Duolun Road is now a peaceful taste of the past away from the hustle and bustle of the very popular shopping district on nearby Sichuan Road. A walk down historic Duolun Road takes you back to the feelings of 1930s Shanghai, leaving the noise and pace of an industrialize city far behind. It's an L-shaped pedestrian street, with no auto traffic, which is decorated with quaint street lamps and old Shanghai pictures, pillars and benches that provide comfort for tired walkers. Life size bronze figures of some of the road's former patrons are poised at intervals around the beautifully paved road and add some extra historical perspective. The many villas which line this pedestrianized street are attractive examples of the Chinese and International architecture styles of this former American concession area. Other sites along the famous street will be the English village where foreigners made friends with the Chinese residents.

The well-known Gongfei Cafe (former site of Hongde Hall), and numerous other old residences and villas with different styles have turned Duolun Road into “an open-air gallery of Shanghai architectur”; Celebrities Mansion, the Shanghai Art Opera Troupe, Hai Shang Jiu Li , former residences of historical celebrities, and old-fashioned neighborhoods have created a rich cultural atmosphere on today's Duolun road. Based on the principle of development of "restoring to the original", the humanistic style of the '20s and '30s is reproduced in its many museums, exhibition halls, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, bookshops and literary clubs, tea houses, attracting domestic and foreign visitors to cherish their memories, seeking leisure, for sightseeing and cultural activities.

At the Celebrity's Teahouse, you can now enjoy a variety of teas as well as Peking opera, which originated as entertainment in teahouses. In those days, a teahouse was more a place to socialize than to quench one's thirst. Foreigners often are surprised to encounter that atmosphere when entering a Chinese theatre, where the audiences eat, drink and talk. You can also enjoy old Shanghai's clothing worn by all classes of people, from qipao and changshan (long gown) to the Western-style suit. It's like a fashion show of old Shanghai. "Sell the porridge, sell the small dumpling, sell the ligao (peach syrup) candy, sell the flower," these peddlars' sounds will carry you back to the Shanghai of the '30s.

Masterpieces of Buildings, Literary Remains of Former Residences

Hongde Temple: Located in No.59, Duolun Road. Build in 1928 in memory of Jones Fiels (transliteration), and American missionary. It is a building of church of Christianity in the form of Chinese temple, a building of the kind hardly seen in our country. Now it is in the range of "Protected Builds in Shanghai".

Kong Residence: Now it's No.250, Duolun Road. Formerly it was private residence of Kong Xiangxi, built in 1924. It's of brick-wood and mixture structure and of Islamic building style. In 1989, it was ranged in the line of "Excellent Modern Buildings of Shanghai City".