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Shikumen (Hanyu 石库门), or literally "stone gate" is a style of housing in Shanghai, China, which blended features of east and west. Up to 80% of the city's population lived in these types of houses, though today that number is much less.
Each residence is connected and arranged in straight alleys, with the entrance to each alley, the gate, wrapped by a stylistic stone arc. The Shikumen residencies is a cultural blend of the elements found in Western architecture with traditional Lower Yangtze Chinese architecture and social behavior. All traditional Chinese dwellings had a courtyard, and the Shikumen was no exception.
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