Tianzifang

Tianzifang began in the late 1990s as artists taking over old lane-house workshops, and by 2010 it was one of the best-known creative districts in China.

It has since largely commercialised. What remains good: the structure itself — narrow residential lanes with staircases and courtyards — and a handful of genuine studios on upper floors. What has gone: most of the art.

How to do it

Go on a weekday morning before 11am. Get off the main lanes and go upstairs — several studios are on upper floors and are far quieter than the ground level.

It is easy to combine with walking routes in the area.

Honest assessment

If this were all you saw of Shanghai you would feel short-changed. As a twenty-minute detour between better things it works well.

The same streets two hundred metres in any direction are more interesting and considerably cheaper.

Verdict

Go once, early, and accept that it is not what it was in 2008.

Skip it if

You are short on time — three hundred metres away there are better streets.