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Shanghai’s Forgotten Courtyard

You’d think there’d be no more surprises left in Shanghai – surely drones, digital maps, and amateur historians have unearthed them all. But here, just a building’s breadth from busy Wulumuqi Lu, stands a timeless Chinese courtyard house.

Imagine away everything around it, and this house could be from a thousand years ago: after all, Chinese farmhouses have been built the same way for centuries.

Above the lintel, an auspicious greeting welcomes visitors:

“May you always have wealth and good luck” 長發其祥.

Outside the house, a petite woman with a pixie haircut rises from her seat in the shade, welcoming us with the same warmth. “You’ve come to see our house,” says the granddaughter of the original owners, even though she wasn’t expecting us, even though we’re intruders into her home. It’s countryside hospitality, because this was once the countryside.
Madame Xia, granddaughter of the original owners (far right) and other residents of the courtyard house. Above the lintel, the auspicious blessing has welcomed guests for nearly a hundred years.

Outside the house, a petite woman with a pixie haircut rises from her seat in the shade, welcoming us with the same warmth. “You’ve come to see our house,” says the granddaughter of the original owners, even though she wasn’t expecting us, even though we’re intruders into her home. It’s countryside hospitality, because this was once the countryside.

 

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