diverse range of architectural styles, including Mediterranean,

French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define th ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

. The area is characterized by quiet streets lined with ''wutong'' (

London plane London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

) trees. Well-known blogger Wang Jianshuo calls it his favourite street in Shanghai. Increasing café and restaurant openings have led to more tourists visiting the street. In

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...

's 2007 film ''

Lust, Caution ''Lust, Caution'' () is a 2007 erotic period espionage mystery romance film directed by Ang Lee, based on the 1979 novella by Eileen Chang. ''Lust, Caution'' is set in Hong Kong in 1938 and in Shanghai in 1942, when the city was occupied by ...

'', Route Ferguson is where the hero and heroine have their secret rendezvous. The road is also featured in Chen Danyan's novel ''Shanghai Memorabilia''. It is a popular sightseeing location for tourists interested in the architecture and history of the area. There is a tourist information center at 393 Wukang Road that provides self-guided walking tours.

History

In 1897,

John Calvin Ferguson John Calvin Ferguson (; 1866–1945) was an American scholar of Chinese art, collector and procurer for American art museums, and a Chinese governmental adviser. Ferguson was the son of John Ferguson and Catherine Matilda Pomeroy (Ferguson). Hi ...

, an American educator and president of Nanyang Public School (predecessor of

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU; ) is a Public university, public research university in Shanghai, Shanghai, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China ...

), built the road with his own salary to make it easier for colleagues and students to get to the school. The road was thus named ''Route Ferguson'' in his honour. It was paved in 1907 and broadened by the government of the French Concession. It was renamed Wukang Road in 1943, after

Wukang County () is a county in the prefecture-level city of Huzhou, in the northwest of Zhejiang province. As of 2020 census, its population was 548,568 all living in the built-up (or metro) area. Deqing is very close to Hangzhou and Shaoxing, so it is becomi ...

(now part of Deqing) in nearby

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

province, but its original name is still well known to locals. Wukang Road has been home for numerous Chinese celebrities, especially during the mid-20th century. Famous residents include revolutionary

Huang Xing Huang Xing or Huang Hsing (; 25 October 1874 – 31 October 1916) was a Chinese revolutionary leader and politician, and the first commander-in-chief of the Republic of China. As one of the founders of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Republic o ...

, first lady

Soong Ching-ling Rosamond Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 189329 May 1981) was a Chinese political figure. As the third wife of Sun Yat-sen, then Premier of the Kuomintang and President of the Republic of China, she was often referred to as Madame Sun Yat-sen. ...

, high-ranking politicians

Zhou Fohai Zhou Fohai (; Hepburn: ''Shū Futsukai''; May 29, 1897 – February 28, 1948), Chinese politician, and second-in-command of the Executive Yuan in Wang Jingwei's collaborationist Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China during th ...

Tang Shaoyi Tang Shaoyi (; 2 January 1862 – 30 September 1938), also spelled Tong Shao Yi, courtesy name Shaochuan (), was a Chinese statesman who briefly served as the first Premier of the Republic of China in 1912. In 1938, he was assassinated by the ...

Chen Lifu Chen Lifu or Ch'en Li-fu (; 21 August 1900 – 8 February 2001) was a Chinese politician and anti-communist of the Republic of China. Chen was born in Wuxing, Zhejiang, China (modern Huzhou). In 1925, Chen formally joined Kuomintang (KMT) in Sa ...

, Chen Guofu,

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...

, writers

Ba Jin Ba Jin (Chinese: 巴金; pinyin: ''Bā Jīn''; 1904–2005) was a Chinese writer. In addition to his impact on Chinese literature, he also wrote three original works in Esperanto, and as a political activist he wrote '' The Family''. Name He ...

Zheng Zhenduo Zheng Zhenduo (Cheng Chen-to; December 19, 1898 – October 17, 1958), courtesy name Xidi, was a Chinese journalist, writer, archaeologist and scholar. His pen names were Baofen (寶芬), Guo Yuanxin (郭源新) and CT. He made a significant con ...

Li Shizeng Li Shizeng (; 29 May 1881 – 30 September 1973), born Li Yuying, was an educator, promoter of anarchist doctrines, political activist, and member of the Chinese Nationalist Party in early Republican China. After coming to Paris in 1902, Li to ...

, singer Zhou Xuan, and many movie stars and business tycoons. In 1937,

, the first prime minister of the Republic of China, bought a house on Route Ferguson (now at No. 1, Lane 40, Wukang Road) and retired there. The following year, the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

invaded and occupied Shanghai (though not yet the foreign concessions), and tried to recruit Tang to head a pro-Japanese puppet government. Fearing Tang may collaborate with the Japanese, the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

assassinated him at his home on 30 September 1938.

Notable buildings

Wukang Mansion

The Wukang Mansion (formerly Normandie Apartments), at the southern end of Wukang Road, on the corner with Middle

Huaihai Road Huaihai Road or Huaihai Lu (; Shanghainese: ''Wahae Lu'') is a road in Shanghai, China. The central section of Huaihai Road is one of the two major shopping streets in central Shanghai; the other is Nanjing Road. Compared with the more touristy N ...

, is a protected historic building. It was designed by the renowned Hungarian-Slovak architect

László Hudec László Ede Hudec or Ladislav Hudec ( hu, Hugyecz László Ede) (Besztercebánya, Austria-Hungary (now Banská Bystrica, Slovakia) January 8, 1893 – Berkeley, October 26, 1958), Chinese name Wu Dake (), was a Hungarian– Slovak architect acti ...

(1893–1958) in the French Renaissance style, and was completed in 1924. It was home to numerous celebrities including famous actors and actresses Wu Yin,

Wang Renmei Wang Renmei (; December 1914 – 2 April 1987) was a famous Chinese actress and singer nicknamed the "Wildcat of Shanghai". She was mainly active during the 1930s, and her most notable film was the 1934 ''Song of the Fishermen'' (available onli ...

Qin Yi Qin Yi (; 4 February 1922 – 9 May 2022) was a Chinese actress. She gained fame for her stage performances in the war-time capital Chongqing during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the war, she became one of China's most popular film actre ...

, Zhao Dan, Sun Daolin,

Wang Wenjuan Wang Wenjuan (; 19 December 1926 – 6 August 2021) was a noted performer in Yue opera. She was well known for playing the title role Lin Daiyu in the 1962 film of ''Dream of the Red Chamber'', an adaptation of a work by Cao Xueqin. Biog ...

Shangguan Yunzhu Shangguan Yunzhu (; 2 March 1920 – 23 November 1968) was a Chinese actress active from the 1940s to the 1960s. She was considered one of the most talented and versatile actresses in China, and was named one of the 100 best actors of the 100 ...

, and actor/director Zheng Junli.

, the widow of President Sun Yat-sen, lived at the end of Wukang Road across Huaihai Road. Her home is now open to the public as the Soong Ching-ling Memorial Residence.

Former residences

The road was the former residence for a number of notable people: * No. 2 : the Former Residence of Mo Shangqing, "silk czar". * Lane 40, No. 1: the Former Residence of

, politician. * Lane 40, No. 4: the Former Residence of

Yan Fuqing Yan Fuqing (; 1882–1970), also known as Fu Ching (F.C.) Yen, was a Chinese medical practitioner, public health pioneer, civil servant, and educator. Born in Shanghai in 1882, Yen came from a renowned family with a history of serving the Chin ...

, academic. * No. 67: the Former Residence of

, politician. * No. 99: the Former Residence of the British executive of the Zhengguanghe beverage company. * Lane 107, No. 2: the Former Residence of Chen Guofu, politician. * No. 113: the Former Residence of the writer

(1904–2005). The house was originally built in 1923 in Spanish style. Ba Jin lived there from 1955. The residence was opened to the public in December 2011. * Lane 117, No. 1: the Former Residences of Zhou Zuomin (1882–1955), banker. * Lane 117, No. 2: the Former Residence of Li Jilan (1904–1957), lieutenant-general. * No. 274: the Former Residence of Zheng Dongguo, general. * No. 390: the Former Residence of the Italian consul general, built in 1932. The building is now the headquarters of the

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation SAIC Motor Corp., Ltd. (formerly Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Anting, Shanghai. Founded in 1955, it is currently the largest of the " Big Four" state-owned car manu ...

. * No. 393: the Former residence of

, Chinese revolutionary. The south building was built in 1912 and the north building was built in the 1930s. It now houses the Wukang Road Tourist Information Center and the Xuhui Historical Building Art Center.

References

External links

* {{coord, 31.2076, N, 121.4401, E, display=title 1897 establishments in China Streets in Shanghai Tourist attractions in Shanghai History of Shanghai Culture in Shanghai