Marit de Wilde
Walking Shanghai's lanes, one lilong at a time
Based in Shanghai (Hongkou).
She moved to Shanghai to research 1930s Art Deco buildings and now spends her days walking the lilong lanes of Tianzifang and the old Jewish quarter in Hongkou. She builds three-day itineraries that pair a headline sight with the quieter block sitting right behind it.
Latest stories
Shanghai's Bund by Luxury Car
A private car day on the Bund: the stone promenade is free, the bank lobby dates from 1923, Yu Garden sits inland, and a 14th-floor terrace looks over the Huangpu.
Shanghai's Pudong from river level to the 118th floor
Four paid decks, two free viewpoints and a 45-minute sailing in Lujiazui, with the prices, hours and queues for each.
Walking Into the Shanghai Museum Without a Queue
Entry is free and you can walk in. The star bronzes have moved across the river to Pudong, and while a special exhibition is on, the reservation rule is back.
Walking Shanghai's Nanjing Road End to End
A straight, stop-by-stop read on Shanghai's one-kilometre neon shopping mile: what is worth your time between People's Square and the Bund, and what to skip.
What the Ride Up Shanghai Tower Actually Feels Like
What ¥180 actually buys at 562 metres above Lujiazui, and how the lifts, the queues and the passport rule work.
How Shanghai Went From Pre-War Sedans to Driverless Cabs
One district on the far end of Line 11 holds a century of Chinese driving: museum sedans, a Grand Prix circuit, a kart track and a robotaxi that pulls over with nobody at the wheel.
The Old Jazz Band at the Peace Hotel: Shanghai's 1930s Soundtrack, Still Playing
Six musicians in their eighties still play Glenn Miller nightly on the Bund — the living thread that runs from Jazz Age Shanghai to the city's restless present, and the nine rooms where you can hear it.
Behind the Stone Gates: Life in Shanghai's Vanishing Longtang Lanes
A calm, honest walking guide to the shikumen lane neighbourhoods that made Shanghai — from the sanitised showpieces to the lanes where people still hang out their laundry as you pass.
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