China · Shanghai Shi · Shanghai
Jing’an, Shanghai — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Jing'an is a central district of Shanghai, China, known for the Moller Villa and old lanes like Bubbling Well Lane.
About Jing’an
Where to stay in Jing’an
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Where you sleep in Jing'an turns on how much of old Shanghai you want at street level. The district packs the fairy-tale Moller Villa, the Majestic Theatre and lane neighbourhoods such as Bubbling Well Lane and Dasheng Hutong into a short walk of one another, so a room set among them keeps theatres, villas and hutong on your doorstep. Pick the block, then the bed.
About Jing’an
What are the main landmarks in Jing’an?
Jing'an wears more of Shanghai's twentieth-century story than most districts its size. The fairy-tale Moller Villa and the Kadoorie Marble Hall show off the wealth of the old foreign settlements, the Majestic Theatre still draws an evening crowd, and the Site of the 2nd National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the Sihang Warehouse and the Shanghai Railway Museum trace the century that followed. Lane addresses fill the gaps.
Bubbling Well Lane, Dasheng Hutong and the Yuhua New Residential Quarter preserve the low, brick shikumen grain the towers grew around, while the Jing'an Gymnasium and Huadong Hospital serve the district day to day.
What is the history of Jing’an?
The district grew up on the old road out to the temple. Bubbling Well Lane recalls the Bubbling Well that once marked the western edge of settlement, and around it the wealth of foreign Shanghai raised the Kadoorie Marble Hall, the Moller Villa and the Majestic Theatre before politics caught up with the streets. Then history turned harder.
The Site of the 2nd National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and the Sihang Warehouse, where a garrison held out over the Suzhou Creek, both sit inside these blocks as reminders of the years that reshaped the city.
Where is Jing’an?
Jing'an is a compact inner district of Shanghai, roughly seven square kilometres of dense city bounded on its northern side by the Suzhou Creek that runs past the Sihang Warehouse.
More areas in Shanghai
Updated July 2026