Please introduce "Shikumen"

Shikumen is the most distinctive residential building in Shanghai. The old lanes in Shanghai are generally Shikumen buildings. They originated during the Taiping Rebellion. The war at that time forced wealthy businessmen, landlords, officials and gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to move their families into the concessions to seek shelter. Foreign real estate developers took the opportunity to build a large number of residences. In the 1920s and 1930s, enclosures were still the main feature of Shanghai residences, but they no longer focused on sculptures, but pursued simplicity. Multiple entrances were replaced by single entrances. Shikumen residences that combine Chinese and Western styles came into being. This kind of building absorbs a lot of the styles of Jiangnan folk houses, using stone as the door frame and thick black lacquered solid wood as the door leaf. This kind of building is named "Shikumen".

The Shanghai residential patterns in the 23rd set of my country's ordinary stamps "Chinese Folk Residences" use Shikumen architecture. The Communist Party of China was also born in a typical Shikumen building on Wangzhi Road (now No. 76 Xingye Road).

Shanghai enjoys the reputation of “Architecture Expo of All Nations”. On one side of the road on the Bund, towering buildings in Gothic, Romanesque, Renaissance, Baroque and other Chinese and Western styles with different styles display the style of architectural art. Similarly, Shanghai's modern residential buildings are also magnificent and colorful. Strolling through the streets and alleys, savoring the residential houses in Shanghai, you will feel that the unique old houses are also beautiful scenery.

The Shikumen residence was born out of the traditional Chinese courtyard house. In the late 19th century, houses built with traditional wooden structures and brick walls began to appear in Shanghai. Because the outer door of this type of residence uses stone as the door frame, it is called "Shikumen". As a product of architecture and culture, Shikumen, a fusion of Chinese and Western architectural art, has left a deep mark on the history of modern Chinese architecture. Its emergence is an inevitable necessity of urban life. The modern life with a foreign style has broken the traditional living model of large courtyard families and replaced it with the Shikumen alley culture, which is suitable for single immigrants and small families. Terms related to Shikumen such as "pavilion room", "living hall room", "side room", "patio", "second landlord", "Bai Xiangren's sister-in-law", "seventy-two tenants", etc. have become old names in Shikumen. warm memories of Shanghai.

Shikumen architecture became popular in the 1920s, accounting for more than three-quarters of the residential buildings at that time. Nearly 40% of Shencheng citizens still live in Shikumen buildings with a history of more than a century. middle.

Shikumen are mostly two-story buildings with brick and wood structures, with sloping roofs often with dormer windows, red brick exterior walls, and traditional Chinese archways at the entrances. The main door is made of two solid black-lacquered wooden doors, which swing on wooden shafts and are often equipped with door knockers. The impact of the entrance and exit echoes in the ancient Shikumen alley. The door lintel is made of traditional brick carvings and blue tiles, and the exterior wall details are carved with patterns from Western architecture. There is an overhanging balcony on the second floor, and the overall layout adopts a European row style. Nowadays, Shanghai pays attention to preserving old buildings, and some Shikumen lanes with Shanghai-style characteristics have been preserved as groups of outstanding modern buildings.

The most typical feature of Shikumen Lane residences is the combination of Chinese and Western styles. Shikumen has the form of a traditional two-story triple courtyard or quadrangle courtyard in the south of the Yangtze River. Generally, there is a small patio at the entrance. Behind the patio is the living room, and then there is another patio. The back patio is the stove and the back door. On both sides of the patio and the living room are the left and right wing rooms. , above the stove room on the first floor is the "pavilion room", and above that is the terrace. The overall row layout is from Europe. The exterior wall details have carving patterns of Western architecture. The triangular or arc-shaped door head decorations on the doors are also mostly Western patterns.

Shanghai’s residential houses are called “along”, and people from other cities can’t even pronounce the word correctly. In fact, “along” is just a general name for “hutongs” that are different from street houses. Most of the early Shikumen were called lanes and lanes, which are what we often call "lanes" and "lanes". Alleys are often called lanes, lanes, squares, villages, apartments, villas, etc., and their levels gradually increase. The latter types are also called new-style lanes, and their living conditions are significantly better than those of the early old-fashioned Shikumen. They are equipped with European-style fireplaces, roof chimneys, vents, large bathrooms, etc.

New-style lane residences appeared in concessions in the late 1920s, and are generally closer to the architectural style of modern European residences than Shikumen. Most of the architectural forms are mixed structures, focusing on functionality. The new-style lane has a unique and neat appearance, exquisite and comfortable decoration, spacious outdoor lanes, green courtyard in front of the building, and beautiful living environment, which is different from the old-style Shikumen.

There is a large glass balcony on the front, which makes the ventilation and lighting conditions of the house better; Shaannan Village (formerly Royal Garden, No. 151, Shaanxi South Road) was built by the French Catholic Church in 1930. Before the Anti-Japanese War, the place was completely It is inhabited by foreigners and consists of a complex of four-story butterfly-shaped dot-shaped residences. In addition to lanes, the residential buildings in Shanghai embody the elegance and magnificence of modern architectural art, reflecting the urban style of Shanghai and the unique ingenuity of architectural designers. The apartments in the building were concentrated in busy commercial traffic sections at that time. Before liberation, they were mostly occupied by senior Chinese and foreign employees. Appreciating such a building is like appreciating pieces of art treasures. For example, the Yongye Building on Huaihai Middle Road and Yandang Road adopts a square roof and a rounded roof at the corners, forming a unique roof outline of the building. For example, Shanghai's earliest verandah-style apartment - Wukang Building (Dongmeite Apartment) on Huaihai Road, the distinctive bionic building - Midan Apartment on Wukang Road, etc. These buildings will appear short and old among modern buildings, but their unique sense of vicissitudes and nobility are incomparable to the nouveau riche in high-rise buildings.