Wukang Road

As you stroll along Wukang Road, what comes into view are clusters of retro European-style architectures, which once were residences of celebrities, wealthy businessmen, and artists in the 20th century. Each one of them are exquisitely designed with different decorative styles, including French Renaissance-style arched windows, Spanish red tiled roofs, and terraces of British countryside style. It’s reasonable to say that you are more like appreciating a famed art exhibition than wandering about on the street. The most attractive building is Wukang Building, which resembles a giant ship berthed at the crossroads.

Wukang Building

Nowadays, Wukang Road has become one of the most popular places for city walk lovers. Everything here is romantic and delicate, and even the shopwindows are ingeniously adorned. The holiday-style French restaurant, the romantic flower shops, and the exquisite handicraft stores are hidden in the old houses, naturally exuding a petty bourgeoisie taste. The street is clean and tidy, with lush plane trees lining both sides and dappled branch shadows bringing natural shades to pedestrians. Taking a leisure walk here is like stepping into a French literary film, accompanied by the melodious and deep background music of the cello.

Trendy Store along Wukang Road

Retro Streetscape of Wukang Road

 The most recommended thing to do in Wukang Road is to appreciate diversified historical buildings standing on both sides of the street, which makes you feel like visiting an open-air museum of architectures where the stories of Shanghai over 100 years ago are preserved. The following are top buildings worth visiting.

 Wukang Building

Tourists Admiring Wukang Building

Wukang Building was built in 1924, designed by a famous Hungary architect who utilized the terrain where two roads intersected and designed the building’s floor plan as a triangle. Thus, this building looks like a huge ship from a distance. Once, it was called Normandy Apartment, and its residents were many foreign elites. Later, with the changes of the times, it changed from private to state-owned and was renamed Wukang Building.

Although most of the interior of the building is not open to tourists, the ground floor of the building is a treasure trove of leisure spaces, housing cultural and creative stores, music bookstore, coffee shops, and more. Sitting here and listening to music while enjoying coffee is simply delightful.

 Ferguson Lane
Ferguson Lane is located deep in a shady and tree-lined alley, serving as a “secret garden” of Wukang Road. It features a blend of buildings from three different eras - a French-style red-brick villa from the 1920s for diplomats, a white office building from the 1970s, and European-style leisure spaces built later on. All the historical buildings here are open to the public, allowing you to enter and appreciate the architectural details of the last century up close.

Moreover, compared to the crowds along the streets of Wukang Road, Ferguson Lane has a touch of the relaxed and languid atmosphere of old Shanghai. Various restaurants, cafes, clothing stores, and flower shops gather here, and there are also occasional art exhibitions.

 Former Residence of the Italian Consul General
This building is located at No. 390 Wukang Road. It was built in 1932 and was originally the Italian Consulate. As you enter the courtyard, what catches your eye is a charming Mediterranean-style garden villa with red pitched roof tiles and white exterior walls, as well as the distinctive semi-circular archways and curved embracing steps. It is truly unique in Shanghai. If you visit it in the mid-summer, walking through the three-sided open and ventilated porch, you might even feel like you are in a vacation villa by the Mediterranean.

Besides, various themed exhibitions are held here from time to time. For example, during Sep. 30 - Oct. 30, 2026, this place transforms into a toy land where you can see many adorable IP dolls and one after another cute racing car parading along the road, as well as participating in handicraft creation activities.

Former Residence of the Italian Consul General

Themed Exhibitions Held in the Courtyard

 If you have a flexible schedule, while enjoying the stylish buildings along Wuchang Road, you may consider to slow down your pace and take a break in this artistic street, having a cup of coffee, savoring some fine wine, and tasting Shanghai delicacies. There are various trendy cafés, Chinese restaurants, and Western restaurants along the way, and even some historical buildings themselves have now become a relaxing space for entertainment. You can pick a desirable place and sit in the open-air dining area or by the window indoors, enjoying the sense of fulfillment of your taste buds while admiring the harmonious streetscape under plane trees. Perhaps this is the scene you want where time stand still.
 For cycling enthusiasts, Wukang Road is an optimal cycling route in Shanghai. You can rent a vintage bicycle or scan the QR code to unlock a shared bike from the roadside, and then travel slowly along the way starting from Wukang Building. As the wheels roll over the dappled shadows of the plane trees, the gentle breeze carrying the scents of coffee and freshly baked bread brushes against your face. One beautiful building after another sweep past before your eyes, and you feel like the protagonist in a short literary film.

Leisure City Walk on Wukang Road

Cycling along Wukang Road

 The best times to stroll along Wukang Road are 7:00 - 9:00 and 16:00 - 18:00 when the sunlight is gentle and soft, enhancing the buildings’ retro charm. Besides, late autumn is the best season to wander around on the street as the leaves of plane trees turn yellow and slowly fall with the wind, making the streetscape quite romantic. 
 2 - 3 Hours
 Wukang Road itself is a public area and can be entered freely at all times. Only the visiting hours for some of the attractions along the road are limited.
 

Attractions	Opening Time
Wukang Road	All Day
Wukang Building	Tuesday - Sunday 10:30 - 19:00
Former Residence of the Italian Consul General	Occasionally Open During Weekends and Public Holidays 09:00 - 18:00

 Take Shanghai Metro Line 10 or Line 11 to Jiaotong University Station, and go out through Exit No. 1 or No. 7. Then, walk northeastward for about 5 minutes to reach the south end of Wukang Road.
 1. Take Shanghai Bus No. 26, 911, 920, or 926, and get off at Huanhai Middle Road Wukang Road Station, you can see the Wukang Building right before your eyes.

2. Take Shanghai Bus No. 72, 320, 923, 946, or 958, and get off at Jiaotong University Station, Then, walk northeastward for approximately 10 minutes to reach the south end of Wukang Road.