Xuhui District 徐汇区

History

Xu Guangqi set up a farm estate where three waterways, the Puhuitang (蒲汇塘), Zhaojiabang (肇嘉浜) and Lizongjing (李漎泾), meet, ran farming experiments there and was buried on the spot. A village grew around his tomb, and in the Kangxi reign of the Qing it took the name Xujiahui (徐家汇), "where the Xu family and the waters gather".

In 1914 the French Concession expanded to take in the land north of today's Zhaojiabang Road (肇嘉浜路) and east of Huashan Road (华山路). A Xujiahui district was formed around the old market town in 1945. Longhua (龙华镇) and Caohejing (漕河泾镇) towns joined the district in 1984, and Longhua township followed in 1992. At the end of the 19th century, the Qing government founded the Nanyang Public School (南洋公学), forerunner of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (上海交通大学), here, and the Catholic Church founded Aurora College (震旦公学).

What to see

Five places in the district are national key protected sites: the Tomb of Xu Guangqi (徐光启墓), Xujiahui Cathedral (徐家汇天主堂), the Former Residence of Soong Ching Ling (上海宋庆龄故居), Longhua Pagoda (龙华塔) and the Longhua Revolutionary Martyrs' Memorial Site (龙华革命烈士纪念地).

Longhua Temple (龙华寺), one of Shanghai's four major Buddhist temples, is traditionally dated to the Three Kingdoms period; its present halls were rebuilt in the Guangxu reign of the Qing. The octagonal seven-storey brick-and-timber pagoda outside it has a Northern Song structure, and later non-Song additions were removed after 1949.

Wukang Road (武康路) runs 1,183 metres from Huashan Road to Middle Huaihai Road (淮海中路), lined mainly with Republican-era garden houses and apartment blocks; it is one of the 64 Shanghai roads that will never be widened. It began as Route Ferguson in 1907. At its southern end stands the Wukang Mansion (武康大楼), the former Normandie Apartments, once home to the actors Zhao Dan (赵丹) and Sun Daolin (孙道临). The Wukang Road–Anfu Road (安福路) quarter was named a municipal tourism and leisure block in September 2021.

Getting oriented

Xujiahui is the city's sub-centre for south-west Shanghai and one of its main shopping districts. The district borders Huangpu District (黄浦区) to the east, Minhang (闵行区) to the west, and Jing'an (静安区) and Changning (长宁区) to the north. Shanghai Jiao Tong University, East China University of Science and Technology (华东理工大学) and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (上海音乐学院) are based here. On the Huangpu waterfront, the district announced in 2012 a plan to turn former rail freight yards, sand and gravel wharves and coal stockyards into art museums and performance venues under the name West Bund (西岸).

Highlights

• Xujiahui Cathedral 徐家汇天主堂: National key protected site in the area named after Xu Guangqi.
• Longhua Temple 龙华寺: One of Shanghai's four major Buddhist temples; halls rebuilt in the Guangxu reign.
• Longhua Pagoda 龙华塔: Octagonal seven-storey brick-and-timber pagoda with a Northern Song structure, a national key protected site.
• Wukang Mansion 武康大楼: Former Normandie Apartments at the south end of Wukang Road.
• Tomb of Xu Guangqi 徐光启墓: Burial place of the scholar who gave Xujiahui its name; a national key protected site.