Five Great Avenues

Five Great Avenues, aka Wudadao in Chinese, lies in the south of downtown Tianjin, namely the Machang Avenue, Munan Avenue, Dali Avenue, Changde Avenue, Chongqing Avenue and Chengdu Avenue from south to north. Five Great Avenues has the best-preserved villa cluster in Tianjin or even the whole of China. Along the two sides of these avenues, there are more than 2,000 villas with various western styles built in the 1920s and 1930s as it used to be the British Concession. Among them, 89 are in British style, 41 in Italian style, 6 in French style, 4 in German style, 3 in Spanish style, as well as many in renaissance, classical, syncretism, baroque, and a mix style of traditional Chinese and Western styles. Consequently, the Five Great Avenues is also known as the “Expo of Worldwide Buildings”. 

Spanning 3,216 meters (3,517 yards), it is the earliest-built, widest and longest avenue in Five Great Avenues. When visiting, pay special attention to No. 121 villa, a typical Spanish villa. Musée Hoangho Paiho on this avenue is one of the earliest museums in China. Founded in 1922, it is of Roman style architecture. Tianjin Institute of Business and Technology, now Tianjin Foreign Language University, built in 1921 with a large Gour wall and a Mansell tile roof, and is of French Romanesque architecture.
 

Munan Avenue is 2,080 meters (2275 yards) long with 74  villas on both sides. No. 20 villa, built in 1930, is a classic western style mansion. No. 24 is in classic European style. No. 28 of an Italian style architecture. No. 50 is a courtyard of British style with red brick wall and red roof.
 

Dali Avenue is 1,745 meters (1908 yards) long. The representative villas here are No.3 and No.5 villas. No. 3 is of romantic French style externally, while internally, it is decorated in traditional Chinese style with many delicate wood carvings. No. 5 is a courtyard adopting both western and Chinese style; the stone, brick and wood carvings inside are very attractive.

It is the shortest avenue in Five Great Avenues, with a total length of only 1,219 meters (1,333 yards). It also has many western style villas on both sides. 
 

In this avenue, No. 55 is the best and worth a visit. With western-style outer eave and Chinese-style patio and decoration, it is a mansion in combination of Chinese and Western styles. East of the courtyard is a Chinese style garden with rockeries, stone caves and hexagonal pavilions. 
 

With a width of about 24 meters (26 yards), it is the widest avenue in Five Great Avenues. No. 14 villa is in typical “cubism” style, emphasizing the usage of lines and sculptures. No. 60 is of modern but yet simple style. No. 93 is of British style. 

Horse-drawn cart is available in this area. By riding it, tourists can not only appreciate the exotic architecture, but experience the life of the celebrities who once lived here. It cost CNY 80 for a ride. Rickshaws, electric-cars and bikes are also available. 
 

1. Take metro line 1 to Small White Building (Xiaobailou); 

2. Take metro line 3 to Yingkoudao or Xikang Road and walk eastward for about 10 minutes;

3. Take bus line 619 and get off at Machang Avenue Station; 

4. Take bus line 619, 871, 906, 954, and get off at Chongqing Avenue Station.