A stroll through Tianjin's Five-Avenue area is akin to an architectural take on Disney's "It's a Small World After All" ride.

Celebrated by the city's Tourism Bureau as a "World Building Expo", the 12.8-sq-km area features more than 230 Concession Era edifices from the invading foreign powers that carved up the port city like a Thanksgiving turkey after the Opium War in the 19th century.

Today, the area appears like a condensed colonial Europe inhabited by modern Chinese. One can start in what resembles England, turn the corner at what looks like France and walk straight ahead to reach a neighborhood resembling Italy.

The rectangular area in Heping district takes its name from its main five streets: Machang Street, Munan Street, Dali Street, Changde Street and Chongqing Street. Machang Street, which takes its name from the British racecourse to which it once led, is the longest of these, stretching 3,216 m east to west.

A total of 22 roads covering a total of 17 km crisscross the area, and a multitude of architectural gems are hidden behind the main roads for those dogged enough to search for, and lucky enough to discover, them.

But even sticking to the main roads, visitors will find a multitude of Gothic wrought-iron fences, gables and rows of columns that bear testimony to the city's Concessionary legacy.

But somehow, these mementos of occupation by Britain, France, Japan, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Belgium and the United States from days of yore seem benevolent and even charming today.

According to the Tianjin Department of Historical Building Protection, among the buildings in the area, 89 are British-style, 41 are Italian-style, six are French-style, four are German-style and three are Spanish-style.

There are also 46 courtyards, 40 apartment buildings and three structures infused with both Chinese and Western architectural characteristics.

A popular way for visitors to tour the Five-Avenue area is from the seat of a colonial-styled horse-drawn carriage.

One reason the area's Concession Era architecture is hailed as iconic is the multitude of household names who have occupied these dwellings since their construction.

Famous Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) figures, including China's last emperor, Puyi, warlords and retired Republic of China (1911-49) politicians once lived there. In the 1920s and 30s, it was home to two presidents of the Republic of China, and seven Premiers and Acting Premiers.

More than 200 national celebrities also took up residence in the neighborhood, including maverick educators Yan Xiu and Zhang Boling, and dynamo industrialists Zhou Xuexi, Li Zhuchen and Song Peiqing.

(China Daily 10/17/2008 page19)