Jing'an

Jing'an district takes its name from the Jing'an Temple, a Buddhist institution established during the Three Kingdoms period in the 3rd century. The current temple, largely reconstructed after extensive damage in the 20th century, was rebuilt in the 1990s and expanded in 2010 to include a series of gilded halls that are visually striking against the surrounding commercial development. The temple remains an active place of worship; weekday mornings see devotees and monks alongside tourists.

The district developed as the western extension of the International Settlement during the treaty port era, with Nanjing Road West becoming the city's secondary retail axis after Nanjing Road East. Large department stores and luxury hotel buildings from the 1930s survive in altered form along this stretch; the Paramount Ballroom, which operated from 1933 as one of Shanghai's most prestigious dance halls, has been preserved as a heritage building.

The streets north of Nanjing Road West, particularly around Shaanxi Road North and Xinzha Road, contain a density of older Art Deco residential buildings now used as apartments and boutique hotels. This area has less foot traffic than the French Concession equivalent, which makes it a more manageable walk.

The Jing'an Sculpture Park, set around the former Jing'an Park, is a small but pleasant outdoor sculpture garden that functions as a neighbourhood green space. It connects to the Kerry Centre shopping complex to the south, which contains one of Shanghai's more reliable concentrations of mid-range international restaurants.