Nanling Restaurant was founded in Shanghai by CHEN Wangqiang in 1998. A lover of Peking opera, he is acquainted with many such artists. In fact, the restaurant was originally in an old building where one such star, ZHOU Xinfang (1895 – 1975), once lived. The name of the restaurant is a tribute to Zhou as he was regarded as the foremost Peking opera artist of southern (‘nan’) China, ‘ling’ being translated here as ‘star’.
Zhou Xinfang was the founding director of the Shanghai Peking Opera Company which began in 1955. Just as southern Chinese opera is popular in the north, so Peking opera has always had a following in the south of the country.
Zhou’s fame (his stage name was Qilin Tong) was such that he was mentioned in the same breath as MEI Lanfang (1894 – 1961), the other Peking opera great from northern China. A statue of Zhou stands in the courtyard in what is now the renamed Peking Opera Center at 168 Yue Yang Road in Shanghai.
Nanling offers Huaiyang cuisine with Shanghainese influences and Shanghainese dishes. Although the restaurant is no longer next to the former Shanghai Peking Opera Company, Nanling remains a popular meeting place and magnet for opera buffs.
On my first visit, the table next to me was a group of Cantonese opera lovers from Hong Kong. Half-way through their meal, they were listening to opera songs via a mobile phone.
1515 Nanjing West Road • Jing An Kerry Centre • S3-01 • Jingan District
南伶酒家 • 静安区南京西路1515号静安嘉里中心南区3层
