District transforms into an urban playground

As morning rolls into day, the sound of poetry reading drifts from the garden villas of Sinan Mansions, plane tree leaves dappling the wooden terraces below.

By dusk, spotlights flicker across Taiping Lake in Xintiandi, as models glide down a runway framed by shikumen stone gates.

At nightfall, a giant disco ball casts beams across the treetops of Fuxing Park, and a vintage carousel spins amid neon lights. Within the same plane tree district, a single day unfolds in multiple layers.

Sinan Mansions, Xintiandi and Fuxing Park form a walkable heritage area in central Shanghai, bringing together garden villas, restored shikumen lanes and the historical park.

Now, it is one of the city's most dynamic urban renewal testing grounds. Rather than being sealed off as museum pieces, the old buildings pulse with book clubs, fashion shows, light installations, and after-dark parties.

Within a 10-minute walking radius lies one of Shanghai's most vivid examples of old-meets-new.