Walking with the writers(4)

A variety of styles

Boasting some 20 elegant mansions in a variety of international architectural styles, Duolun Road is also a showpiece for Shanghai architecture. The outstanding house on the road is the 638-square-meter mansion at 210 Duolun Road. Currently housing the stomatology department for a navy hospital, it was built in the 1920s by two brothers, businessmen from Guangdong Province. With an impressive entrance of four two-story columns and a white marble facade, it is a good example of French neoclassical design. The balcony on the second floor features exquisitely metal filigree work and the first floor delights include hand-painted tiles.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the building was occupied by Japanese officers before the National Revolutionary Army took it over. When the noted general Bai Chongxi was suddenly dismissed from the post as minister of national defense of the Republic of China (1912-1949) in June 1948, he decided to settle down in Shanghai. The building became his private residence and from then on was referred to as "Bai's Mansion" before it was taken over by the People's Liberation Army Navy in 1949. Pai Hsien-yung (Bai Xianyong), the son of Bai and a leading Taiwan writer, spent part of his childhood here.

The Spanish Garden home at 215 Duolun Road was built in 1925. The owner Li Guansen was yet another Guangdong businessman who made a fortune in Shanghai. The wood-and-brick building features an octagonal hall on the second floor connecting the dining room, kitchen, and bathrooms, and two balconies offering superior views of the garden. Today it is used as a nursing home for textile workers.

The two-story home at 250 Duolun Road was created in 1924. Its Islamic-style design stands in marked contrast with the other homes in this area. The geometrical tiling and mosaics are unique and impressive even in this city. This building became one of the three private residences belonging to the influential banker and politician Kong Xiangxi after 1945. Long gone is its exclusiveness - ordinary Shanghai families have been living here ever since then.