Taikang Road is the best example of this hands-off approach. Without the strict regimentation of an urban planner, it has none of the stark geometry of the other spaces, and its small human proportions make for a kind of intimacy.
Founded by the late Chen Yifei, this unplanned, thriving artists' community is a series of winding lanes dotted with boutiques from local designers Shirtflag, La Vie and Jooi Design to cafes and bars.
Its nooks and crannies make it a place where you can happily get lost as you potter around looking at handmade ceramics, or buy grain-fed imported Japanese fish.
Deke Erh, photographer and founder of the Deke Erh Art Center, is one of its earliest tenants. He made his creative home in an old chocolate factory after being chased out of several other spaces slated for demolition in the city.
Image: Hundreds of shoppers walk through the Nanjing road, the main shopping street in Shanghai | Photograph: Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images
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