Shanghai's largest heritage complex reopens after renovation

A woman takes photos of the newly renovated Zhang Yuan, a former residential compound in Shanghai, Dec. 1, 2022. (Photo: China News Service/Yin Liqin)

Built in 1882, Zhang Yuan or Zhang's Garden, a community filled with hundreds of shikumen houses in downtown Shanghai's Jing'an district is widely known as Shanghai's largest, best-preserved and most diverse shikumen compound. It is the first urban renewal project in Shanghai to implement a protective expropriation plan. After nearly four years of renovation, the western part of the compound reopened to the public on Thursday.