In the last article, we discussed where to live in Shanghai - downtown or suburb, if you feel like you are more interested in living in downtown, and then let’s talk about should we live in a lane house or an apartment (compound).
In downtown Shanghai, mainly in the area of Former French Concession, Jingan and Xintiandi, aside from high-rise apartments, what you will find most is the
lane house. Those beautiful lane houses are becoming an unique name card of Shanghai. Especially in the Former French Concession, there are plenty. A big number of those houses are the heritage building or historical houses. You can see signs outside the building or the lane indicates the building or the houses are protected by the Shanghai municipal government. Which means those listed as heritage building or historical houses are under protection, any changes or removals of the outside of the building are not allowed. And the number of new buildings is limited to protect the overall environment.
So let’s talk about some pros and cons about the lane house, what you should bear in mind when you look for a lane house.
In addition to the location advantage of the lane house, first and the most, the reason expats like the lane house is that the lane house represents Shanghais culture- Haipai culture- we Shanghainess people calls. It is a culture of east meets west. Living in a lane house allows you to truly feel the city, feel the people, your neighbors, your community..What is the local life looks like, what are the People likes and dislikes, I think such an experience is unique and unforgettable and you cannot find it somewhere else besides in a lane house.
Secondly: the lane house has its own beauty and charms. Many of them were built in 1920-1930s. Yet, the architectural design, the quality of the building, the Art-deco style remain the best even in today’s world. The vintage windows, wooden floor, old locks, old elevators, even old door handles are all art craft. And those lane houses feture high ceiling, the average ceiling of an apartment is 2.8 meter, but the lane house is over 3 meters high. The higher the ceiling is , the more comfortable for a person to live.
Thirdly: most of the lane houses available on the market, especially those you can see from our website are fully refurbished. These renovated lane houses not only meets your requirements, such as: an well-equipped open kitchen with oven, double-glazed windows, radiator-heating, floor-heating, good insulation, etc.. but also some of them are designed and decorated by professionals. A designer’s house is one of its kinds.
Fourth: many lane houses come with private garden , terrace or balcony. This outdoor space allows you to enjoys fresh air and have some private space where you can have a barbeque or a family friend reunion. You can barely have it in a modern apartment, only in the lane house.
Well, as you can see there are so many good things, but there are something you need to pay attention to when you are looking for a lane house. We will discuss it in the next article
