Fodor's Expert Review Tianzifang

If Xintiandi is the government's orderly, sanitized shikumen restoration project, Tianzifang is the opposite. The former residential district is a labyrinth of alleyways between redbrick lane houses. Restaurants, cafés, and a few galleries fill the spaces today, as do shops selling everything from kitschy souvenirs emblazoned with retro propaganda to leather journals and shoes, tea, and qipao dresses.

You can also enter Tianzifang from the back side, at 155 Jianguo Zhong Lu.