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Autumn in Shanghai: weddings, violins, queues and afternoon tea.

Autumn in Shanghai is a season of contrasts. The city is proud, well organised and still negotiating what home really means. In this instalment, we attend a wedding at Taiyuan Villa, the restored Hudec mansion on Taiyuan Road, where Shanghai’s ultra-wealthy celebrate in French Renaissance style. We wander down Fengyang Road, home to violin makers and the Shanghai Opera Theatre, and browse tiny DIY shops and a vintage shop. A new iced tea draws dozens of young people into a queue, whilst the opening of Parlid, an instant camera brand’s first physical shop, brings the cartoon character YUY and more crowds to Yongjia Road. The week ends with Sunday afternoon tea at Ruijin, in the former Morris Estate, where a young woman plays the piano and the lavish rooms suggest that Shanghai is home to a great many exceptionally wealthy people. Next week, we leave Shanghai for Baotou and Hohhot, the Kubuqi desert and the Xilamuren grasslands.

Another wedding party at Taiyuan villa

This time we were at the wedding party of 罗瑾捷 & 杨元纯 Luó Jǐnjié &
Yáng Yuánchún at the famous 原别墅 (Tàiyuán Biéshù).

The “Taiyuan Villa” is not merely a historic mansion; it is a century-old masterpiece by László Hudec, Shanghai’s most celebrated foreign architect. Located at 太原路 160 号 (Tàiyuán Lù 160), it stands as a peer to the famous 武康大楼 (Wǔkāng Dàlóu) in defining Shanghai’s French Renaissance style. After a meticulous restoration, it reopened in March 2026 as an exclusive private event venue. Its most prominent and lucrative use is hosting lavish wedding banquets for Shanghai’s ultra-wealthy elite.

Violins, vintage store, tiny DIY shops and a new kind of ice-tea

Plenty of violin makers here in Fengyang road. The Shanghai Opera Theatre is nearby

A waiting queue with dozens of young people to try out a new kind of drink

I really love this kind of tiny DIY shops where they have everything:

Opening of Parlid, a new shop at the corner of Yongjia Road and Jiashan Road. Parlid is an instant camera brand’s first physical store, hosting a pop-up event with the cartoon IP YUY (小玉Xiǎo Yù, “little jade”). Long waiting queues.

Their faces aglow with sheer excitement, the two girls huddle together, completely enamored with their new Parlid instant camera:

Just opposite that same street corner, a little poodle commands the spotlight, patiently serving as a makeshift photo model.

Sunday afternoon tea at Ruijin

The name ‘Ruijin Villas’ refers to the historic mansion complex of the former Morris Estate, now the InterContinental Shanghai Ruijin. It stands on Ruijin 2nd Road (formerly Route des Soeurs and Route du Père Huc), a street named after Ruijin, the city known as the revolutionary ‘Red Capital’.

Watching people come and go through the lavish rooms of the historic Ruijin Villas, where tea and pastries are plentiful whilst a young woman plays the piano, one can only conclude that Shanghai must be home to a great many exceptionally wealthy people.

Next week …

… we will leave the bustling city of Shanghai to go to Baotou and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia to see the Kubuqi desert and the Xilamuren grasslands.

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