Shanghai's "Shikumen" architecture combines the Chinese courtyard and Western archiecture. A lot of the housing in the older part of Shanghai is made of up these but the apartments are definitely taking over. 

We didn't get to wander through Shikumen except for one, which was built in the 1930s (picture of the doorway below). This was as we pretended to be fairly stupid and used my husband as a "Lao Wai" ("Old Foreigner") tourguide, so they forgave us for trespassing. It kind be useful to be so visually an outsider in China. People tend to be more forgiving, and sometimes, more helpful when they can see you're a visitor. 

We didn't take too many pics of the interior or of the people as the Shanghainese don't appreciate tourists taking snaps of them, and I respect that. Imagine if tourists rocked up to your place and took photos of your house, your kids and your generally doing things. Creeeeepy. 

In some cases, we asked if we could take photos of people, and when we were told "No" and kept walking, taking shots of the general street view instead. 

You'll note some pics of Shanghainese in pyjamas. They're fond of walking in the morning/ evening in their PJs. 🙂 Makes me think of The Dude from "The Big Lebowski".

The below pics are from our first day (when we walked 5+ kilometres in over 30 degree heat to Yu Yuan), a walk which took us FOREVER, but was incredibly satisfying for the amount of  local scenery, lifestyle we took in. And also some randoms along the way. 

The dude in the white PJs is just chatting away, like a sir.

The local barber shop. You can't see, but there's a little kid wailing away, sitting on his dad's lap, getting a hair cut.

Shanghai dogs. They're street savy, intelligent, and can cross roads. Oh and they are fearless. This little guy didn't give a as I stood and took a pic of him. 

Interior of the 1930 Shikumen (doorway in above pic) – it's been updated with exercise machines for the elderly. One of the best ideas for the aging.