Xingguo Hotel is a unique 70,000 square meter garden in Shanghai. The transportation, food and entertainment here are quite convenient, it is peaceful and quiet, the scenery is elegant, and it is full of historical old buildings. It is suitable for checking in during leisure time or weekends. Here are some architectural check-in points for you.
Xingguo Road, with lush greenery and quiet surroundings, still retains a peaceful and elegant atmosphere, despite being located in the bustling city center. Unlike the southern section, which is full of historical buildings, all the stories about the northern end of Xingguo Road seem to revolve around one name: “Xingguo Hotel” – in the courtyard at No. 72 Xingguo Road, there are many historical and legendary stories gathered.
Villa hotel hidden in greenery
Xingguo Hotel was formerly known as Xingguo Guesthouse. It was officially renamed Xingguo Hotel in 1979. Now the full name of Xingguo Hotel is “Shanghai Xingguo Radisson Hotel”. It occupies a vast area surrounded by Huashan Road in the west, Xingguo Road in the east and Hunan Road in the south. It boasts a unique 70,000 square meter garden within the city, making it one of the few garden villa hotels in Shanghai. The hotel is peaceful and quiet, with elegant scenery, lush trees, birds singing and flowers blooming, waterfalls and springs, and unique rocks. This is also the largest existing villa complex in the city center of Shanghai, with more than 20 villas of different styles. Most of them were built in the 1920s and 1930s, including English country villas, French and Spanish mansions.
In the 1930s, the global economic crisis broke out. This crisis, which originated on Wall Street, also affected Shanghai, which was then the financial center of the Far East. According to records, in 1934 alone, 425 national capital enterprises in Shanghai went bankrupt, and the ranks of the unemployed grew rapidly. However, at the same time, the outbreak of the economic crisis also provided a good opportunity for some visionary capitalists to purchase land at low prices – Building No. 1 of Xingguo Hotel was a product of this special era. The builder of Building No. 1 was the “Taipan” of Jardine Matheson & Co., Ltd., a British company, whose position was similar to the current chief representative of a multinational company in China.
Building No. 1 was a luxurious headquarters building established by Jardine Matheson & Co., Ltd. in Shanghai. After its completion, “Building No. 2”, “Building No. 3” and other buildings were built as employee residences for senior staff and their families. Today, Building No. 1 of Xingguo Hotel is a Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit and an Excellent Historical Building of Shanghai. Building No. 2 and Building No. 6 are Excellent Historical Buildings of Shanghai and Cultural Relics Protection Points of Changning District. Building No. 3 and Building No. 7 are Cultural Relics Protection Points of Changning District.
Old Shanghainese people know a saying, “Jardine Circle”, which refers to the land enclosed by Lei Shangda Road, Haig Road and Juerdian Road (now Xingguo Road, Huashan Road and Hunan Road). Jardine Matheson & Co., Ltd. built many “employee residences” here.
Architectural check-in points
01、Building No. 1 of Xingguo Hotel
Building No. 1 of Xingguo Hotel was built in 1935. It is a garden-style low-rise apartment with a building area of 1647 square meters. This is a two-story mixed-structure building in the style of Palladian architecture in England. The building roof is paved with copper plates, known as the “copper house” of the 1930s in Shanghai. The whole building has two square and tall chimney walls protruding from the roof. The facade of the building is simple and elegant. In front of Building No. 1 of Xingguo Hotel, there is a spacious green lawn. The courtyard is full of ancient trees, including a centuries-old camphor tree that covers the sky, making the scenery pleasant.
02、Building No. 2 of Xingguo Hotel
Building No. 2 of Xingguo Hotel was built in 1925. It is a Victorian seaside style brick and wood garden house with a false third floor, covering an area of 800 square meters. The south facade has a characteristic gable roof and a hip roof, both of which are decorated with vertical black wooden strips. The three three-hole and single-hole chimneys add a sense of layering and vibrancy to the building. The first and second floors are continuous arcades, the second floor arched arcade has white brick patterns, and the window frames and window edges are decorated with white brick teeth. The bottom floor has nine bays of arched colonnades, each with a keystone. The north facade has a semi-circular glass brick wall staircase, which provides the building with sufficient natural light and allows the building to blend perfectly with nature.
03、Building No. 6 of Xingguo Hotel
Building No. 6 of Xingguo Hotel was built in 1922. It is a brick and wood structure French residential building with a false third floor, covering an area of 620 square meters. It has a hip roof and is paved with gray tiles. The south side of the roof has a long strip skylight for lighting and ventilation on the top floor. The floor plan of the building is free and unconstrained. There are two circular sunrooms on the east side and a circular living room on the west side. The circular platform on the second floor is equipped with a concrete balustrade with a bottle shape. The roof is sloped, the gable cornice is winding and the layers are rich.
04、Lawn in front of Building No. 1
Various villas surround the lawn, next to various kinds of centuries-old precious plants. On sunny days, sunshine fills the lawn, which is very suitable for family outings.
Check-in points nearby
01、Shangsheng New Village
Shangsheng New Village is mainly composed of three historical buildings, including the Columbia Country Club, and 11 industrial renovation buildings that have gone through the growth of New China. This area includes landscape architecture, public spaces and famous landmarks, forming a unique cultural space.
Address: No. 1262, Yan’an West Road, Changning District
Transportation: Bus No. 57, 71, 76 / Metro Line 3, 4 Yan’an West Road Station
02、Happy Lane
Happy Lane is a community living room that integrates creative office, cultural arts, commercial leisure, and interactive exchanges. It is named “Happy Lane” because it is adjacent to Happy Road.
Address: No. 381, Fanyu Road, Changning District
Opening hours: 9:00-24:00
Subway: Metro Line 10/11 Jiaotong University Station
Recommended travel route
Huashan Green Space → Shanghai National Orchestra → Happy Lane → Shanghai Theatre Museum → Shangsheng New Village → Xingguo Hotel
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