A pedestrianised retail and dining district in the Huangpu district, just south of the French Concession border, developed from 2001 onward by converting shikumen (stone gate) lane houses into restaurants and bars while retaining the lane house exteriors. Xintiandi was the first major adaptive reuse project in Shanghai and the model for numerous subsequent conversions.
The original North Block (Xintiandi North) is more atmospheric — narrower lanes, better-preserved facades — than the South Block, which is dominated by a modern mall tower. The restaurants and bars here are expensive by Shanghai standards and oriented toward upscale international customers; the surrounding streets, less developed and used by Shanghai residents, give a better price-to-quality ratio. The CCP First National Congress site is on Xintiandi North Block (see separate listing).