Laoximen or "old West Gate" -- named for its position in Shanghai's 16th-century defensive walls -- was once the city's cultural centre.

Built around the site of a Confucian temple, the mostly two- and three-storey buildings of stone and wood are an anachronism at the heart of Shanghai's gleaming commercial district.

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Thousands of residents  -- a mix of old Shanghai families and migrant workers drawn to the low rent -- were ordered to leave their homes at the end of 2017, though some have clung to the ageing buildings for years after the deadline.

Yang, who declined to give his full name, is one of the last residents who has resisted compensation from the government and held onto his home in Laoximen, a damp labyrinth of long corridors stacked with old furniture and household appliances.

"This piece of land was bought by my grandfather," Yang, whose family has lived in the area since before the Communist Party took power in 1949, told AFP.

Most of his neighbors have agreed to leave, but Yang is holding out for what he says is compensation that would match "the value of the house".

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