A boulevard captures the city's evolving spirit, where historical landmarks and time-honored eateries meet viral food trends and homegrown designer brands, creating a blend of heritage and modern city life, He Qi reports in Shanghai.

By 7 am, two lines are already snaking outside Guang Ming Cun Restaurant on Huaihai Middle Road. One forms at the deli counter, where elderly locals chat with reusable bags in hand, drawn by the salty aroma of soy-braised duck. The other winds toward the fresh meat mooncake stall, where flaky pastry encases juicy pork filling — a warm, savory opening act to the boulevard's day.

By afternoon, another line forms a few hundred meters away at HAI550 mall. Young people hold up phones, waiting for matcha lattes topped with six hand-drawn little black sheep made of milk foam and black sesame paste.

Lining up for decades-old flavors and month-old viral hits happens side by side every single day on the same street.

READ MORE: In the mood for wandering

It is this very coexistence that makes Huaihai Road special. Stretching east from Wukang Road, its century-old buildings are no dusty museum pieces. The Cathay Theatre still screens new releases, the Lyceum Theatre stages fresh plays, and historical hotels continue to welcome guests.

Time-honored eateries, sticking to recipes honed over generations, have turned a bowl of noodles and a basket of soup dumplings into must-visit landmarks for overseas travelers. Meanwhile, restored shikumen houses and heritage shopfronts now host homegrown designer brands, planting the latest consumer trends into century-old architectural fabric.

Old facades, new vibes — this iconic boulevard is Shanghai at its most walkable.

Living legacy

The boulevard's backbone is formed by heritage structures that remain very much alive. Walking east from Wukang Road beneath a canopy of plane trees, visitors pass the facade of the Cathay Theatre, the classical Lyceum Theatre, the green-tiled roofs of Jin Jiang Hotel and the European-style gardens of the Garden Hotel, each a page in the city's history.

"You don't have to memorize all the names first. Start with the details — the facades, the windows, the little architectural touches," says Shao Qi, an official at a community service center of Ruijin No 2 Road Subdistrict.

For her, the true value of these buildings lies in their ongoing role in daily life.

"The Cathay still shows the latest films, the Lyceum still puts on new plays, and the old hotels still host guests and banquets. They're deeply woven into the fabric of modern city life," Shao says.

If architecture forms the boulevard's backbone, its time-honored flavors are its beating heart.

One of the most emblematic spots is Wei Xiang Zhai on Yandang Road. Few know that the noodle shop began as a Western-style cafe in the early 20th century. When war sent prices soaring, its founder switched to hearty, affordable fare — sesame paste noodles and dry-stewed beef soup — and renamed the shop Wei Xiang Zhai, meaning "fragrant taste".

Nearly a century later, the recipe remains unchanged: custom noodles, springy with a subtle savory note, tossed in a balanced blend of peanut and sesame paste with a sweet aftertaste, drizzled with a secret soy glaze and topped with chopped scallions.

Today, however, a growing share of patrons are overseas visitors who discover the shop on social media.

"One hundred years? That's crazy," says Marti Roy, a tourist from Spain, upon learning the shop's history.

Xue Mei, shift manager at the branch and a second-generation employee of the former State-run eatery, says many longtime patrons who have moved away return for a bowl as soon as they come back to Shanghai.

"There's so much more to this bowl than just noodles," she says.

"Elderly locals come here just to chat in Shanghainese. It's more than food — it's a feeling of home."

Tucked down an alley off Maoming South Road, Wu You Xian serves steamed soup dumplings made to order. Owner Chen Lina, a national first-class dim sum chef, has run the single shop for 20 years, refusing to open franchises or expand and developing every recipe herself.

After Wu You Xian won one Michelin star in the 2025 Shanghai Michelin Guide, videos of the tiny shop spread across You-Tube and TikTok, drawing visitors and influencers from around the world. Today, 80 percent of her daily customers are from overseas.

"They say I run the cheapest Michelin store," Chen says.

"I don't care about titles. I just want my customers to leave happily."

Booming growth

Old flavors anchor the neighborhood's character, but Huaihai Road's story is not just about preservation. Inside restored heritage spaces, new concepts are taking root.

At HAI550 mall, Matcha Wang opened late last year with its viral little sheep matcha latte, selling 20,000 cups in five months. Overseas tourists often visit specifically to pose with the hand-painted sheep design.

Homegrown designer brands, including Songmont, PANE and An Action A Day (AAAD), have also set up shop in old buildings beneath the plane trees, choosing character-filled heritage spaces over standardized mall counters.

Shanghai Customs data shows the scale of the boom. In the first five months of this year, it verified 201,000 tax-refund forms covering 1.92 billion yuan ($287 million) in sales, up 300 percent and 62 percent year-on-year, respectively. Both figures account for about 40 percent of the national total, ranking first nationwide.

For PANE, a local footwear brand known for its retro training shoes priced at around 800 yuan — roughly 30 percent cheaper than comparable premium international styles — overseas social media followers jumped from 30,000 to more than 140,000 in a year. Overseas visitors now make up 30 to 40 percent of customers at its Shanghai store.

Russian tourist Irina Rudometova picked up several pairs as gifts, alongside fragrances from To Summer and pieces from other domestic designer labels during her shopping spree on Huaihai Road.

"I love the lighting, the geometric design, the whole atmosphere and scent of the store. For me, the whole shopping experience matters as much as the product itself," she says.

ALSO READ: Reopening the doorway to a Shanghai cultural touchstone

Walk the full length of Huaihai Road, and its charm lies in its refusal to be pigeonholed. Heritage buildings stand firm, time-honored shops hold steady, and new brands grow steadily alongside them — each in its own rhythm, each complementing the other.

Old facades, new days — that is the timeless allure of Huaihai Road.

Contact the writer at heqi@chinadaily.com.cn