Coming Down Alert – Tanggu Road and one of the last of the beautiful Hongkew balconies

Pity old Tanggu Road (once Boone Road) – it was once one of Shanghai’s great streets and certainly one of the best north of the Suzhou Creek. The section of the street around the junction with Zhapu Road (formerly Chapoo Road) was the most impress. The modern day Shanghailander tendency to never venture north of Soochow Creek means many people have missed out on the architecture around this area – Zhapu Road, again one of old Shanghai’s more impressive boulevards, still has a number of impressive apartment buildings and commercial/retail premises along its length.

However, Tanggu Road has now been almost gutted to the point that it is no longer a street of any interest but rather just another bland, architecturally uninteresting thoroughfare. Some of the finest longtang on the street are now almost gone, those around the junction with Zhapu Road. Small balconies were a feature of the architrectural style around this area and you can see one of the last, and dilapidated, ones below. Shame, this was a nice stretch.

You can see some more on Tanggu Road (and naturally much better photography than me and my camera phone!) on sue Anne Tay’s blog here.

Tanggu Road south side looking east

One of the last of the distinctive balcony features that once characterised this area’s residential architecture

Boarded up at ground level and doomed

Archways were also distinctive features of this area of Hongkou

And Tanggu Road looking west towards Zhapu Road