Revolutionary road

Models of Lu Xun and some of his associates in the Lu Xun Museum. (Jiang Jiani/GT)

Former residences of Lu Xun and Qu Qiubai (right). (Jiang Jiani/GT)

A long thoroughfare lined with many high-end department stores and upscale restaurants, Sichuan Road North is well-known as a commercial hub in Hongkou district. However, the area is a haven not only for shopaholics but also for culture lovers, particularly those with a penchant for nostalgia.

Here the modern meets the old, and East meets West. The road features a number of former residences of renowned Chinese cultural icons including writers and movie stars. Meanwhile, two Protestant churches are also located here, offering Christian worshippers some respite from the bustling street life outside.

However, although the area centering around Sichuan Road North is rich in cultural heritage, not everything is being preserved as well as it should be.

Famous residents

Among the former residents is the writer Lu Xun (1881-1936) who lived here for the last three years of his life and is buried in Luxun Park (2288 Sichuan Road North), which was named after him.

The Lu Xun Museum (free to the public from 9 am to 5 pm, 200 Tian'ai Road, 6540-2288) is also located in the park exhibiting over 80,000 artifacts associated with the great writer. The multimedia showroom on the second floor features many photos of Lu's daily life. His wife Xu Guangping and son Zhou Haiying have also donated some private letters to the museum.

A 10-minute-walk far from the museum is Shanyin Road, lined with French platane trees and which was also home to Lu Xun (No.9, Lane 132 Shanyin Road). Opened to the public in 1951, the three-story villa features red bricks and tiles with a small yard in the front. Lu moved here with his family in April 1933 and paid a rent of 45 taels of silver (equivalent to almost 8,000 yuan or $1,253 in today's money) per month.

The house was remodeled by Xu Guangping in the early 1950s, and most of the furniture pieces there are original items. On the first floor are the living room and dining room where Lu exhibited some of his own photos and paintings. The couple lived on the second floor and here Lu translated many foreign works. Used as a sanctuary for many dissidents, the top floor contains a guest room as well as the bedroom of Lu's son, Zhou Haiying.

Lu's contemporary and peer, the writer Mao Dun, lived in a similar villa at No.6, Lane 132 Shanyin Road, while Qu Qiubai, who led the Communist Party of China in the late 1920s, lived opposite at No.12, Lane 133 Shanyin Road. However, both of these two buildings are now privately owned and not open to the public.

Just a stone's throw from these residences is the former Uchiyama Bookshop (2/F, 2050 Sichuan Road North) which was run by a Japanese man Kanzo Uchiyama, who was a friend of Lu's and a Christian evangelist. The bookstore was established in 1917 and moved to the crossing of Shanyin Road and Sichuan Road North in 1929. A place to promote progressive ideas and to harbor local revolutionaries, the bookstore published many works that espoused revolutionary ideals. It was finally closed by the Kuomintang in 1945.

Pray for us

Intersecting Sichuan Road North, Duolun Road is an unassuming street that is also known as "Culture Road" by local residents. The Hongde Church at 59 Duolun Road (5696-1196) is funded by local congregation members and the Presbyterian Church in the US. This is reputed to be the only Protestant church in China that was built in a traditional Chinese architectural style. Except for the huge red crucifix and the Chinese slogan "God loves everyone" on the exterior, the building resembles a traditional Chinese temple with two stone lion sculptures standing in front of the door. 

Services here were suspended during the decade-long Cultural Revolution (1966–76) but restarted in 1992. Two years later, it was listed as one of Shanghai's "renowned historic buildings." The church is open to the public from 9 am to 4 pm daily with services at 7:30 am, 9:30 am and 7 pm on Sundays. A prayer meeting is held at 7:30 am on Thursday every week. 

Not far from Hongde Church is Jingling Church (135 Kunshan Road, 6324-3021) completed in 1924. The three-story building covers more than 1,600 square meters and can seat more than 1,500 people.

Its congregation included the famous Soong sisters, Soong Ai-ling, Soong Ching Ling, and Soong Mei-ling. The husband of the latter, Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek, was baptized in this church and married Soong at the same altar.

Apart from the Sunday worship service, Jingling Church also organizes a lot of activities during the week, such as a scripture reading class at 1:15 pm and youth fellowship at 7 pm on every Wednesday. On Thursday, the church hosts prayer meeting and bible study at 7 pm.