Sister & Brother:
The first impression of the so-called Shikumen is the grand black gate. In the past, the two-door handles of rich people were made of copper. Two lion heads were engraved on the top, and the two rings at the bottom were used to pull the door. The lock inside was not the current metal lock but was a structure made of wood to “clicked” through and lock.

Sister & Brother:
Walking in a lilong house, one will first see a patio. Going further inside, there is a living room, next to the living room is the left-wing room and the right-wing room. Then there is another patio. There are also pavilions, terraces, front wing rooms and back wing rooms, and front building and back building.

Mother & Daughter:
There are normally about 5 to 6 families living in one building. There is an attic on the ground floor and people also sleep in the attic. My mother-in-law and son used to live in the attic in the past. Since it is impossible to stand up inside, when you want to sleep, you just go inside (the attic) with your head down.

Sister & Brother:
The inner staircase is scary. It’s hollow. If you step on it and accidentally fall, you will lose your teeth.

M:
The most unpleasant sound is the sound of the stairs. Our family lives on the first floor. The sound of going up and down the stairs is very noisy and disturbing. The outside of Shikumen looks good, but there is nothing good (inside). If you have money to buy a whole building, then It's pretty good.

Mother & Daughter:
Could we hear people talking and snoring? Of course, we could hear it. We didn’t have privacy here, because people lived very close together. There was even a family in front of me with just a partition made of wooden board. When I was dating, I spoke in a very low voice. One should pay attention to that at home.

Mother & Daughter:
The room was also a place to eat. We lived on the ground floor and ate on the patio. Because there were people living in our kitchen. It is common that there were people living in the kitchen. So, cooking is either done in alleys, in patios, or on balconies with a self-built kitchen. The people on the ground floor cooked on the patio, and the people on the upper floor cooked on the balcony. Some stairs were also used as cooking spaces too.