Xintiandi
3 min readXintiandi（lit.“New Heaven and Earth”）is an affluent car-free shopping，eating and entertainment district of Shanghai.It is composed of reconstituted traditional Shikumen（“stone gate”）houses on narrow alleys and some adjoining houses which now serve as book stores，cafes and restaurants and boutiques.Most of thecafes and restaurants have both indoor and outdoor seating.Xintiandi has an active nightlife on weekdays as well as weekends，though romantic settings are more common than loud music and dance places.
It is considered one of the first lifestyle centers in China.
Located in the center of Shanghai City，south of Huaihai Zhong Lu，Xintiandi has become an urban attraction that holds the historical and cultural legacies of the city.
Xintiandi is unique because of its concept of construction.
It retains the antique walls，tiles and the exterior of the Shikumen housing of old Shanghai.On the other hand，its interior embodies a totally different world of international gallery，bars and cafes，boutiques or theme restaurants.When you walk into it，you will get the tasteof both Shanghai in the 1920’s and the modern lifestyle of urbanites of the 21st century.
The Shikumen Building appeared in the mid-1800’s，and is a product of Chinese and Western architecture styles.In the early 1900’s，it was the residential buildings of local citizens.The building represents Shanghai history and culture.However，with the development of the city，the formerly glorious Shikumen gradually faded out the historical stage as it could no longer satisfy people’s demands of residence.Thus，the idea of rebuilding Shikumen buildings was launched in 1997.
As we all know，big cities or metropolises of the world all have their representative buildings which reflect the local history and culture，and which also become renowned tourists attractions.
Xintiandi was established with this phenomenon in mind.and endowed Shikumen building with new commercial value by changing its function of residence，changing old blocks into a new world full of life！Thus，not only the typical Shikumen architecture was preserved，but a block of commercial area was also developed.
Xintiandi is divided into two parts:the South Block and the North Block.The South Block mainly consists of modern architecture，while its North Block keeps the old Shikumen architecture style and forms a contrast to the modern South Block.
South Block:As the complex of shopping，entertainment and leisure，the South Block covers 25，000 square meters（6.2 acres）and opened in the middle of 2002.
This glass wall building has a very modern design.Besides restaurants from all over the world，boutiques，ornament shops，food courts，cinemas and one-stop fitness centers provide places of leisure and entertainment for customers from home and abroad.
North Block:Composed of antique Shikumen buildings with inner modern design，decoration and equipment，the North Block is famous for upscale stores and restaurants with cuisine from different countries such as France，Brazil，America，Japan，Germany and Italy.
Xintiandi attracts the eyes of people from all over the world.Famous stars open their restaurants or shops here，which become good places for fans to communicate with their idols.Except for that，the fascinating cabaret and the cellar dinning room of the French restaurant，the inspiring rock music in theJapanese restaurant and the folk performance of South America in the Brazilian restaurant leave people with great impressions.
Xintiandi is where’yesterday and tomorrow meet in Shanghai It embodies the comfortable and convenient life of the 21st century，having all conveniences such as an automatic elevator，central air-conditioner and broadband network.Its boutique keeps in pace with international fashion.Meanwhile，the typical Shikumen buildings of old Shanghai seem to be telling people beautiful stories about the history and culture of the city.
