Originaly from Burgundy, I have been asked and puzzled about Shanghai Cité Bourgogne. Here is the story of this icone of Old Shanghai.
Like many people, I first heard about Cité Bourgogne when I walked the streets of Shanghai, specificaly the corner of Shaanxi lu (Avenue du Roi Albert) and Jian Guo Lu (Route Frelupt). Although not far Avenue Joffre (today Huai Hai lu Zhong lu), the main road of the former French Concession, this area was considered out of the city center in the early 1930s.
Shanghai is famous of its rows of back alleys lined by brick houses. These alleys are called “Lane” in English, “Li Long” 里弄 in Chinese and “Passage” in French. The form a maze of tranquility and coziness away from the noise and activity of Shanghai streets. Houses lining the alleys are mostly Shi Ku Men 石库门, named after the stone door frame closing the courtyard and facing the alley. Housing style evolved with time and wealth, from tiny houses to small mansions. Most of old Shanghai used to be covered with lanes, the most common accomodation for Shanghainese in the 1930s, as shown on above picture. Cité Bourgogne was noticeable because of its name.
If most Lilong had entrances marking the name of the `lilong in Chinese, this one is really special. Designed in Chinese revival style, it indicates the year of completion of Cité Bourgogne, 1930. Below it is the name “CITÉ BOURGOGNE” and the Chinese name 步高里 / Bù Gāo Lǐ. This is different from the original layout shown below, where only the Chinese name was written. The (fake) yellow stone and new indication was probably more recently, during a renovation. The good thing is that it attracts attention.
The lilong or lane in English has 78 houses, each of which were originally occupied by one family. As the house were quite large, it was clearly an upmarket residence. The houses were later subdivided and about 450 families now live in Cité Bourgogne. The location at the bottom Avenue du Roy Albert (today Shaanxi Nan lu / 陕西南路）was on the edge of the urban area of the former French Concession. On the other side of Route Frelupt (Jianguo Xi Lu / 建国西路) was located the French shooting range, where is no the Xu Hui Stadium.
Cité Bourgogne was the property of real estate developper “Foncière et Immobilière de Chine” or FONCIM. This company was the real estate arm ISS, an insurance company. It is mostly famous for its Art Deco building designed by LVK, including the Dauphiné, the Gascogne and many more. FONCIM also had a number of lilong including Cité Bourgogne, and 建业里 / Jian Ye Li that is now the Capella Hotel further on Jian Guo Xi Lu.
Although FONCIM used LVK for many of its buildings, it seems that they did not use them for Cité Bourgogne, nor for its other lilongs. Although Cité Bourgogne modern Shikumen style could fit LVK style, the project is not mentioned in the 1934 14th July double page ad in Le Journal de Shanghai, showcasing the work of the firm.
This lilong differs from many other with its archway towering the alleys, making is really memorable.
FONCIM had the habit to name its buildings after French regions. So buildings name Le Béarn, le Dauphin´´e, Le Normandie, Le Picardie, Le Gascogne. Thus us is not surprising to have an another property called Cité Bourgogne.
I could not find a real link with the actual region of Bourgogne in France. nor with its wine that were sold in Shanghai at the time. However, since the name is so visible, people from Burgundy regularly ask about a possible link with the region. I even had the privilege to take the most famous Burgundy winemaker, Mr Aubert de Villaine, owner of the Word famous Romanée-Conti, for a tour to Cité Bourgogne. As a true Burgundian, I also made some research about Burgundy wines in Old Shanghai a few years ago, but not link came out between Cité Bourgogne and Bourgogne wine either.
Shanghailander articles are published on an irregular basis. To be notified when a new article is posted, subscribe to the newsletter using this link, or follow the Shanghailander Facebook page