Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / China / Shanghai / Hengshan Picardie Hotel
Hengshan Picardie Hotel
Shanghai, China · Independent · Near Luxury
The Shanghai Customs Service built this Mediterranean Revival garden house in 1923 as its commissioner's residence at 534 Hengshan Road, once Avenue Petain, the prestige spine of the French Concession. Journalist Du Chongyuan met Pan Hannian here; Feng Yuxiang stayed; Japanese forces occupied it during the war. Shanghai listed the building in 2005, Xuhui in 2008. Two hundred fifty-two rooms behind a century of public life.
- 160 rooms
- Opened 1934
- Neighborhood: Hengshan Road
- Rooms from 323 sq ft (30 m²)
About Hengshan Picardie Hotel
- Built in 1923 as the Shanghai Customs commissioner's residence at 534 Hengshan Road, formerly Avenue Petain.
- Occupants included British customs officials, journalist Du Chongyuan, and Feng Yuxiang; Japanese forces occupied it in the Sino-Japanese War.
- Protected as a distinguished historic building in 2005 and a Xuhui cultural relic in 2008.
- Historic Hotels Worldwide member, a six-minute walk from Hengshan Road station.
- Entry-level rooms start at 323 sq ft (30 m²).
History
Hengshan Picardie Hotel sits in Shanghai, China, in a building whose documented history reaches back to 1923, when the Shanghai Customs Service built it as the residence of its customs commissioner. The structure is described as a garden residence in Mediterranean Revival style, and its long life reflects the layered history of the city’s former French Concession. According to the available historical record, the house later housed a range of notable occupants, including British customs officials, the journalist Du Chongyuan, and Feng Yuxiang. Du Chongyuan is also documented to have met Pan Hannian there.
The building’s wartime chapter is equally telling: after the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, it was occupied by the Japanese, and in August 1945, after Japan’s defeat, it passed to the Nationalist government. After 1949, the Shanghai temporary office of the General Customs Administration transferred it to the East China Trade Ministry, after which it served as housing for military leaders. During the Cultural Revolution era and afterward, the property changed hands again, eventually becoming state property under the Shanghai Municipal Government’s administrative system. From 1986 to 1992 it was used by the Shanghai Municipal Advisory Committee, and later it became a study room for retired Shanghai Communist Party officials.
Its heritage status was formally recognized in 2005, when the Shanghai municipal government listed it as a distinguished historic building, and again in 2008, when Xuhui District designated it as a protected cultural relic unit. As a hotel, Hengshan Picardie inherits not just a historic address but a building with nearly a century of documented public and political life behind its walls.
The setting
Hengshan Picardie Hotel occupies 534 Hengshan Road in Xuhui, on one of the former French Concession's most storied boulevards: originally Avenue Petain, the prestige residential spine of pre-war French Shanghai, lined with mansions designed by French and British architects in the 1920s and 1930s. The street's mature plane-tree canopy, protected as part of Shanghai's Hengfu Historical and Cultural Area, remains among the city's most atmospheric pedestrian walks. Cafes, boutique restaurants, and heritage villas line the immediate neighbourhood, and Xujiahui Park lies within easy walking distance. 3 km from Tianzifang arts. 5 km from Shanghai Museum.
Restaurants and bars
- Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant · Chinese
- Hengxuan Restaurant — Restaurant · Buffet
- Azure Bar — Bar
Experiences
- French Concession district exploration — Historic French Concession district with tree-lined streets, cafes, boutiques, located in the immediate vicinity.
Amenities
- Fitness center
Awards
- Historic Hotels Worldwide member
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