Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
more a destination for shoppers than the devout, it was known in pre-1949 Shanghai as Bub-
bling Well Temple, after the effervescent well in the middle of Nanjing Road, which was re-
moved in the 1970s. There has been a temple on this site for hundreds of years, but almost
nothing from previous versions survived the 2002 construction of the present structure with
its golden roofline. Especially over-the-top is the lion-topped gilded column in front of the
temple, which is meant to recreate a much more pleasantly proportioned column that didn't
survive the Cultural Revolution.
Gongyuan; 1649 Nanjing Road (W); free). Elderly men sit on benches shaded by the enorm-
ous plane trees that lined the entrance to what was once the cemetery attached to the Bub-
bling Well Temple.
Leave Jing'an Park by the Huashan Road exit and head west along Yan'an Road to the
where children receive instruction in the performing arts, calligraphy and (more recently)
computers. Originally built in 1924 as a residence for the Kadoorie family (current owners of
the Peninsula Shanghai), it was nicknamed 'Marble Hall' because of the extensive use of that
stone throughout. Try to talk your way in for a look around and hope that the guards are in a
good mood.
MOLLER VILLA
Exit on Yan'an Road and take a taxi to your final stop: a fairytale castle. At the intersection of
(Hengshan Male Biehu; 30 Shaanxi Road South;
www.mollervilla.com
)
, a boutique hotel
named after its original owner, Swedish shipping magnate Eric Moller. Wander the grounds to
get a look at the house from different perspectives, and then enter the hotel: the sheer
grandeur of the place - rich wood panelling, crystal chandeliers - brings alive the glamour of
old Shanghai. The story goes that a fortune teller told Hengshan Moller Villa owner Eric
Moller that ill fortune would befall him if he ever finished the house, so he kept adding bits for
years. When he finally finished the house in 1949, he died in a plane crash.
