Five Great Avenues 五大道

About Five Great Avenues

Chongqing, Changde, Dali, Munan and Machang roads carry a mixture of European architectural influences, with differences in roofs, window surrounds, verandas and garden walls worth examining slowly. The district became a home for wealthy merchants and political figures during the upheavals of the early twentieth century. A street walk gives the broadest impression; many houses retain other uses, so an attractive façade is not an invitation to enter a private property.

The district took shape after 1903, when the area beyond the Qiangzi River became an extension of Tianjin's British concession; between 1919 and 1926 the concession filled the former marshland with silt dredged from the Hai River and laid out new roads, completed between 1922 and 1929. The roads were first named for foreign cities, including Cambridge, Edinburgh, Singapore, Colombo and London, before taking their present Chinese names.

After the 1911 revolution, former Qing nobles and later retired Beiyang-government dignitaries, including cabinet ministers, military governors and mayors, settled into the district's Western-style villas rather than traditional courtyard houses, hoping for a political comeback. Political unrest made the concessions a haven for such figures, and Tianjin's transport and customs advantages drew wealthy merchants to the area.

The district contains more than 2,000 garden-style houses built in the 1920s and 1930s, totaling over 1,000,000 square meters of floor space, including British, Italian, French, German and Spanish styles alongside Renaissance, Classical, Eclectic and Baroque buildings. In 2013 thirty-nine representative buildings were listed as Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位), and in 2015 the district joined the first batch of China's Historic and Cultural Streets (中国历史文化街区).

What to look for

• The varied villa façades along Chongqing, Munan and Machang roads.
• The contrast between detached garden residences and the open former sports ground at Minyuan.

Location & getting there

Getting to Five Great Avenues

Use Wudadao in Heping and choose a starting street such as Chongqing Road or Munan Road.

• The area is a network of residential streets. Plan an end point before walking rather than navigating to a single central marker.