On Xiaohongshu, I searched for village names in the area where we live on Xiaoshongshu and found an old decaying house from the Qing Dynasty that caught my eye — just seven kilometers away!

The uploader mentioned that the building — named the Gulu Guandi Temple (顾路关帝庙) — was built in 1910, to be used as a government office. In 1961 it became a police station, and in 1985 a nursing home.  as a government office, and later a police station, before being used as a nursing home. When it was actually a temple, I’m not sure.

I looked for the street name and after a bit of cycling around in the area (Gudong Village 顾东村), I eventually found the old ‘temple’, spotted from the street because of its Guanyin Crown (观音兜). A lady asked if I was German — weirdly specific because normally they all guess either Russian or American.  When I said I was from the Netherlands she nodded: “Yeah, you guys like cycling”, and she said the building previously had people living in it, but it isn’t set for demolition right now.

She went into the old alley, and after taking some pictures, so did I. Old buildings on both sides with scooters and laundry hanging to dry, seniors taking a stroll and some young people as well. I had to duck to avoid some electrical cables, but I’m happy these places are still around in Shanghai.