新天地 (Xintiandi, literally “New Heaven and Earth”) is an affluent car-free shopping, eating and entertainment district in Shanghai, China. It is composed of an area of reconstituted traditional shikumen (“stone gate”) houses on narrow alleys.
Why it is blocked: Not sure. There were protests there back in the late-90s when developers Disney-fied the historic neighborhood, but outside of a minor incident in June, things seem quiet there. Perhaps this is related to the blocking of numerous public spaces because of “Occupy” fears.
