Gothic Mansion on Anfu Road

Address: No. 255 Anfu Road

The history of this mansion at 255 Anfu Lu is shrouded in mystery. The four-story castle with tapering tower and Gothic windows sits surrounded with a village of small shacks that barely reach one third of its first floor. Inside the mansion, a spiraling cream-colored staircase runs all the way to the top of the octagonal tower. What used to be a lofty residence for one rich family now has one family in every room, and the flights are used as kitchens. In the early forties, Route Dupleix (now Anfu Lu) was often clogged with automobiles lining up to get to the notorious club and residence of Pan Sanxing, a Shanghai’s nouveau-riche and a collaborator with the Japanese.

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